Best Cruise Travel Reference
Europe's majestic port cities are at your fingertips with Rick Steves Mediterranean Cruise Ports. Since 1973, Rick has spent about four months a year exploring Europe.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Overview of Anne Vipond's 6th edition of "Mediterranean by Cruise Ship" (AV): I found AV to be very informative and it was very helpful to actually see some of the attractions and sites on this cruise in brilliant color. But there isn't a "DK Eyewitness Mediterranean Cruise Port" book, so you'd have to buy a separate book for each port to get the same general coverage and attractive glossy color photo layout. AV's Table of Contents (and starting page numbers). Forward page by author. Part One: General Information: - Choosing your cruise (starting page 10), including chapters on: Shore Excursions; Land Tours. - Preparing for your cruise (20). - Life aboard a cruise ship (26). - Natural phenomena (38). - History of the Mediterranean (42), including chapters on: Ancient Mariners; Ancient Egypt; Ancient Greece; The Roman Empire; The Renaissance; The Grand Tour; Modern Mediterranean. - Art & Architecture (80). - Mediterranean Gardens (103). Part Two. Portugal (starting page 106). Spain (includes Gibraltar) (116). The South of France (148). Northern Italy (176). Southern Italy (212). Croatia (and Montenegro) (246). Mainland Greece (256). The Greek Isles (276). Turkey, The Black Sea, & Cyprus (302). Egypt & The Holy Land (336). Malta, Tunisia, & Morocco (348). Glossary of Cruise Lines (365). Index (365). Color pull out map (with walking maps on the reverse side) (369). ------------------------. Overview of Rick Steve's 3rd edition of "Mediterranean Cruise Ports" (RS). The word "tome" was invented to describe books such as this. Also, don't do what I did and buy those $1.99 Kindle books on specific sites in Rome (e.g., the Pantheon); waste of money, since they are also included in this book. RS's Table of Contents (and starting page numbers). Color maps across two pages each (Europe; Barcelona; Florence; Rome; Venice; Dubrovnik; Athens; Istanbul's Old Town). Introduction (starting page 1). Part I: Choosing and Booking a Cruise (11). Part II: Travel Skills (45), including: Before Your Cruise; On the Ship; In Port; Part III: Mediterranean Cruise Ports (143). Spain: Barcelona (149). France: - Provence (243); specific chapters include: Port of Marseilles; Port of Toulon; Marseille; Cassis; Aix-en-Provence. - The French Riviera (297); specific chapters include: Nice; Villefranche-sur-Mer; Monaco; Cannes; Antibes; More Sights on the French Riviera. Italy: - Florence, Pisa, Lucca, and the Port of Livorno (375). - Rome and the Port of Civitavecchia (489). - Naples, Sorrento, and Capri (615): in addition, includes chapters on Pompeii; Herculaneum; Almafi Coast. - Venice (705). Croatia: - Split (803). - Dubrovnik (837). Greece: Athens and the Port of Piraeus (885); Mykonos (979); Santorini (1005) and includes Fira, Oia, and More Sights on Santorini. More Ports in Greece (1029); includes Corfu; Olympia and the Port of Katakolo; Crete and the Port of Heraklion; Rhodes. Turkey: Istanbul (1085); Ephesus and the Port of Kusadasi (1205); in addition, includes chapters on House of the Virgin Mary; Selcuk. Appendix: Tourist Information (1241); Telephoning (1242); Transportation (1243); Resources (1248); Holidays and Festivals (1250); Conversions and Climate (1251). Index (1254). Map Index (1273). ------------------------. Comparing the two books: AV and RS are significantly different in format and content, but they complement each other. Almost a third of this book's 350 pages (104 pages) concern the history and geography of the Mediterranean region; the introductory section in RS is similarly long (140 pages) BUT it accounts for only 11% of the total 1,250 pages of content! Comparing the actual cruise port sections, AV has 251 pages devoted to all of the cruise ports and sites, whereas RS devotes 427 pages to Italy alone; AV's section on Italy is only 69 pages. Neither book will be easy to lug around the ports and sites; Rick Steves actually encourages you to break his book apart and just take just the relevant sections along with you on your excursions."
"Excellent book especially as you can divide it up and not carry around the whole book.Covers all the ports I will be visiting in July/August and will help in booking excursions from the boat or looking at getting around on public transport."
"This book was indispensable for our recent Mediterranean cruise and I felt that our DIY port stops were just as fun and informative as the port stops where we used a tour."
"We also enjoyed using the book to learn how to pronounce important common phrases in Spanish, French, Italian, Greek, and Turkish."
"Not expecting too much, since the Rick Steve's philosophy tends toward enjoying the adventure of meeting people and new cultures rather than bombing through a town in 4 hours, I was pleasantly surprised to find this to be one of his team's best offerings."
"We have traveled extensively in Europe and relied on Rick Steves various guidebooks, with great success."
"Not a fan of Steves' strident politics, but he knows his cruise ports."
Full list of coverage: Copenhagen, Denmark; Stockholm, Sweden; Helsinki, Finland; St. Petersburg, Russia; Tallinn, Estonia; Riga, Latvia; Gdansk, Sopot, and the Port of Gdynia, Poland; Berlin, Warnemünde, and Rostok, Germany; Oslo, Stavanger, Bergen, Flåm, and Geirangerfjord, Norway; Amsterdam, the Netherlands; Bruges, Brussels, Zeebrugge, and Ghent, Belgium; London, Southampton, Portsmouth, Dover, and Canterbury, England; Paris, Le Havre, Honfleur, Rouen, and the D-Day Beaches, France. Since 1973, Rick Steves has spent about four months a year exploring Europe. Ever since, he has spent three months each year in Europe, contributing to guidebooks, tours, radio and television shows, and other media for Rick Steves' Europe, where he serves as content manager.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"We are not typical "cruisers" but see the ship as a "moving hotel" so we can explore during the day."
"Great guide book for a Baltic cruise."
"Oh my goodness."
"I just got back from 3 weeks in Northern Europe (1 week in Copenhagen and 10 days on a Princess Baltic cruise)."
"We used this on our trip to Northern Europe."
"Steves does his usual precise job in a well detailed presentation."
"Good concise guide to the ports we will be visiting on our cruise."
"I do not recommend the kindle version."
The new 9th Edition of Alaska by Cruise Ship includes updates on attractions and shore side activities for cruisers to this beautiful state. She has written several books for Thomas Cook Publishing of the UK and is a recipient of the Lowell Thomas Travel Journalism Award for guidebooks.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Going on a cruise to Alaska...this has been so helpful."
"Very helpful in planning my upcoming cruise to Alaska."
"It did give information, but I was disappointed in the flow."
"Lots of useful information."
"This book would be good to buy if you haven't started researching yet for your cruise."
"Very entertaining guide, comes with an included tear out large map - our ship "neighbors" used it for a walking tour of Skagway and enjoyed their walk."
"Great information, photos and insights into cruising Alaska, especially for a beginner like me."
Best British Columbia Travel Guides
The 2017 edition has more than 700 pages of detailed travel information on 30 major routes―including the Alaska Highway, which celebrates its 75 th anniversary this year―and 60 side trips, totaling more than 15,000 miles of road in Alaska, Yukon, Northwest Territories, British Columbia and Alberta.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"I bought this for my 14 year old grandson whose goal is to take a trip to Alaska upon his graduation from high school."
"I drove from Homer, Alaska through Canada and down to Seattle over a three-month camping trip."
"If you are planning to go to Alaska within a year or two, you HAVE TO get this."
"The detailed information was invaluable as lots of the roads we traveled were remote and lonely."
"Got the book in yesterday, this is a great book far beyond anything I could have imagined, Planning on going in a couple years and heard this is a good book."
"This book was a lifesaver on our trip from the Gulf of Mexico to Anchorage!!!"
"BEST guide book ever!"
"If you are planning a road trip to Alaska you need this book."
Best Air Travel Reference
On assignment for Outside Magazine to report on the growing commercialization of the mountain, Krakauer, an accomplished climber, went to the Himalayas as a client of Rob Hall, the most respected high-altitude guide in the world. Ascending the mountain in close proximity to Hall's team was a guided expedition led by Scott Fischer, a forty-year-old American with legendary strength and drive who had climbed the peak without supplemental oxygen in 1994. Krakauer examines what it is about Everest that has compelled so many people -- including himself -- to throw caution to the wind, ignore the concerns of loved ones, and willingly subject themselves to such risk, hardship, and expense. In March 1996, Outside magazine sent veteran journalist and seasoned climber Jon Krakauer on an expedition led by celebrated Everest guide Rob Hall.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"This book will expand your understanding of exactly why mountain climbing can be so extremely dangerous, and how in this case financial rewards and personal risk taking led to overcrowding on the mountain."
"Being able to give a first hand account of what happened throughout their journey on the mountain, and the events (at least what he remembers) that led to the death of a portion of the excursion. This was the first Krakauer book that I have read, and actually caused me to buy another one, as I enjoyed his writing."
"I recommend to read Lou Kasischke's book to have another perspective, that in my opinion is more straight forward and center the blame on different things than Krakauer, making more sense."
"The recent release of Everest (or reinterpretation) prompted me to read this as well as other books about the climbing season in question."
"Gripping story of the tragic Everest ascent on which many members of various climbing groups lost their lives."
"This was a pure tragedy with so much blame to go around that wasting time on blame after the fact is a sad and unnecessary cap to this story."
"This is the story of how eminently qualified guides and climbers can become so driven as to make literally every mistake in the book in an overzealous attempt to make a climb that has in the final analysis become over-commercialized and largely irrelevant."
"There's not a lot to say about this book that other reviewers haven't said 100 times already -- but I enjoyed it a lot and found that it kept my attention all the way through."
Best Road Travel Reference
Acclaimed as one of the most exciting books in the history of American letters, this modern epic became an instant bestseller upon publication in 1974, transforming a generation and continuing to inspire millions. “Profoundly important...full of insights into our most perplexing contemporary dilemmas.” (New York Times). .a finely made whole that seems to emanate from a very special grace.” (Baltimore Sun).
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"And I realize that I grasped about 20% of it at the time."
"It's wonderful that we have, among those who gave the book just one star, so many people who are so far above it intellectually -- too familiar with philosophy, too personally enlightened, perhaps -- to find any value in it. But the themes that run throughout the book explore many of the same ideas the Buddha did, and several concepts important to motorcycle maintenance that will not be found in manuals are discussed throughout the work. It might seem like the novel is caught in its time, with language about those who see things as "groovy" vs. "the squares" but the dichotomy between the two has been under discussion in various forms for centuries: romanticism vs. empiricism, passion vs. logic, science vs. religion. If the book is not approached as being literally about Zen and motorcycle maintenance, but as using these as stand-ins for concepts that can be much larger -- or even much smaller -- there is a lot to be gained here. I love road stories, and this one is paced just like a real long-distance trip, with long stretches of time to think things through interspersed with short breaks for taking care of the business of life. The questions about the wisdom of dividing the world up into a duality of the physical vs. the mental, of seeing ourselves as somehow separate from everything else, these were explored by the Buddha, too, though the framework he used to discuss these ideas was -- obviously -- nothing to do with motorcycles. I tend to agree with the Buddha because I can see in our lives, and through our sciences, what that desire for existence is and why it drives us to divide the world up the way we do, and exactly how it leads us into trouble."
"An interesting introspective philosophical exploration of life during a motorcycle trip."
"Adored this book when I first read it years ago - a perfect book to take on holiday or traveling."
"A great read and makes you think about how you live you life."
"Have yet to finish but learning excellent tidbits on how to savor life."
"Not being a philosophy reader it was tough for me to make it through but it was a good story aside from the philosophy."
"Pirsig's masterpiece is a true joy to read again, after a long time since read it for the first time."
Best Railroad Travel Reference
Great American Railroad Stories gives readers a look at railroading history as presented by the writers of Trains magazine over 75 years.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"I was trying to find him an inexpensive gift that wouldn't actually be a model train and came across this book."
"ordered as a gift for a fellow model railroad friend, this book looks like fascinating reading and is in perfect condition!"
"Stories going back to the 1940s when railroads were not run by lawyers and you didn't need an engineering degree to operated trains."
"Stories from Trains Magazine don't disappoint."
"Extremely interesting."
"Pretty good actually."
"Great book with alot of well known authors through the years and all the different things when Steam was king."
Best Travel Dining Reference
2014 marks the twentieth anniversary of the acclaimed French Laundry restaurant in the Napa Valley—“the most exciting place to eat in the United States” ( The New York Times ). In The French Laundry Cookbook , Keller articulates his passions and offers home cooks a means to duplicate the level of perfection that makes him one of the best chefs in the U.S. and, arguably, the world. After winning rave reviews when he was still in his 20s, it took a more experienced chef throwing a knife at him because he did not know how to truss a chicken to open his eyes to the importance of the discipline and techniques of classical French cooking. The 200 photographs by Deborah Jones include more than just beauty shots: they show how to prepare various dishes; how Keller, shown stroking a whole salmon, respects his ingredients; and how the perfection of baby fava beans still nestled in the downy lining of their succulent pod, or the seduction of an abundance of fresh caviar, calls out the best from the chef.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Beautiful publication with an inexhaustible amount of recipes."
"A gift to someone who eats here all the time."
"I consider this to be the best one I have ever purchased, excluding pastry books."
"This is a stunning cookbook, the only downside is some of the ingredients may be hard to find and the recipes are fairly complicated."
"Classic cookbook with timeless stories and recipes."
"Can't wait until I visit French Laundry I've fallen in love with Yountville,CA."
"Great history of this food culture."
Best Hotels & Inns Travel Reference
Explore every centimeter of Paris, from the top of the Eiffel tower to the ancient catacombs below the city: with Rick Steves on your side, Paris can be yours! Rick Steves, author of 21 guidebooks and host of the television series Travels in Europe with Rick Steves, has spent 100 days a year traveling Europe, every year, since 1973.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"super helpfull to make a itinerary and make the most of Paris."
"Anyway, buy the book before you go but also buy Dixon Long's "Markets of Paris" - there is so much about Paris, it's impossible to overdo the preparation!"
"I can't say enough good things about this book."
"The book comes with a few pre-planned itineraries for a short 3 day trip and a longer trip, which with a little thought, can be customized to fit your schedule and desires. The guidebook covered common tourist scams, two of which were attempted on me which I easily avoided (friendship bracelet and found ring)."
"I read it over before going and it has lots of good information like when to go where, what days time etc. The only thing that I would double check before leaving for Paris or when in Paris is if the days certain places are open. at least 3 hours of waiting!"
"I did my best to read the book before leaving and plan the trip out ahead of time, but it was also extremely useful at the hotel to help finalize the next day's plans, and even once in awhile to have it out with me during the day in case my memory failed me or we changed our plans on-the-fly."
"Rick Steves is a real-live "regular" traveler, who understands that most of us don't stay at the Ritz Carlton, don't eat at 3-star Michelin restaurants, and that we crave authentic travel experiences."
"But it is terrible--bare minumum of info, often misleading or missing info (for instance not mentioning the existence, let alone whereabouts, of a famous restaurant in Paris, but only its satellite location out at Versailles)."
Best Bed & Breakfast Travel Reference
Like hundreds of thousands of people, you can boost your rental profits by 2 to 3 times with the most well known vacation rentals marketplace in the world: Airbnb. His advice on how to make money with Airbnb has been indispensable and helped me go from beginner to expert host in a very short time.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"I had Jasper on my podcast, The Entrepreneurs Library, to give a deep dive of Get Paid For Your Pad."
"This book provided a lot of actionable advice for improving my Airbnb listing."
"Jasper is the MAN!!"
"I read GPFYP on Kindle plus I heard the audio book as I drove to work hoping to learn enough to take the "dive" into hosting."
"Great value."
"Let me start with this: Get Paid For Your Pad is the best book, by FAR, on Airbnb hosting."
"The background knowledge I received from this book makes me feel like I'm a level above other hosts before I even list my place."
"This awesome book by Jasper Ribbers will come in very handy when I travel the world a bit more so I can maximize profit from my Airbnb listing and get paid well for my pad."
Best Parks & Campgrounds Travel Reference
National Geographic’s comprehensive travel guide to recreation areas, trails, historic sites, nature hikes, seashores, camping, and campgrounds is for everyone who loves outdoor recreation. He has worked for National Geographic publications since 1990 and has written more than 50 magazine articles for National Geographic magazine and National Geographic Traveler covering destinations such as Australia, Borneo, the Amazon River, the Swiss Alps, and Madagascar, as well as North American sites from Alaska to the Everglades.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Awesome book and photography, we have been to most of the parks, great reminisce of our trips !"
"Bought as a gift for two families and they have loved this book!!"
"Beautiful photos & great companion book given as gift with national park pass."
"Gave this as a gift and they loved it!"
"This book has everything you would ever want to know about the National Parks."