Europe on a Shoestring: Big Trips on Small Budgets (Lonely Planet Shoestring Guides)

This is the second lonely planet book that I have bought, the first being south East Asia which I found invaluable. The book is a little big not exactly pocket size BUT it can answers nearly everything you need to know without giving too much away so you still get the adventure. Packed full of places to see, phone numbers, where to go for emergency help. Ratings for hostels and much more

All in all this is a great book and I am looking forward to using it later this year when I go travelling Spain & France on my Motorbike.

Scott

fab (4/5 people found this helpful)

my trip would not of been the same with out this book!! we would of missed so meany good places with out out it!! great for interrailing!

2007 Edition: More Complete, Great for Planning (46/46 people found this helpful)

So the latest edition of Lonely Planet's Europe guide is out.
There have been definite improvements over the previous edition!
Most importantly, this book now covers ALL European countries, including little-visited Belarus and Ukraine. It has basic coverage of European Russia, too.

The prices and other practical details really seem to have been updated specifically for this book - unlike in certain earlier shoestring guides, which simply seem to have been compiled by picking info from the already published (then few years old) individual country guides.
So the info in this one is pretty correct as of 2006 state of affairs - that's when it was researched. Be prepared for some changes, of course, especially in some of the still rapidly-changing Eastern European countries.

The contents include the usual practical details all LP guides provide: not just an overview of sights and history, but practical matters like accomodation and transport details, all with actual prices (remember, these do change!), as well as useful info on things like getting visas and crossing borders.
Coverage of individual countries definitely varies though.
You will still find that the most popular Western European countries are covered in pretty good detail, certainly enough for an "All-Europe-Trip", while coverage of Eastern European countries is much more brief, in case of less visited ones really sketchy - hence the 4 stars only.
For more obscure countries like Belarus or Ukraine, this guide only provides detailed info on the capital and at best one or two other towns/cities, or perhaps just a brief overview of the rest of the country.

So this book is great value if you are still in the planning stages of your trip, and simply want to have an overview of the entire continent, prices, visa matters and all, to help you decide where to go.
It will also be an adequate guide to take along if you are planning a whirlwind tour of Europe, concentrating on the more established tourist destinations, with only brief forays to less visited countries.
However if you are planning to spend any length of time in Eastern Europe, I definitely recommend getting LP's separate guide to that region alone - it covers it in maybe three times as much detail as this book.
If you have a specific interest in a few countries rather than the whole continent, get the individual country guides to those ones.
But if you have only a summer holiday to tour the continent, you will probably find this book has enough information for you.

Have a good trip!

Good (2/5 people found this helpful)

Overall, this book is good.

It gives good background information to all of the major cities and attractions in Europe.

However, on my trip around Europe I found alot of major mistakes. The one that stands out in my memory states that the Eternal Flame (under the Arc De Triomph, Paris) is lit 9am to 5pm daily!

Big and Chunky (4/6 people found this helpful)

It's great because it covers so many places, with useful practical information (including a huge language section). It doesn't go into much depth so it leaves you to explore independently, which is great for the adventurous but not so hot for those who like loads of information before they get to their destination.

Europe on a Shoestring: Big Trips on Small Budgets (Lonely Planet Shoestring Guides)

Sarah Johnstone

Reader Reviews:

This is a must for any traveller (2/2 people found this helpful)

fab (4/5 people found this helpful)

2007 Edition: More Complete, Great for Planning (46/46 people found this helpful)

Good (2/5 people found this helpful)

Big and Chunky (4/6 people found this helpful)

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