Rick Steves Great Britain

by Rick Steves

From the craggy beauty of the Scottish Highlands to cosmopolitan London, Great Britain is yours to discover with Rick Steves! Inside Rick Steves Great Britain you'll Make the most of every day and every dollar with Rick Steves Great Britain .

Genres: Travel, Nonfiction, Reference

1112 pages, Paperback

Published March 7, 2023

About the author

Rick Steves is an American travel writer, television personality, and activist known for encouraging meaningful travel that emphasizes cultural immersion and thoughtful global citizenship. Born in California and raised in Edmonds, Washington, he began traveling in his teens, inspired by a family trip to Europe. After graduating from the University of Washington with a degree in European history and business, Steves started teaching travel classes, which led to his first guidebook, Europe Through the Back Door, self-published in 1980.
Steves built his Edmonds-based travel company on the idea that travelers should explore less-touristy areas and engage with local cultures. He gained national prominence as host and producer of Rick Steves' Europe, which has aired on public television since 2000. He also hosts a weekly public radio show, Travel with Rick Steves, and has authored dozens of popular guidebooks, including bestselling titles on Italy and Europe at large.
Beyond travel, Steves is an outspoken advocate for drug policy reform, environmental sustainability, and social justice. He supports marijuana legalization and chairs the board of NORML. He has funded housing for homeless families and donates to anti-hunger and arts organizations. In 2019, he pledged $1 million annually to offset the carbon emissions of his tour groups.
Steves is a practicing Lutheran with Norwegian ancestry and continues to live in Edmonds. He has two adult children and is in a relationship with Reverend Shelley Bryan Wee. Despite health challenges, including a prostate cancer diagnosis in 2024, Steves remains committed to his mission of helping Americans travel with greater purpose, empathy, and understanding of the world. His work reflects a belief that travel, done right, can be both transformative and a force for peace.

Reviews

[Joy · Rating 4 out of 5]

My husband and I have relied on Rick Steves travel advice for years. I got this book from the library but since we are taking a trip to the U.K. and found this book so helpful, we bought it. We will be traveling tomorrow so we will be taking the book along.

[Beth Cato · Rating 5 out of 5]

I preordered this brand new edition to get it on the release day, and it does indeed feel current with sidebars on Brexit and even a few mentions of the Prince Harry and Meghan nuptials (which just happened hours ago, as I type this review). I've been a fan of Rick Steves's PBS shows since my early teens, so over twenty years now, and this is my first book of his that I have read. It's easy to hear the advice in his voice--indeed, I recognized some of the passages as paraphrased (or vice versa) from his shows.

This book is over a thousand pages and the details are vast. I haven't gotten to put any of this advice into practice--I am toying with the idea of a dream trip next year--but I love how this book addresses everything from how to get around London or between cities, to when big monuments are crowded or empty, to where to eat and sleep for the night. Great Britain is broken down into regions with overviews and then more detailed sections, making it easy to skim for info then delve deeper. The very back of the book is loaded with fantastic advice on everything from currency (when to exchange it, how much to carry), what to pack, how to understand the different wording on hotel and B&B listings, etc. If my dream trip does become reality, this book will be my travel companion! And if the trip doesn't happen, it was still great fun to read and engage in many wistful what-ifs.

[Peter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Checked out 11 books to do research for a trip to England and Scotland. This is the only one we felt like we needed to bring with us.

[J.R. Dodson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Looking forward to using it sometime!

[round 2] : Rick’s weakness typically is hikes and nature-related stuff, but even that was excellent here. Well done all around. Helped plan a wonderful trip.

[Liviu · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent guide to Great Britain - featured all the places I planned to visit in my one week trip based in Edinburgh (Edinburgh itself, Liverpool, Hadrian's Wall, Glasgow, Loch Ness) as well as giving ideas for the one day trip I wasn't sure about (ended visiting The Kelpies and the Falkirk Wheel and taking a canal ride there, so after not taking a canal ride in Venice and Amsterdam, we did one in Scotland, as well as the upscale resort and university town St. Andrews on the North Sea);

as usual the guide is Rick Steves opinionated - though here I agreed with pretty much all his suggestions - and it offered lots of good choices for food places too; the tips for driving and parking in Britain were good too, though to be honest I've read them after I drove for a few days there, though they made me understand why one tended to go a little over the left edge of the road a few times before adjusting from driving on the right to driving on the left

Highly recommended and very useful - although our main focus was Scotland since we planned to go to Liverpool and Hadrian's Wall I chose this rather than the Scotland one and it worked well as it hit the high points there quite well

[Joanna S · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some notes:
- The practicalities section is short but quite good and has several useful tips for travel in the UK.
- Some of the prices are outdated! Some attractions/ buses cost more than what was listed. Also, this was not mentioned (at least I do not remember it being said) but there are student discounts at many places.
- I like the self-guided tours and the fun little stories/ facts included. I don't agree with all of the ratings that he gives attractions but finding them is a bit of a scavenger sometimes and usually fun.
- Having this book gets you a discount to a couple of attractions/ tours.
- Some info is repeated quite a few times (like his dislike of the London Dungeon).
- Using the index will help direct you to what you are looking for.
- Some places (Manchester, Birmingham, etc.) are completely omitted so check that the areas you will be in are represented (they most likely will be since the major tourist areas are covered).
- I felt there was some inconsistency in sections (the 'what to shop for' section was included for edinburg/ scotland but nowhere else that I only remember one underwhelming 'nightlife' section).

[Jenny]

After traveling to several countries in the last year, often when rushed for planning, I’m a Rick Steves fan with his lists and routes and especially his historical info so I can rattle off info to the rest of my family. This book was helpful but he left off the Peak District and Derbyshire, the cliffs of Dover and Oxford. He did have great info for Scotland, even in more rural areas and we especially loved the info about the hikes surrounding Glencoe, Scotland.

[Laurel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rick doesn’t cover everything, but is a valuable source for logistics that other books skip: where to use trains and buses or where a car is necessary, for example. Also an excellent planning source for travel times, what is nearby, local guides, etc.

[Cris · Rating 4 out of 5]

The information on the specific destinations wasn't very useful to me because I'm not interested in the type of places highlighted by Rick Steve. (i.e. Museums, art, etc. I'm more interested in natural spots.) But his section entitled "Practicalities" was very useful. I wish I'd read this before traveling to Scotland. He covers transportation (driving on rural roads is "shared as a cooperative adventure."), money, guidelines for sleep expectations, tipping, eating--all the day-to-day living practicalities that could differ between cultures.

[Stephanie Jackson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rick Steves books are always a great place to start when planning a trip. Just a solid amount of background information. With this information, you are able to specialize more in your research. This one seems to cover all the information we were specifically looking for in regards to Scotland and Northern England.

[Moira M. · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was honestly the main guide I used to plan my sister and my 2-week UK trip. It has hotel, food, tour, and general activity recommendations that helps shorten the Googling time. It’s such a good starting point to planning any vacation that I’d honestly say it’s a must-read for anyone traveling to the region.

[Megan Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rick Steves really loves money belts. 🤣
And his book includes nothing about Isle of Wight, and a meager quantity of non-Beatles related content about Liverpool. I did, however, enjoy the section of Wales.

[Shelly Brander · Rating 3 out of 5]

Used a few ideas

[Angie]

Lots of information to help plan, but I guess the real test of this book's merit will be when we actually take a trip!

[Timothy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A travel guide which will make you want to stop reading and book your next UK adventure!

[Julianne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rick Steves is always a practical starting point for planning trips!

[Alison · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent travel book by Rick Steves. So many practical tips. He is always our go-to for vacations.

[Erik Tolvstad · Rating 4 out of 5]

Comprehensive and well researched - as you would expect from Mr Steves. (almost overwhelmingly so)

[Joan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rick Steves provides some of the best travel information available. I appreciate his approach to bring a tourist without “being a tourist”!