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Rating: ![1 stars](http://www.reviewfocus.com/images/stars-1-0.gif) Summary: Only one man's opinion Review: For my 20-day trip to Sweden and Denmark, I picked up several travel books (Lonely Planet Denmark and Scandinavia, Fodor's Scandinavia, Michelin the Green Guide Scandinavia Finland, Rick Steves' Scandinavia 2003 by Rick Steves, and Frommer's Scandinavia). Out of all of these books, the most consistent and most accurate are Michelin and Lonely Plant books.I tried hotels recommended by Frommer and Fodor and was very disappointed (mind you, these had stars next to the write-ups). I tried one restaurant recommended by Frommer (w/ a star) and got sick afterwards. Silly me, I tired another (w/ a star) to give another chance and the meal was very mediocre. Same deal with Fodor. Where as Lonely Planet just gave facts about hotels and was very pleased with how things turned out. Hotels and meals matched the expectation that the book gave, so no unpleasant surprises. I used the Lonely Planet Denmark book so much during the trip, I brought the Lonely Planet Scandinavia book in Denmark.... even though it was $...! It was well worth $.... As for Rick Steves, obviously, he only highlighted what he liked. There were some places that I loved in Sweden and Denmark that he suggest to skip. For my next trip, I'm only buying Lonely Planet and Michelin books.
Rating: ![5 stars](http://www.reviewfocus.com/images/stars-5-0.gif) Summary: Great book! Review: I found Rick Steves book very useful. We used it on our trip to Norway. Especially with directions to and fromplaces. The prices were very close and he had a lot of places to do and visit. We saw 2 other couples using this book as well.
Rating: ![5 stars](http://www.reviewfocus.com/images/stars-5-0.gif) Summary: Great book! Review: I found Rick Steves book very useful. We used it on our trip to Norway. Especially with directions to and fromplaces. The prices were very close and he had a lot of places to do and visit. We saw 2 other couples using this book as well.
Rating: ![5 stars](http://www.reviewfocus.com/images/stars-5-0.gif) Summary: Great travel guide...and resource too! Review: I was recently given a project on Sweden for school. I found this book extremely useful. Although I used it for Stockholm only, it gave me great tips. Rick Steves delivers hotels for every budget, great museums, restaurants, and outdoor activities. This book gives you the whole trip! Have fun in Scandanavia
Rating: ![3 stars](http://www.reviewfocus.com/images/stars-3-0.gif) Summary: What happened to the "back door"? Review: I've been looking into the viability of spending a month in Sweden and Finland next June and gave a quick flick through this guide at my local bookstore. It's not a terrible guide or anything like that, but I wondered what happened to Rick Steves' "back door" philosophy? For example, in the scrawny section on Finland, he treats the whole country as just a frozen footnote to Helsinki. Seriously, the only other attractions he mentions in Finland are Turku, Porvoo, and Naantali ("a cute medieval town with a quaint harbor"). That's it! No Lapland, no lakes, no nothing! As for Sweden and Norway, you can read about Stockholm, Oslo and the fjords (which are great places to visit, don't get me wrong, but come on, they're nothing like "Scandinavia off the beaten path"). This book has it's merits, especially if you just can't enough of capital cities and the usual gamut of churches, museums, and cafes. If you're not afraid to go out and explore rural Scandinavia (ooh... reindeer... shakin'!), check out Lonely Planet's great guide to "Scandinavian Europe", which covers all the attractions mentioned by Rick Steves in MUCH greater detail, plus loads more. It also includes Iceland.
Rating: ![3 stars](http://www.reviewfocus.com/images/stars-3-0.gif) Summary: What happened to the "back door"? Review: I've been looking into the viability of spending a month in Sweden and Finland next June and gave a quick flick through this guide at my local bookstore. It's not a terrible guide or anything like that, but I wondered what happened to Rick Steves' "back door" philosophy? For example, in the scrawny section on Finland, he treats the whole country as just a frozen footnote to Helsinki. Seriously, the only other attractions he mentions in Finland are Turku, Porvoo, and Naantali ("a cute medieval town with a quaint harbor"). That's it! No Lapland, no lakes, no nothing! As for Sweden and Norway, you can read about Stockholm, Oslo and the fjords (which are great places to visit, don't get me wrong, but come on, they're nothing like "Scandinavia off the beaten path"). This book has it's merits, especially if you just can't enough of capital cities and the usual gamut of churches, museums, and cafes. If you're not afraid to go out and explore rural Scandinavia (ooh... reindeer... shakin'!), check out Lonely Planet's great guide to "Scandinavian Europe", which covers all the attractions mentioned by Rick Steves in MUCH greater detail, plus loads more. It also includes Iceland.
Rating: ![5 stars](http://www.reviewfocus.com/images/stars-5-0.gif) Summary: Awesome book for 2 week trip. Review: Really good book! I took it on my 2 week trip through Denmark, Sweden and Norway this past summer. Although I didn't follow the trip that Steve lays out exactly- this book was nonetheless irrepaceable. Highlights: Mountain biking in Flam, Norway The island of Aero- Denmark Copenhagen tour, places to eat, etc. I would definitely recommend this for the traveler who doesn't want to spend a lot of money on the trip, but when they do, they want to make sure it's worth it. This book does a great job with very good write ups about all aspects of a city.
Rating: ![3 stars](http://www.reviewfocus.com/images/stars-3-0.gif) Summary: A good book, but not as good as other Rick Steves' guides Review: This book was very helpful in putting together basic itineraries for the Scandinavian countries. However the Lonely Planet book was more complete, and the maps are FAR superior. I actually needed both of them to "guide me" through this area. Sometimes, the Steves' guide provided me information that I could not find in the Lonely Planet guide and vice versa.
Rating: ![2 stars](http://www.reviewfocus.com/images/stars-2-0.gif) Summary: Not Rick's Best Review: While I usually love Rick Steves' books, won't leave home without one, and take nothing else, this book was a disappointment. The directions were very poor so we got lost even on his orientation walks (not generally a time you need a real city map). The accomodations listings were wanting. Though it said you could assume breakfast was included and credit cards were accepted unless otherwise mentioned, this never worked. We found no breakfasts at places that he didn't specifically describe them, and the places in Denmark he listed as taking credit cards only accepted Danish cc's. We found better meals for better prices than he recommended with very minimal effort. Scandanavia is so expensive that saving money (the primary RS claim) is critical, but not easy following this book's suggestions. This guide was so far below the normal RS standard, we were left wondering if RS actually had anything to do with it or if he has bitten off more than he can chew during his success and passed it off to less consciencous minions. The book was helpful on narrowing down what to see, so I would recommend checking it out; just don't rely on it exclusively.
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