Rick Steves Snapshot Kraków, Warsaw & Gdansk

Excellent guide and small enough to carry while walking around.

Another decent guide book from this author. Detailed. Comprehensive. Not dated yet.

Knowing that the content is from travel experts, I don't expect a lot of surprises when we make it to Poland.

I started purchasing Rick Steves books a few years back before I'd travel out of the country. I enjoy read up on where I'm heading to and he gives great suggestions of what to see in a short time period. I take the books along on the trips and I've visited some of the coolest places due to his recommendations. I was between visiting Switzerland and Poland this upcoming summer. Once I read through his books, it was an easy decision for me. Switzerland's scenery sounded amazing, but it would involve a lot of hiking and having a rental car. Krakow, Poland, won, since we can stay close to the majority of the areas we want to visit and not need to worry about driving in a foreign country.

The nation of Poland has long occupied an insecure location in Europe. Historically, it has been surrounded by hostile larger states and periodically overrun, most recently by Soviet Communists at the end of World War II. Today, Poland is a part of the new Central Europe. A surprising mixture of old and new awaits the visitor. This new Rick Steves Snapshot guidebook has the details. The guide focuses on three locations, the ancient city of Krakow, the oft destroyed and as often rebuilt Polish capital of Warsaw, and the classic Baltic port of Gdansk, the start point of Poland's most recent liberation. The guidebook offers detailed instructions on where to go, how to get there, and what to see. For example, tours of the Auschwitz, the infamous Nazi concentration camp, requires advance planning and advance tickets. As with other Rick Steves guides, read the whole book before committing time and money to a trip. There are lots of tips on where to stay, what to eat, and how to enjoy the sights. The book includes a nice collection of photographs, maps, and diagrams of particular sites of interest. Well recommended to the enterprising traveler.

I have used Rick Steve’s books throughout Europe. This is an excellent companion for traveling in Poland without a guide. Excellent advice.

I like Steve. He lives in the next town and is very active locally. His guides are full of humor and are good, comprehensive sources of both practical and off-beat information. I plan on a trip to Poland in the Spring and this guide will accompany me. -Jim

I bought this as a gift for a relative traveling to this destination. He was very pleased with it.