The ugly tourist (and how not to be one) by Rick Steves

[Giantfan13]

https://www.msn.com/en-us/travel/news/the-ugly-tourist-and-how-not-to-be-one/ar-BBMHxNl?ocid=spartanntp

 

Saw this online today and thought it might make a good read for anyone going to Europe.

 

Cheers

Len

Edited September 2, 2018 by Giantfan13

[jean87510]

I find articles like that smug and condescending. Americans that arent retired dont have the vacation time Europeans do to casually stroll about a city. And most of those do nots were really petty. Imagine if I were to write and publish articles about European tourists in my area outside Philadelphia and Atlantic city that said how not to be the ugly tourist. I've seen quite a few Europeans doing selfies at the liberty bell and on the art museum steps.

 

Sent from my SM-G955U using Forums mobile app

[LondonTowner]

More silly rubbish from the person that gets so many things wrong. Either he doesn’t travel anywhere or does it with his eyes closed whilst wearing ear plugs.

 

Has he not seen the huge European invasion by Noisy Asians with selfie sticks.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[cruisemom42]

More silly rubbish from the person that gets so many things wrong. Either he doesn’t travel anywhere or does it with his eyes closed whilst wearing ear plugs.

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

 

You've made it clear previously that you don't like Rick. I agree he can come across as smug or pompous but his intention is good -- he has done more than any other person to get Americans off those 50-person buses and the "if it's Tuesday it must be Belgium" tours and provide them with the 'instructions' and encouragement to explore Europe on their own. For that alone I give him a great deal of credit.

 

Also, you've repeatedly mentioned that his books 'get things wrong' without ever offering any examples. I'm a very fact-based person and have been known to ding local guides for telling fairy stories rather than providing facts. Rick doesn't write all those books alone -- he usually engages one or more of the best local guides in whatever country is the subject of the book to assist in selecting what should be covered, to travel with him, and to help write and review the text. (And he spends a good amount of time 'in country'.)

 

Most of the books of his that I've used are very factual and useful -- if a bit on the elementary side for me now. Still, there is no other single guide book that provides as much useful basic information for do-it-yourself types including museum walk-throughs, city walks (I'll grant you his hand-drawn maps are not always the clearest), and suggestions of neighborhoods to stay in.

 

If you have specific examples of his errors, I'd really like to hear them. :confused:

[Gracie115]

I also have found Rick Steves books helpful and accurate. I have no doubt there are errors in them as they are pretty comprehensive about whatever area they are covering.

 

and he is SO right about the epidemic of "selfie" sticks.....having been walked into by an offender on more than one occasion...please put them down and look at what is around you...it's so much better live than on a cell phone/computer later....

[wdwcoltsfan]

My husband and I have done the 21 day Best of Europe tour through Rick Steves and I have several more I would like to do. I have more of his books than I care to admit. However, when this type of article comes out I think it exposes a little of how disconnected he can be with how most Americans are able to travel.

 

 

 

For our RS tour, we traveled on a 50 person bus through 6 countries in 21 days. Now, the bus wasn't filled as there were only 28 of us. We moved from city to city seeing the "must sees" of each area and taking pictures. We took group pictures throughout Europe and it was always at the suggestion of our tour guide. Our guide would also let us know when great picture opportunities were coming up. I have two scrapbooks of photos from a wonderful trip. I have many memories, but sadly memories do fade and I love looking back at our once in a lifetime trip.

 

 

One of the things we received in our tour kit was a money belt. Very similar idea to the "kangaroo pouch," but it goes inside your pants. The thought was to keep everything safe and away from pickpockets. I think it's disingenuous to remark about people trying to keep their personal belongings safe in cities that are know for petty theft.

 

 

It also doesn't seem realistic for people who have 10 days to 2 weeks in Europe to not move about and see the sights. Yes, it is awesome to be able to sit back and soak it all in, but when on a limited time schedule, it just isn't always that possible. It seems he forgets he spends months in Europe every year. I stop taking pictures and visiting tourist sites when I have visited an area multiple times, but I would never expect a first timer not to partake in those things.

 

 

 

Some of his thoughts may be on point, but I don't think they always come across well.

 

 

 

A word about his books. I recently purchased his Mediterranean Cruise Ports book because we just booked a cruise to that area. Sadly, Genoa(Genova), Santa Margherita, Portofino, Corsica and Palma de Mallorca are not included. Those are all areas we hope to visit with Genoa, Ajaccio and Palma de Mallorca being our ports. He may not be interested in those areas so chose not to include them, but they are very common ports of call for Western Med cruises. I now have ordered Fodors to fill in the blanks. I have found if his tours go there, his books are great. If they don't visit those areas, it can be hit or miss if they are included in his guidebooks.

 

 

Rachel

Edited September 2, 2018 by wdwcoltsfan

[cruisemom42]

A word about his books. I recently purchased his Mediterranean Cruise Ports book because we just booked a cruise to that area. Sadly, Genoa(Genova), Santa Margherita, Portofino, Corsica and Palma de Mallorca are not included. Those are all areas we hope to visit with Genoa, Ajaccio and Palma de Mallorca being our ports. He may not be interested in those areas so chose not to include them, but they are very common ports of call for Western Med cruises.

 

 

Rachel

 

I can't say I agree that the ports you list (and Steves omitted) are "very common ports". I did a quick search, using a great tool available on an online vacation seller's website and it appears far fewer ships call at these ports than, say, Livorno, Civitavecchia, Naples, Barcelona, Monte Carlo, various ports in Sicily, or even Valletta, which seems to make it onto quite a few itineraries.

 

The Med cruise ports book is already huge. I'm sure that he and his editor had to make choices regarding what to include vs. what to leave out and I'd guess these ports just don't receive the same number of visitors.

[DrivesLikeMario]

Although he does have some good information, I just can't stand Rick Steves either. So relieved to hear I'm not the only one.

 

IMHO, he's a total dork. I guess he's tolerable if you're older, are new to traveling, are scared to travel or want to travel on the cheap. I despise the way he forces himself on locals and pushes his way into their life. You can tell he makes many of them uncomfortable. He grabs at food in the markets and then doesn't even offer to pay for what he takes.

 

He must think that he looks cool by slinging his backpack over one shoulder. He does it EVERY episode. :')

[Giantfan13]

I just posted the article because I found it to be very enlightening and has several of the things we try and do when we tour outside of the USA.

We did a Baltic cruise several years ago and we made it a point to have money from whatever countries we would be visiting, to use and spend. We wanted it to be the entire experience and to interact with the locals and show them you are trying to be part of their system, was great for us.

When we returned, I posted our travels and how we did it on the Baltic Board and several people replied "Why bother, EVERYONE accepts the US dollar. It makes it so much easier'.

If that is the way some want to travel, fine, but it really wasn't the way we wanted to do things and I, personally, felt it just adds to the way many people view Americans.

Anyway, that's just us, and to each his own.

 

Cheers

Len

[LondonTowner]

You've made it clear previously that you don't like Rick. I agree he can come across as smug or pompous but his intention is good -- he has done more than any other person to get Americans off those 50-person buses and the "if it's Tuesday it must be Belgium" tours and provide them with the 'instructions' and encouragement to explore Europe on their own. For that alone I give him a great deal of credit.

 

 

 

Also, you've repeatedly mentioned that his books 'get things wrong' without ever offering any examples. I'm a very fact-based person and have been known to ding local guides for telling fairy stories rather than providing facts. Rick doesn't write all those books alone -- he usually engages one or more of the best local guides in whatever country is the subject of the book to assist in selecting what should be covered, to travel with him, and to help write and review the text. (And he spends a good amount of time 'in country'.)

 

 

 

Most of the books of his that I've used are very factual and useful -- if a bit on the elementary side for me now. Still, there is no other single guide book that provides as much useful basic information for do-it-yourself types including museum walk-throughs, city walks (I'll grant you his hand-drawn maps are not always the clearest), and suggestions of neighborhoods to stay in.

 

 

 

If you have specific examples of his errors, I'd really like to hear them. :confused:

 

 

 

Well, I really wouldn’t bother in reading his books, but have watched the majority of his videos as I have either visited or worked in many of the areas he covers. He says things that are incorrect and really does need to brush up on his pronunciation of many words or just not say them in a foreign language.

 

He is also demeaning in many of his comments. Have a search on Tripadvisor especially on the London, Paris and Rome forums and many of his mistakes are pointed out. When I have time Togo through the videos again I will make a note of them.

 

With regards to the article posted here, it’s not just Americans that herd together on organised tours. Has he never seen groups of Chinese, Japanese, French, Germans, Brits et al. He needs to open his eyes.

 

Many people take these tours for convenience, or because they don’t feel confident going alone.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[LondonTowner]

My husband and I have done the 21 day Best of Europe tour through Rick Steves and I have several more I would like to do. I have more of his books than I care to admit. However, when this type of article comes out I think it exposes a little of how disconnected he can be with how most Americans are able to travel.

 

 

 

For our RS tour, we traveled on a 50 person bus through 6 countries in 21 days. Now, the bus wasn't filled as there were only 28 of us. We moved from city to city seeing the "must sees" of each area and taking pictures. We took group pictures throughout Europe and it was always at the suggestion of our tour guide. Our guide would also let us know when great picture opportunities were coming up. I have two scrapbooks of photos from a wonderful trip. I have many memories, but sadly memories do fade and I love looking back at our once in a lifetime trip.

 

 

One of the things we received in our tour kit was a money belt. Very similar idea to the "kangaroo pouch," but it goes inside your pants. The thought was to keep everything safe and away from pickpockets. I think it's disingenuous to remark about people trying to keep their personal belongings safe in cities that are know for petty theft.

 

 

It also doesn't seem realistic for people who have 10 days to 2 weeks in Europe to not move about and see the sights. Yes, it is awesome to be able to sit back and soak it all in, but when on a limited time schedule, it just isn't always that possible. It seems he forgets he spends months in Europe every year. I stop taking pictures and visiting tourist sites when I have visited an area multiple times, but I would never expect a first timer not to partake in those things.

 

 

 

Some of his thoughts may be on point, but I don't think they always come across well.

 

 

 

A word about his books. I recently purchased his Mediterranean Cruise Ports book because we just booked a cruise to that area. Sadly, Genoa(Genova), Santa Margherita, Portofino, Corsica and Palma de Mallorca are not included. Those are all areas we hope to visit with Genoa, Ajaccio and Palma de Mallorca being our ports. He may not be interested in those areas so chose not to include them, but they are very common ports of call for Western Med cruises. I now have ordered Fodors to fill in the blanks. I have found if his tours go there, his books are great. If they don't visit those areas, it can be hit or miss if they are included in his guidebooks.

 

 

Rachel

 

 

 

Those ports of call are very popular with Europeans. I’ve visited all those places except Corsica on land holidays. With a bit of luck he won’t include them, so hordes of people will avoid.

 

A few years ago we stayed in Rapallo in that area and visited Cinque Terre. It was practically deserted, but now is overrun by cruise visitors.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[LondonTowner]

I just posted the article because I found it to be very enlightening and has several of the things we try and do when we tour outside of the USA.

 

We did a Baltic cruise several years ago and we made it a point to have money from whatever countries we would be visiting, to use and spend. We wanted it to be the entire experience and to interact with the locals and show them you are trying to be part of their system, was great for us.

 

When we returned, I posted our travels and how we did it on the Baltic Board and several people replied "Why bother, EVERYONE accepts the US dollar. It makes it so much easier'.

 

If that is the way some want to travel, fine, but it really wasn't the way we wanted to do things and I, personally, felt it just adds to the way many people view Americans.

 

Anyway, that's just us, and to each his own.

 

 

 

 

Cheers

 

Len

 

 

 

We have visited the Baltic twice. The last time being this July. Neither time did we take different currencies as many places are becoming cashless. We often visit the Eurozone, so always have a supply of Euros. In addition we have 3 CCs that don’t make charges for foreign transactions.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[senorbanda]

I just posted the article because I found it to be very enlightening and has several of the things we try and do when we tour outside of the USA.

We did a Baltic cruise several years ago and we made it a point to have money from whatever countries we would be visiting, to use and spend. We wanted it to be the entire experience and to interact with the locals and show them you are trying to be part of their system, was great for us.

When we returned, I posted our travels and how we did it on the Baltic Board and several people replied "Why bother, EVERYONE accepts the US dollar. It makes it so much easier'.

If that is the way some want to travel, fine, but it really wasn't the way we wanted to do things and I, personally, felt it just adds to the way many people view Americans.

Anyway, that's just us, and to each his own.

 

 

Cheers

Len

 

Thank you Giantfan13. It was an interesting article to read and I appreciate it. Don't worry about naysayers because "haters gonna hate". I have had the pleasure of attending a couple of his travel talks and meeting him in person. He is a very personable fella. Enjoy your trips to Europe!

[ab21au]

I can't say I agree that the ports you list (and Steves omitted) are "very common ports".

 

They are common ports for the smaller ships.

 

I did a quick search, using a great tool available on an online vacation seller's website and it appears far fewer ships call at these ports than, say, Livorno, Civitavecchia, Naples, Barcelona, Monte Carlo, various ports in Sicily, or even Valletta, which seems to make it onto quite a few itineraries.

 

Obviously all the ships go to these ports, particularly the large ships, they are major ports. Some cruises skip straight from say Civitavecchi to Monte Carlo without stopping at ports like Portovenere/La Spezia or Santa Margherita etc which is good for us as they could not cope with the number of tourists from the large ships.

[Alaskanb]

I find articles like that smug and condescending. Americans that arent retired dont have the vacation time Europeans do to casually stroll about a city. And most of those do nots were really petty.

 

Sent from my SM-G955U using Forums mobile app

So agree. To use the word "ugly" in relationship to an item is one thing but to use it for a person crossed the line for me.

[cruisemom42]

They are common ports for the smaller ships.

 

 

Eight of my ten Med cruises have been on ships that carry 350 passengers max, and I have not repeated an itinerary, although I have repeated some ports. I haven't called at any of those stops.

 

Are they on itineraries? Certainly. Common? I'm not convinced.

[cruisemom42]

So agree. To use the word "ugly" in relationship to an item is one thing but to use it for a person crossed the line for me.

 

Steves is far from the originator of the phrase. It was the title of a book published in 1958 and later made into a movie -- although the focus was slightly different, the idea of being a culturally-inappropriate traveler was and is the same.

 

If you Google the phrase you'll find all kinds of references and articles written for travel magazines from that point in time until now....

 

Actually, when you think of it, Mark Twain in "Innocents Abroad" also broadly parodied American behavior when traveling abroad. The difference is that Twain used humor instead of being preachy about it.

[NancyW12]

I am an unapologetic Rick Steves enthusiast- let me tell you why.

 

13 years ago when I took my first overseas trip with my brand new passport (London and Paris because they spoke English in London and I could only jump off the cliff so far/Paris because London was so expensive we hopped the Chunnel train and went), I found his books to be simple and easy to understand. They were written in a way that gave a very novice traveler the confidence to try. Sure- the maps are goofy. Sure- everything costs 25% more than what is listed. Sure- Rick's idea of an inexpensive hotel and mine are worlds apart. But, his book gave me the confidence to go.

 

13 years later, I have traveled to 4 continents, taken many solo trips including Machu Picchu, and I still buy his books. I use his walking audio tours. And I spend a lot less money. I enjoy the ability to travel on a local level and engage in basic human interaction- the ability to share a vaporetto with a group of nuns in Venice, a chance encounter on a local Italian train that resulted in a 15 minute a capella performance of La Boehme, the experience of being on a bus in Naples when the transit police got on and watching my bus babysitter (appointed by the Neapolitans at the original stop to make sure I got off at the right place) get a ticket for fare jumping. None of those experiences could be planned or purchased with a private guide or a ship's tour. Sometimes, you just have to do it yourself and Rick Steves does an amazing job of that.

 

Is he perfect? Nope. But he got me going places and I don't take that lightly.

[tanyaewa]

Thanks for posting the link - Len

 

I think a lot of things he says are spot on.

Perhaps some Americans don't like the mirror held up to look at their behaviour and how they are perceived by the rest of the world.

It's always a great idea to practice self-awareness

[Priya2]

One thing I never understood is "noisy Americans" REally?Noisy? Did he ever saw Spanish or Italians or Chinese tourists? :rolleyes: .

With respect (genuinely), of course many, probably most, American tourists are no noisier than any other nationality. However, there is definitely a sub-group of American tourists who talk very loudly, often bragging about what they own, do for a living or have done - “we’ve done 53 cruises” anyone? That may matter to them, but generally, no one else cares!

[senorbanda]

With respect (genuinely), of course many, probably most, American tourists are no noisier than any other nationality. However, there is definitely a sub-group of American tourists who talk very loudly, often bragging about what they own, do for a living or have done - “we’ve done 53 cruises” anyone? That may matter to them, but generally, no one else cares!

 

Unfortunately, I too have come across a few of these folks on land and sea. DW and I just had a discussion about a similar topic the other day. We always try to be respectful and gracious at home and away.