Europe For Dummies
&
Unofficial Guides

The 'Dummies' travel guides – most notably Europe For Dummies - and their counterpart series, Unofficial Guides, are separate and unique alternatives to traditional Europe travel guides.

If you’re not familiar with these less-than-well-known travel series, the next time you're planning a trip to Europe, do yourself a favor and check them out.

Both series are published by the indisputable king of guide books: Frommers Travel. Yet each brings a distinctive approach to both global and European travel.

And each provides a niche travel narrative not found find in more mainstream Europe guidebooks.

Now in its 6th edition, Europe For Dummies continues to be a top contender as a popular travel guide: clearly presented, concisely written, and always up to date.

If you're familiar with the regular series of Dummies' book topics, you already know they're the CliffsNotes for real world learning.

As a travel guidebook, Europe For Dummies is no different.

It's a factual, collective effort by a dozen or so contributors, topped by tips and suggestions from the Frommer's publishing empire.

Written with the lighthearted delivery Dummies books are known for, this Europe guidebook presents in short order what you need to know for travel in Europe.

Europe For Dummies covers issues like when and where to go on the Continent and the sights and attractions to include when you visit.

It provides focused suggestions for where to eat and where to sleep with a range of costs for each.

A detailed index makes it easy to zero in on your topic of interest, whether it's managing your travel money or booking air and hotels.

At around 600 pages, it's an in-depth volume covering the best of the British Isles and most of the countries of Western, Central, and Mediterranean Europe.

Perhaps the most sought-after material included in Europe For Dummies is the chapters at the end of the book that let you know the authors have not only been there, they've seen and done what they write about.

Tagged the Part of Tens, the final three chapters give you specific recommen-dations for

• The Ten Most Overrated European Sights [don’t waste your time or money];
• The Ten Most Overlooked Gems [sights you must include in your Europe itinerary];  and
• Ten Ways To Break Away From the Tourist Mold [how to experience Europe like a local].

Being a CliffsNotes type of European guide, there are even cheat sheets with color maps to take along as reference, when you're traveling.

While the Dummies guides are not especially colorful or filled with stunning photographs, as a basic primer on how to travel Europe, they're a solid choice for both novice travelers learning the ropes and more seasoned travelers looking for a factual, no-frills Europe guidebook.

In addition to Europe For Dummies, there are a limited number of Dummies guides for specific European destinations. Among them are    

• City guides for London, Paris, and Rome
• Country guides for England, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Scotland, Spain.

Most are available for download only.

Unofficial Guides

For travelers familiar with the Unofficial Guides to anywhere, this popular and successful travel book series can also be found under the umbrella of Frommers Travel. 

Discovered by savvy travelers years ago with the first of its kind: the Unofficial Guide To Disney World, this tell it like it is series now includes a few destinations in Europe.  Amazon offers these no-hype guides for London, Paris, England, Ireland, and Italy, most for download only.

Unofficial Guides give you the 'true skinny' on what to see, where to stay, where to eat, and what to do, based on critiques, surveys, and input by readers. 

Attractions, hotels, restaurants and sights of interest are reviewed for multiple price categories. Information on shopping, local sporting events, and nightlife venues, is also included.

The results are compiled by an unbiased team of reviewers for publishing.

Europe For Dummies and Unofficial Guides each provide a different approach to travel planning, and each has a dedicated following.

Based on their popularity, it's clear that travelers in the know seek them out.

You won’t find a lot of Europe destinations in either series, but if you do, it will quickly become your go-to guide.

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For more info on choosing the best Europe travel guide, see:

Choosing A Good Travel Guidebook Over A Mediocre One, and

Which Travel Guide For Europe Is Best?

Return  to Best Travel Guides

 

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