Rick Steves Best of Ireland (Fourth Edition)

”…he’s become the unofficial guide for entire generations of North American travelers, beloved for his earnest attitude and dad jeans.“–Outside Magazine”[Rick Steves] laces his guides with short and vivid histories and a scholar’s appreciation for Renaissance art yet knows the best place to start an early tapas crawl in Madrid if you have kids. His clear, hand-drawn maps are Pentagon-worthy; his hints about how to go directly to the best stuff at the Uffizi, avoid the crowds at Versailles and save money everywhere are guilt-free.“–TIME Magazine“Every country-specific travel guidebook from the Rick Steves publishing empire can be counted upon for clear organization, specificity and timeliness.”–Society of American Travel Writers“His guidebooks are approachable, silly, and even subtly provocative in their insistence that Americans show respect for the people and places they are visiting and not the other way around.”–The New Yorker“Pick the best accommodations and restaurants from Rick Steves…and a traveler searching for good values will seldom go wrong or be blindsided.”–NBC News“Steves is a walking, talking European encyclopedia who yearns to inspire Americans to venture ‘beyond Orlando.’”–Forbes“Steves is an absolute master at unlocking the hidden gems of the world’s greatest cities, towns, and monuments.”–USA Today“The country’s foremost expert in European travel for Americans.”–Forbes“Travel, to Steves, is not some frivolous luxury–it is an engine for improving humankind, for connecting people and removing their prejudices, for knocking distant cultures together to make unlikely sparks of joy and insight. Given that millions of people have encountered the work of Steves over the last 40 years, on TV or online or in his guidebooks, and that they have carried those lessons to untold other millions of people, it is fair to say that his life’s work has had a real effect on the collective life of our planet.”–The New York Times Magazine

Rick Steves has spent about four months a year exploring Europe since 1973. His mission: to empower Americans to have European trips that are fun, affordable, and culturally broadening. Rick produces a best-selling guidebook series, a public television series, and a public radio show, and organizes small-group tours that take over 30,000 travellers to Europe annually. He does all of this with the help of more than 100 well-travelled staff members at Rick Steves’ Europe in Edmonds, WA (near Seattle). When not on the road, Rick is active in his church and with advocacy groups focused on economic and social justice, drug policy reform, and ending hunger. To recharge, Rick plays piano, relaxes at his family cabin in the Cascade Mountains, and spends time with his son Andy and daughter Jackie.

Pat O’Connor, an Irish-American, first journeyed to Ireland in 1981 and was hooked by the history and passion of the feisty Irish culture. Frequent return visits led to his partnership with Rick, his work as a tour guide for Rick Steves’ Europe, and co-authorship of this book. Pat, who loves all things Hibernian except black pudding, thrives on the adventures that occur as he slogs the bogs and drives the Irish back lanes (over 2,000 kilometers annually) in search of new discoveries.