From the Publisher
"[On the Hippie Trail] is an inspiring read, full of the joy of adventure and discovery."—Lulu Garcia-Navarro, The New York Times
"The travel guru with an empire that includes loads of bestselling guide books and a small-group tour company was once a scruffy young man with a thirst for adventure, no money and no clue what he was doing when he set off in 1978 with a friend to complete the legendary Hippie Trail, a trek through Turkey, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India and Nepal. This is his journal from that heady, rough trip — full of mishaps and excitement."—AARP
“Known for decades for amiable PBS travelogues, Steves shows that the young longhair is the father of the man: All of his evenhandedness, generosity, and curiosity are in evidence from the minute he jumps his first train from Frankfurt to Yugoslavia… A pleasure for travel buffs, especially those who once plied the Hippie Trail—or wish they had.”
—Kirkus Reviews
“If On the Hippie Trail has a lesson, it’s as simple as this: Rick Steves had the time of his life… The guy can really write… Perhaps On the Hippie Trail will prove to more readers that Steves has always possessed that talent for observation and description, even when he was writing only for himself.”—Slate
Library Journal
01/01/2025
Popular and prolific travel guide author Steves resurrects his travel journal from 1978, when he and his friend Gene Openshaw decide to backpack along an overland trek called the Hippie Trail that became a well-worn route during the 1960s. It traces the Silk Road from Europe to Istanbul, Turkey, Iran, Afghanistan, India, and Nepal and ends in Kathmandu. Steves's journal is condensed and finessed. The author was 23 at the time of writing and displays some of the cultural insensitivity of his age. He writes, for example, about a time he photographed a cremation ritual in India, which upset local people. Readers may see some of Steves's assumptions throughout the book as examples of white male entitlement, whereas others may admire his candor. A highlight of the book is his raw, sensory impressions. VERDICT Steves's journal offers a window into time, before travel through the greater Middle East became vastly more complicated. Recommended for Steves's fans and armchair travelers.—Barrie Olmstead
JANUARY 2025 - AudioFile
In 1978, Rick Steves left his job teaching piano lessons to set out on the legendary Hippie Trail. Starting in Europe, Steves and his friend Gene left the "wading pool of European travel" (as he puts it) to visit old friends in Bulgaria and then embark on an epic journey from Istanbul to Kathmandu. Steves's trademark enthusiasm and joie de vivre are on full display as he recounts his 23-year-old self's awe at seeing Turkey, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, and Nepal. Steves notes that shortly after this trip, and to the present day, several of these countries became regarded as unsafe for travel due to political upheaval. Nevertheless, he advocates continuing to travel where possible to quash ethnocentrism and make friends. S.E.G. © AudioFile 2025, Portland, Maine