On the Hippie Trail: Istanbul to Kathmandu and the Making of a Travel Writer
4.5 | 1,211 ratings
Price: 19.99
Last update: 05-10-2026
Product details
- Publisher : Rick Steves
- Publication date : April 21, 2026
- Edition : 1st
- Language : English
- Print length : 264 pages
- ISBN-10 : 1641717459
- ISBN-13 : 978-1641717458
- Item Weight : 14.8 ounces
- Dimensions : 5.55 x 0.67 x 8.5 inches
- Genre : Travelogue
- Best Sellers Rank:#6,017 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- Travelogues & Travel Essays
- Traveler & Explorer Biographies
- Memoirs (Books)
- Customer Reviews:4.54.5 out of 5 stars(1,211)
Top reviews from the United States
- Cynthia Willisgreat book- feel like I was thereThe infamous hippie trail! So interesting. I’ve heard about parts of this by people but nice to get a continuous story. I was out of high school and had heard stories of this area while backpacking in Europe. But this type of adventure was beyond me.
- salt_city_sueSurprise, surprise!Who knew the begining of Rick Steves travel adventures? This is an honest and charming tale for anyone who has used his classic, carefully written, thorough travel guides to Europe and other parts of the world. It was an unexpected story that parallels many people of the senior generation on how they first traveled to foreign lands with minimal $. It sparked some humor and lots of older times information, too. Highly recommended read.
- Paul A. KellyGreat personReally fun to read. He's great!
- R. SchmalzRick delivers! An entertaining, well-preserved, time capsuleI loved this book! Rick's writing style makes for an easy, entertaining, and often times hilarious read. As many have noted, the pictures are very good, a cut above the average tourist photo. Like several other reviewers, I was "in the area" around this time (Peace Corps Nepal 1977-78). The book rang true to me and brought back many memories. I especially like the fact that, although he is a beloved travel consultant to millions, he did not try to hide his "naughty side" (extending train rides beyond the paid-for destination, a cold war with wait staff at one hotel, smoking hashish a few times). It rings true because I was exactly the same at that age! I can heartily recommend this book.
- Llamaman85Wonderful retelling of a time that has slipped away.I really like the retelling of the coming of age trip taken by Rick Steves and his buddy...Gene Opensha in 1978. He kept a journal of the trip, then packed it away for 42 years. Like we do on occasion he found this journal in a box, and decided to turn it into a book. The book is narrated by Rick Steves with enthusiasm and excitement.
- Maurice SinnettThe Making of a great travelerThis is a great glimpse of the beginnings of one of the best travel writers of our times. A wonderful travelogue of a snapshot of times past.
- Ron WNot Marco Polo but Rick StevesNice insight into a traveler who has brought lots of joy to the public. Not The Travels of Marco Polo, but brings
back the nostalgia of traveling in a part of the world where few would go these days. - Leighton KuRemembrance of Things PastWhat a great treat Rick Steves has given us. I stayed up all night reading this. In this book, Rick Steves recounts his travel journal (and some great photos) from his Grand Journey thru Asia just after finishing college in the late 1970s. I'm about Steves' age and his book made me think fondly about my own low cost travels thru Asia (and Alaska) around that time. Like him -- and like many young people no matter the generation -- I wanted to discover the world beyond my regular environment and discover myself too. And though I too kept journals, I just don't have his keen eye, good socio-cultural skills or authorly craft. Thanks, Rick!