How I Built This with Guy Raz Rick Steves' Europe: Rick Steves (2021)
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Jul 7, 2025 
Rick Steves, a renowned travel writer and TV host, shares his adventures from backpacking in Europe on two dollars a day to building a $120 million travel empire. He discusses the importance of affordable travel and how he successfully turned free content into a loyal audience. Steves reflects on the evolution of travel media, his transition from selling guidebooks to producing TV shows, and his personal journey with health awareness. His passion for sharing authentic experiences remains central to his mission in the travel industry.
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Rick's Frugal Europe Backpacking
- Rick Steves traveled Europe at 18 on less than $3 a day, living frugally and often sleeping on floors.
- He sneakily entered sights, stretched every penny, and ate mostly bread and jam, highlighting teenage resourcefulness on a budget.
Class to Guidebook Evolution
- Rick started teaching a class called Travel Europe Cheap while in college, which unexpectedly attracted mostly parents.
- He used the class lectures to create his first self-published guidebook Europe Through the Back Door.
Minibus Tours and Guidebook Link
- Rick led minibus tours in Europe, driving and guiding small groups himself to keep costs low.
- He provided handbooks so tourists could also travel independently, even encouraging them to use his information without him.
