Miles/Day When Sightseeing

You will be fine if you are walking that much per day.

Yeah 5 miles/day sounds good, or 10,000 steps. For us it's not just the mileage but being on your feet a lot, which of course is very healthy actually.

The better in shape you are prior to your trip, the less exhausted you will feel at the end of the day. I go to the gym (walk on treadmill) and do several miles, 4-5 days a week. Several weeks before a trip, I add some mileage!

The expected miles per day is on the first page of each tour. It's on the right under activity level.

Although it's running lower on my current trip (I wear a pedometer), I think my earlier trips averaged over 7 miles per day if I excluded days on which I changed hotels. I prefer walking to city buses but do occasionally use subways and, rarely, buses. What keeps my numbers down is that I go to a lot of museums and tend to spend a lot of time in them so I'm on my feet but not walking much during large chunks of time. I have occasional days in the 10- to 12-mile range. I'm not on an exercise program at home (though I should be), but I don't own a car and walk to destinations that are 2 or (less often) 3 miles away.

Terrain matters, too. I'm in Kiev at the moment, and it's rather hilly. I was thinking today, as I plodded up a hill, that it is a good thing I didn't start the trip in Kiev. By the time I got here I was in better shape than when I left home.

You're going to be with 3 other couples. It sounds like you're covered regarding walking. I walk 5-7 miles per day so that isn't a concern either. What IS a concern when I travel is how much STANDING I might be doing more than I'm accustomed to doing at home. You might be on long line at immigration, security, etc. You might be in a museum and do a lot of standing as you look at artwork that grabs your attention. You might be on your feet standing or moving slowly as you go shopping. If you go on a tour of a palace/castle or church, you might be doing a lot of standing as you listen to the tour guide/docent. So for me, the "training" is getting used to standing.

Which tour are you considering? Some are more active than others. I generally like to extend my training mileage one day a week - so I’d work up to 7 miles one day a week and keep your other days at 10,000. There are a number of plans to help you increase mileage. I generally use the model I used when I used to jog back in the last century, lol. That was to add 10% a week to your base miles or time.

As mentioned, the better shape you are in, the more you will enjoy your trip!!

I recommend you add in stairs and/or hills one day a week as well!!

I just finished the Villages of Southern England trip and my highest mileage day was right around 8 miles. I did the 21 day Best of Europe a few years ago and my highest mileage was a couple of days at 10-12 miles (Amsterdam and Rome). I’m currently on Best of Scotland and my highest days have been 7.5+ miles. I also hate to miss anything!!

I kept track of my mileage on my last RS tour (best of Scandinavia) and it ranged from 3-12 miles per day. On my last trip to Paris, I had a 10 mile day.

It also depends on how active you will be during your free time.

Stairs...depending on where you're going, but yes often a lot of standing.