Paris tour April 2022

Hi, Maureen,
This forum is populated mostly by travelers such as yourself, rather than Rick Steves staff. There’s a blue bar at the bottom of this page with a ‘contact us’ feature, which you can use to ask your questions of the staff. Best wishes for your travels with your granddaughter!

It appears that RS does continue to offer a discount for first passports. See link and scroll down to discounts.

https://www.ricksteves.com/travel-help/tours-faq

The tours for the next year usually appeared in July/August time frame.

What might occur in the current circumstances is hard to predict.

In July start checking.

From the page Rocket cited:

First Passport: If you've never been issued a US passport, Rick will deduct your $145 passport cost ($115 for minors) from your tour balance (discount must be requested prior to making final tour payment). After booking your tour, send us copies of your receipts for both the application fee and the execution fee, dated within 12 months of your Rick Steves tour departure.

I'd still call the company and check, though. Some of the information on that page is outdated.

The Paris city tour is great, by the way. It's a wonderful introduction to what many consider the most beautiful city in the world. Lots of sights shared, lots of free time.

Since you’re investing in two international airfares, please consider spending some additional time in France before and/or after the tour. Perhaps a visit to Chartres, Giverny or Bayeux would enhance your experience.

I would not be surprised if many tours next year sell out quickly because of pent-up demand. My advice would be to sign up for the tour of your choice at your earliest convenience. I’ve taken the Best of Paris tour twice and loved it! 😁

I'll just add a vote to your taking this tour. What a FUN time for you and your granddaughter! I'd definitely add a few nights ahead of the tour to adjust to jet lag- at least arrive the day before if you can't do 2 days before. You'll both enjoy it more if you are not falling asleep at the first nights' dinner, lol!

April is an awesome time to visit Paris, btw. I'd make sure you both have waterproof jackets with hoods and shoes you can walk miles and miles in!

The only downside to this tour is that it made me love Paris and now I can't stay away, lolol!!

Have fun!

Good for you! Traveling with your granddaughter to Paris will enhance your relationship and I know you both will have fun.

My granddaughter and I visited Paris together 3 years ago when she was 10 and had a blast. If interested, my trip report is here:

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/paris-for-one-week-with-granddaughter-loved-it

That is really cool that he underwrites passports! Be aware that the passport agency is running REALLY slow, not because of lots of travel but because of COVID. Allow plenty of time for processing, my wife just did a renewal and it went well but did in fact take a while. You'll also need time to collect documents they need and get the legal photo.

I want to thank all of you for your thoughts and suggestions🙌 I’ll seriously consider arriving several days before tour due to length of air travel! I appreciate the additional blog read and passport info.
Many thanks, Maureen

I'm not surprised that Pam chimed in; I'm only surprised it took her so long!

Maureen, do plan to arrive at least two days early. The day you arrive will be a whirl of landing, making your way to the hotel, checking in, unpacking, making that first foray into the streets of Paris, finding supplies and dinner .... And when the first burst of excitement wears off, you (and your granddaughter) will be exhausted!

I would also urge you stay add a few days (at least) on the end of the tour. By then you will know how to use the Metro, you'll know what places you want to visit (or revisit,) and it's great to take what you know and apply it on your own time. Besides, given the pace of some of the RS tours, you will be ready to slow down a bit and make your own schedule.

We're hoping to return to France next year - we were supposed to have gone this year but, well... you know.

"I'm not surprised that Pam chimed in; I'm only surprised it took her so long!"

Hahaha, Jane! I'm trying to limit my time on the computer by not getting on in the evenings!

I'll also add to Maureen, the forum members can also give you advice about getting into town from the airport and based on what hotel your tour is staying in, a few things to do on your days ahead that are not on the tour itself. This tour does have free time so to me it's good to have in mind what you can do during those time periods so you don't have to hem and haw around trying to figure out your next move.

You might want to check with the office but I believe when we did a tour as a family a number of years ago that one of my nephews had already started the process for a passport before we signed up for the trip. He did get reimbursement from the office since it was his first passport even though he'd started the process ahead of time.