2022 tours up

That’s interesting because during his MNT show he indicated that people who showed an interest in 2021 tours would be called and given first dibs.

We’re also adding posts to the other 2022 Tours thread. We’re all so excited. Have a great trip (or 2)!

I signed up and paid for a private room on the first Scandinavia tour. So excited to be travel planning again.

RS has “silently” posted the tours in previous years and then he announces them officially. I noticed all the 2021 tours have been removed.

Woo Hoo! You’ve broken the story, Barbara!

Looks like they’re taking reservations for March 2022 on Italy tours. Maybe they’re still working on the hoopla and fanfare, and meanwhile, maybe a more restrained approach, easing out of a pandemic hibernation. The May Travel News and Rick’s Homepage still talk about things potentially opening soon, but this seems to be a definite new development.

Your post prompted me to go back to the Homepage, where I discovered that Tour FAQ’s have been in place - https://www.ricksteves.com/tours/coronavirus-faq .

Shutting down was sudden and abrupt. Maybe starting up again will take a bit longer, and in the process, information will come out in bits and pieces.

I was surprised that 2022 travel dates were posted.
Thankfully I looked on the site on my own. I too was under the impression that an email would be sent out to those signing up for 2021 or those that had a cancelled 2019 tour.
I expect 2021 to be bust, so will double up my tours for 2022 and hopefully the virus does not make a comeback.

FYI, I just got the tour notification email.

After seeing the tours post at about 9:30 this morning, I started tweaking my itineraries. Friday I’ll call my sister-in-law to get her input. As I said on the other thread, I’m going with or without her. But hopefully she’ll want to go. It’s been a long year’s wait.

Happy Travels everyone!

This just made my day -- I've booked 3 tours for 2022 already (Best of Adriatic on 5/8, Best of Switzerland on 9/4 and Heart of France on 9/16) and trying to figure out what else I can fit in. So excited!!!
And Barbara you will love the Bulgaria tour - it was one of my favorites.

We signed up for two tours, Loire Valley to the South of France, and Best of South Italy. We got the "sneak peek" email after we had already signed up. In fact I was busy responding to emails from some travel friends about what we're booking, when the RS email popped up.

Happy travels, indeed! Happy dance!

We got the email right after we booked two tours for Sept 2022. So far we have confirmation on one of the tours.

I just checked and saw my email came in at around 4:30. Like so many posters, we have so many places on our list and after cancelling two trips (4 countries) last year and being another year older, ugh, trying to figure out how we can squeeze in 3 trips next year, avoiding July and August. Everyone should have such problems!

An email hit my inbox at 1:45pm PDT. I was on a cancelled 2020 tour. Am booked for Best of Eastern France May 29, 2022! Yippee!! Let the planning resume.....

Diane, you're already confirmed on one of the tours? Wow. I'm impressed - and envious.

GimmeGrenache, you are going to love the Eastern France tour. Lots of vineyards and wine tastings. And other interesting things as well. It's one of our favorite tours.

Jane, thanks so much. When I was researching my 2020 trip I so enjoyed reading your trip report on Eastern France. And another review mentioned the trip was "wine intensive" so my choice was easy. I will look forward to hearing about your future travels. Cheers, Linda.

Good choice on the Eastern France tour - one of my favorites! If you end up at the Vaison-la-Romaine hotel which is an uphill climb across the River my trip tip is to buy the wine for your room down in the the main town. The hotel wine by the bottle was pricey and I couldn’t find a wine shop up on the hill. (We all have our priorities😂🍷. ).

That being said, I’m signed up for the My Way Alpine Tour - this will be a repeat for me. Took it the first year it was offered, 2013. Great scenery at my own pace.

I was on a couple of notification lists for 2021 tours, so I got the email about the 2022 tours because of that. So exciting to be able to browse the tours and hopefully go on at least one in 2022. I'm retiring in September this year, and will finally have all the time I need. Leaning toward one of the Sicily tours - there are about 30 tour dates! I'm really hoping we won't have to do COVID testing by then. I'm fully vaccinated, so good to go with that. Will happily get the booster if required. Keep on Traveling!

Ray, our hotel was in the lower town, right on the square.

At 4:31 edt 5/26 received a RS email: The wait is finally over — Rick Steves Tours are back! He had been advising in previous messages this was coming soon. By 7:13 edt I plunked down the refundable thru 12/31 deposit for a May 2022 tour, and I received an email with a registration request number, with final confirmation pending in 1-3 days. Good thing because I've already noticed some April and May tour dates are wait listed or filling fast. Happy hunting!

Has anyone noticed whether there are any significant changes in itineraries or some missing tours?