21 Days Best Of Europe tour tips?

Oh yes! Lots of us have done it! This is one of my favorite tours.

• If you haven't already booked your airfare, give yourself an extra night or two in Haarlem and if you can swing it add time in Paris at the end.

• Take a waterproof rain jacket with a hood.

• Have a "bus bag" - something like a day pack you can have available on bus transit days with an outer layer, guidebook, snacks, entertainment, water, etc.

• If you haven't started a walking program, start today. Really, I mean it. You'll have more fun if you are able to walk 6-8 or more miles with no problem.

• Ditto for shoes. If you don't have shoes you can walk in for these distance, get them this week and start putting in some miles.

• Plan to dress in layers. Depending on when you are traveling, it may have started to cool off in Netherlands, Germany and Switzerland but will still be hot in Italy. I'd watch the weather but plan on long pants for the Northern end and capris (if you are a woman, lol...or have a woman traveling with you!). You might need light glove liners for Switzerland.

• I enjoy the challenge of packing light. You may have to walk a few blocks to your hotel and may have to go up some flights of stairs so make sure you can handle your bag over a short distance.

• Plan ahead for the nights you are in Venice and Monterosso. For Venice, plan to take in just an overnight bag with minimal clothing and toiletries. I put on clean clothes the day we left Reutte and wore them the next day as well. I packed an extra shirt and a pr of undies (washed the pair I had on on the transit day so they were good to go for departure day). The bridges in Venice are actually steps so if you have a rolling bag you have to carry it up and over every one. I used my aforementioned bus bag for my overnight bag and left my suitcase on the bus. It's safe in the Tronchetto parking lot where you board the vaporetto to the island. For Monterosso the bus parks in Levanto and you take a train the short distance to Monterosso. It was just easier for me to do the overnight bag again.

Here is a link to my Trip Report. It's from 2014 but most of the advice is still pertinent including what I would leave out. I can't believe I took THREE cardigans on that trip. My bag was stuffed when I headed home as I did 3 back to back tours plus time with a friend. Somehow EIGHT scarves were purchased. Holy cow.

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/tours/21-day-best-of-europe-8-26-14

Have a wonderful time!

First let me reiterate one point above, make sure you take shoes that are comfortable, support your feet and are broken in. There's a lot of walking and opportunities for hiking, so good shoes are an absolute must.

Take advantage of laundry opportunities during the tour. Self-service laundries are now common in Europe and it only takes about an hour to wash and dry a load. Imo that beats the heck out of doing laundry in a sink (occasional exceptions apply).

There are a few "optional" guide-coordinated activities during the tour that I found especially enjoyable. The gondola ride is an obvious one, but I also really enjoyed the Bastian wine tasting in Bacharach (well worth doing on your own if not coordinated) and the early morning trip up to the Schilthorn (wear your warmest clothes).

A couple of things I did during my free time that I enjoyed were pre-tour visits to the Frans Hals Museum and Grote Kerk in Haarlem and a hike up to the youth hostel above Bacharach with amazing views of the Rhine Valley. I also recommend the walking option to Neuschwanstein, especially if it's the route along the lake.

Have fun! This is a great tour. If you've not taken a 3 week vacation before, stop at the end of first week when all the stress of work has vanished and contemplate the fact that you have 2 more weeks of enjoyment ahead of you.

All of the suggestions and ideas above are great. Here are a couple more.

In Haarlem you might consider visiting the Corrie ten Boom museum which is located just a couple blocks north of the main square. Ten Boom is noted for sheltering jewish folks during WWII.

With additional time in Paris as was suggested you could visit Versailles as a day trip. For us it was well worth it.

Since this is your first trip to Europe, I suggest you scour this site and this forum for ideas on steps to take before leaving home, packing, money including cards, flights and other transportation, and more topics. Have a great trip!

That tour was the first RS tour I took. It was also my first trip to Europe. I was told that we were going to be moving around a lot so we would not be getting overly familiar with any one place. I was also told to take good notes and pictures to see if there were some places that we might want to return to later. I did that and since that first tour in 2001 i have taken another 16 RS tours. Yes, I got hooked. I also have "sink-washed" my clothes on all of those tours and have not used laundromats. That necessitates having good quick dry clothes and I wear most Ex Officio brand which tend to be more expensive but have long life and dry overnight.

I second Pam's advice to have a "bus bag". It could be a tote bag, or daypack. I used it for anything I needed while traveling by bus and was able to leave it on the bus seat when we stopped for meals or other short stops. I had a separate crossbody purse to use off the bus while sightseeing.

Also I second her recommendation for Venice. I wish I had left my rolling bag on the bus and just taken an overnight bag into Venice. I only needed a few things while there and it was a hassle pulling my rolling suitcase from the bus, across the street, onto the boat, then over several Venice bridges to get to the hotel. I think a couple of people on my tour had the foresight to just bring a small hand held bag for this and it was much easier on them.

If you have the means, buy good clothing that can be worn multiple days. I wore LL Bean Trail shirts and Kuhl shirts 3 days each this summer and they didn't smell at all.
If you belong to Costco, they have packable primaloft vests for under $20 right now, and travel pants that wear very well.
Enjoy the trip!

Hi everyone who responded. Your tips have been extremely helpful and much appreciated! We loved reading Pam’s trip report. Comfy shoes have been purchased and are being broken in with our daily walks of four miles. We will increase miles as suggested. Recommended clothing and other incidentals have been purchased from Costco, REI and Marshall’s. We are arriving three days prior to the start of the RS tour and extending our stay with a trip to London for three days. Being a huge Beatles fan I have to take a pilgrimage to Liverpool and take The Magical Mystery Tour! We bought tickets for the Anne Frank house and the Van Gogh Museum. Moulin Rouge tickets are up for consideration. We have been watching YouTube for all the places we will be visiting. Our library has been a wonderful source of books and dvds for us. Thanks again for all the information you have each provided. We welcome anymore tips. Six more weeks to go!

Fabulous!

As to increasing your walks...I am not an expert but years ago increased mileage doing a jogging program. I still use the same formula more or less. Keep your 4 mile base walks. ONE day a week increase by 10% or a bit more. Because I know I can do it, when I am increasing my mileage I'll go up by 1 mile 1 day a week.

So...week 1 I walk 4 miles 2 or 3 days and then on one day I'll go 5 miles. The next week I'll do my 4 mile walks and increase my mileage on my "long" day to 6 miles. Next week, I'll go up on the long day to 7. Then the following week I'll drop back to 6 miles on the long day, then the week after that I'll skip up to 8 miles on the long day.

I really should listen to my own advice as well. Last week I jumped from 4 to 7 (because I felt good, lol) and wound up with a big blister on my foot. I missed the rest of the week and yes, I am being sensible this week and am back to my 4 miles. I'll go 6 at the end of the week if the air is not too smoky around here.

Glad you have time ahead and at the end. Did you get your Eurostar train tickets yet (assume this is how you'll travel from Paris to London?).

Interesting helpful responses. Clothing washing in you hotel room--get stretch clothes line from Rick--We sometimes tie two together to reach distant anchor points across the room like door hinges or window handles--Also, attach velcro to ends of line to tie off on hinges ect--Sink drain, we carry flat rubber type stopper to use when necessary to stop water from draining out, and often we use the tub---On keeping the suit case light, we use a baby scale from our backpacking days to weigh the total load and our able to go for multiple weeks with suit case included at or below 20 pounds--In addition we also take a Ricks day pack on with some light addtional (camera) stuff--The 21 days Best of Europe was our first terrific Rick's tour which followed first European visit--For the first Europe visit we did not know who Rick was, but did use his multiple guide books for our own touring following one of our childrens wedding next to the Rhine in Germany--this September will be our 17th Rick's tour with his Heart of Germany Tour--Enjoy the whole experience!