Age restrictions on the non family RS tours?

There were teens on at least one (and maybe both) of the two RS tours we took, and they were not designated as family tours.

Thank you. I’m pretty sure they would not be happy on a bus with smaller kids. Were other members of your group annoyed with having teens in the group?

I've been on two 'non family' tours with teenagers, but they were older teens (16-19.) It was never a problem and they seemed to enjoy themselves as much as the rest of us. In fact, one of the younger teens talked to me about a knee replacement which I ended up having. She just sat down and asked if my knees hurt because I 'walked like her grandma.' She then proceeded to tell me what a difference the surgery had made and encouraged me to do the same. Darling girl and I am so grateful to her.

They won't be any problem as long as they are not "Grumps" and are able to handle their own luggage.

There have been teens with relatives on 4 of the 5 RS tours I've taken. Best of Spain in June had 4, although the oldest was 20, he kind of hung out with the other 3. In all cases, the teens were both fun and well-behaved with virtually no eye-rolling.

So long as the girls adhere to the "no grumps" policy, they should be fine. You can learn more about tour requirements and expectations here.

There have been teenagers on a couple of the RS tours I've taken and there were zero problems with them being part of the group. The only way I can foresee a problem with teenagers is if they were badly behaved (constantly grumpy or otherwise disruptive), but that applies to anyone of any age on a group tour.

On one tour, we had a family with 3 kids, a 9-year-old and 8-year-old twins. They were about the best travelers on the tour.

We've had kids on 2 of 4 tours we've been on. All the kids have been "above average" so not perceived as any problem. . Teens will likely be treated as adults by others on the tour, and people will go out of their way to engage them in conversation and look out for them. What the tour wont likely do is make alternate arrangements (such as meals) or activities on lieu of long boring museum stops or wine tasting, etc.

Did you contact the RS office with this question? They will have the most accurate answer.

Families with kids 8 and older are welcome on our Family Europe: London to Florence in 13 Days tour, Family Europe: Amsterdam to Rome in 14 Days tour, and on all Rick Steves My Way® vacations.

Teens are welcome on all Rick Steves tours.

This FAQ is linked from the bottom navigation on your screen, easier to find there than through the Tours tab: https://www.ricksteves.com/travel-help/tours-faq.

On the best of Scotland tour that I took a couple of years ago, there were two young girls. I think one was 12 and one a year or two younger. They were so well behaved and kept up with the group so it was no problem. They were travelling with their grandjparents. I do know that thegrandmother cleared it with RS travel department before signing up for the tour. There was a question of whether or not they would be able to tour the wiskey distillery we visited and the tour guide checked with the facility and it was fine so all worked out well. Both girls were engaged with the group, not shy speaking to adults and were fun to talk with.