Bus Tour Seating and such.

From personal experience I can say that a lot depends on the tour leader. On large tours, especially with full buses, they will usually have a system for rotating the seats each day. A good tour leader will make people stick to the system so nobody has to sit in the 'bad' seats every day. On a couple of tours I had some people who thought they deserved to have the same seat every day, apparently they thought they were 'special'. Luckily we had good tour leaders who didn't let that happen.

I will say that if it's a big tour and the bus is full (40-50 people) it can be a real drag if you don't get a good group or get stuck with an incompatible seatmate (which happened to me once). It's much better if you have a smaller group (<25 people) so you can spread out on the bus and then there's usually no problem.

So, that being said, if you can swing the cost I would recommend a RS tour because they fall into the second category (smaller groups) and while I haven't taken one myself I know people who have and they said they always had good tour leaders so things never got out of hand.

We have only been on one, multi day bus tour. Nothing was said but people seem to automatically rotate seats so that wasn't an issue. On some one day trips that has been a problem where people seem to think their seat was a reserved seat. Most of the times, stops were frequent so having a great seat was not that big a deal other than being nice.

My wife and I just took our fourth Rick Steves' trip and on each one of them our guide said on the first day that no one should in the very front seats of the bus more than one day.

The max trip size of the RS tours are 28 and many go out with fewer members. Each of these buses are large and I would guess they seat up to 60 people so it's not cramped at all. Folks do spread out and I think it's fun (and considerate) to move around the bus.

On our last trip (Best of Sicily) we had one couple that sat all the way in the back (he right over the engine and his wife a row in front of him). One day I thought it would be fun to board early and take "his seat" right over the engine. He kept his hat back there so I put that on and just took over the row. As he boarded and saw me, he roared with laughter and of course I let him have the seat after some good natured ribbing. I should say he and his wife were great fun and really good folks.

I'm looking forward to another trip soon with RS.

We were on a cruise/tour where part of the trip was bussed. It was just as you described. Full bus and people claimed their seats and would ask you to move if you sat in their seat first. I was miserable on the bussed part of that tour. Since then we have taken 5 RS tours and have never had that situation. With a max of 28 people on board there were times that my DH and I sat in different rows so that we can each have a window. Sometimes sit together. It's nice to move around and helps to get to know the other tour mates.
Each RS tour we have taken this is addressed the first bus day by the tour guide and has always been adhered to by the people on the tour.

Took a few day bus tours in Dublin,France and Englamd) and yes, seating was an issue a few times.

I have taken one RS tour . No issues for the full two weeks.

If you can swing it at all the tour experience is just so much better with a smaller group( like on an RS tour) .

I will add that my experience on 2 RS tours has been the same as others who have posted. On one, the guide encouraged us to move around. On my last one the guide didn't mention it except for the front-seat thing. I sat with my group toward the back with empty seats in front of me and behind me. If anyone had looked like they wanted my seat, I would have certainly changed. Mostly no one came toward the back and people toward the front mostly sat in about the same seats each day.

I have also taken 2 Road Scholar tours, both of which were about the same size as Rick's, roughly 25-28 people and a full-size bus. Some people claimed a seat but most moved around. Again I established a beach head toward the back and there were plenty of vacant seats in the area.

(Hmmm, seeing a pattern here, do you think it's me??)

Anyway, the key in my mind is doing a tour with a smaller group and a standard size bus so people can spread out if there is a lot of bus time.

I have taken 12 RS tours and thank goodness the bus seating has only been a problem on one of them. And, that only happened when one person claimed to get car (bus) sick if not being able to see out of the front window every day. On that tour the guide reserved the second row of seats for them much to their displeasure but it worked fine for the rest of us. We did have a deft person on one tour who requested to sit in one of the two seats behind the driver and asked the guide to adjust one of the mirrors up front so he could see them talking. Worked find with everyones approval. On all of them, the guide gave an introduction talk the first day on the bus where they explained about not sitting in the front seat more than one day and try to rotate seats. With only 24 or 26 tour members on a 56+ seat bus, there has always been plenty of room to move around. On all 12 tours we have always had a new or almost new bus that was spotless. Consider a RS tour.

We were on a 8-day tour of eastern Turkey with 20 people in a full-size bus. Not only did five or six couples claim seats, they claimed two seats with husbands and wives sitting across the aisle from each other. The other couples and singles moved around every day, took time to visit and get to know new people. No one called dibs on the front seats.

I'm a former tour director so I'll chime in.

On a single day tour, we wouldn't ask people to change seats. On multi-day tour, I would announce on day one how we would be rotating seats on a daily basis. I rarely had any problems.

Oh, there were the occasional passengers who said their travel agent promised them that they could sit in the front seat for the entire tour. I'd politely tell them that was against company policy and that was the end of that.

If you go with a decent tour company, they will probably have a seat rotation system in place. You can always ask the tour company what their policy is on seat rotation. If there is none, or they leave it up to the tour director, you could look for a different tour.

Don't be afraid to ask the tour company questions. They are there to make you happy and hopefully get you as a return customer. The last thing they want is an unhappy passenger.

Keep in mind......a tour, like anything else, depends on price. The cheaper the tour, the less that is included and the more that is optional.

Thanks to all who replied. It seems it is indeed a problem, maybe not always but it is out there. I think Frank II said it best. This is too much money to have a tour ruined by ending up in bad seats for 7 or more days! I will bring this subject up when going thru the booking process and then hope that if they say they rotate they actually do! For me, this a definite deal breaker. RS tours are more expensive but maybe worth it to have an enjoyable trip. The empty seats sounds very nice!

Frank: If you go with a decent tour company, they will probably have a seat rotation system in place. You can always ask the tour company what their policy is on seat rotation. If there is none, or they leave it up to the tour director, you could look for a different tour.

I have only been on two bus tours. The first, in China, there were only 15 people on a fullsize bus. There was never a problem with moving seats - no one seemed to keep the same ones, anyway, but there were plenty of empty seats. The second, in Costa Rica, had a rotation system. No one complained about bad seats. There were a couple of empty seats, and people could move if it was really necessary, but everyone followed the rotation system.

I would recommend a RS tour due to the smaller group. There were 2 seats available for each person. When I had strep throat, the entire back seat was available for me to lie down. I would not plan a bus trip without knowing the ratio of people:seats.

I never get car sick, but on another trip my travel mate did, so we would try to get a seat near the front of the bus. It was a concern I had never thought about.

Kat brings up a good point regarding motion sickness. On one of the tours I went on, there was one participant who had motion sickness. Everyone gladly allowed her to sit where she needed to to be comfortable. She wound up sitting up front while her husband chose to move around.

Den,

As the others have mentioned, there are no seat preferences on Rick Steves tours. The Guide will ensure that passengers change seats usually each day, so no one gets the coveted front seat for the entire tour (except for the Guide of course, who usually occupies the jump seat beside the driver). One of the benefits of the RS tours is that they have a maximum group size of 28 on a full sized coach, so there's LOTS of room for everyone to have their own seats.

One of the benefits of RS tours that I really like is that all gratuities are included in the tour price, including lead Guide, Coach driver and local Guides. With some of the day tours that I've taken in various places, one thing I detest is being badgered by the Guide at the end of the trip, and made to feel guilty if I don't leave a generous gratuity.

I've never taken a tour with Tauck Tours, but found this comment from a former tour member....

"the Tour Director assigned seats every day, and posted the new seating chart on the door of the bus each morning. Every day the group would rotate clockwise two seats."

I guess that works, but I'd rather have the choice of choosing my own seat.

Happy touring!

I had failed to mention that on the 12 RS tours that we have taken, there seems to be more and more folks with motion sickness problems. I hope that these folks are encouraged to bring medicine to treat this problem rather than just letting the tour guide let them sit in the front seat, especially on a 14 day tour, which has seldom happened.

"I had failed to mention that on the 12 RS tours that we have taken, there seems to be more and more folks with motion sickness problems."

Hopefully Charlie, they can get it under control before trips or take this along; just in case: An over-the-counter motion sickness aide is available; unless they have a 'script. http://www.walmart.com/ip/Bonine-Motion-Sickness-Protection-Raspberry-Flavored-Chewable-Tablets-16ct/10316453

Wow, I never thought of that Charlie and Marie! I'm a back-of-the-bus kinda person so it didn't really compute. Yikes.

Hi Den, this has not been a problem on the 5 RS tours I've taken. I find a comfortable seat the first day and stick with it throughout the tour. I prefer the middle of the bus. I've only had the front seat once, not an issue. However, on a "big bus" tour with another company, this was a problem. We had assigned seats and I had to sit next to to the same person (someone I did not iknow) for a week. I wasn't happy about it. I guess it depends on the company policy.

I am one who gets carsick,, but find as long as I am in first 4-5 rows of a big bus I am fine.no need to be very front.. I also do not take meds on most bus days.. simply because they have yet to invent one that does not make me pass out or be at least very groggy.. its so annoying. I will take 1/2 a pill for a long bus day going through windy mountainious roads though.

On RS tours there is no way one would end up in very back of bus ( unless you wanted to ) which would make me sick,, unless you made a point of doing so... its pretty easy to sit near front( and as I said,, I don't think one needs the VERY first seat to avoid getting carsick.. but perhaps its just me.. )

I have never thought about this....but my husband DOES get out of sorts on Ling drives unless he is the one driving! I will be sure to pack some motion sickness medicine. I never would have thought about this! I also never thought about seats on the bus.....as I am a creature of habit, I just would look for the same seat. I am so glad I read this thread, thank you OP!