Combining Rick Steve Tour with self guided time in Europe

I'd say it depends. We did a week in Italy (Rome + Orvieto) before hooking up with the 7 day Florence tour. I really wish we had done it the other way around.

The tour was fantastic, as always, but having spent a week touring around on our own schedule, doing what we wanted to do, we found it chafing to suddenly be tied to a tour group. However, I had already been to Rome before, and felt fairly comfortable in Italy.

In your case, as an experienced traveler, I would consider the following two things:

1) at the end of the trip will you be ready to be done playing group leader, or will you feel restricted?

2) Will the tour be a location you have little or no familiarity with?

I've done it both ways-before and after. Have you traveled in Europe before-are you familiar with where you are going? I ask because if you are not, I would do the tour first. Then when you are on your own, you'll feel more comfortable.

Brenda,

I've travelled completely on my own in the past, but the last few years I've been combining a RS tour with self guided travel. I've found that's been a perfect method for me, and I always travel solo as well either before or after a tour.

I don't think it matters whether you take the tour before or after the self guided travel. However, one thing I found about touring on my own after a tour is that the first couple of breakfasts really seem lonely! During a two week tour, I find that I get used to seeing "the group" at breakfast and that first breakfast after the tour is sometimes a bit melancholy.

Cheers!

I agree with the previous two posters. I think you will enjoy a RS tour better if you are recovered from jetlag before the tour starts. You don't want to be "out of it" the first day or two of the tour that you paid good money for. I like to arrive in the city where the tour starts at least a day in advance; life isn't 100% predictable. It's better to be a little early so you can be rested and somewhat oriented before that initial tour get-together. Tour guides will help you figure out how to get to your next destination; I've had a tour guide even make a hotel reservation for me at my next city. What I've done in the past is schedule my flights to Europe and back and then look in the RS tour schedule to see if anything fits. It worked last year for my trip to Spain/Portugal.

I have traveled 3 times already to Europe. I have driven mostly in Germany, Austria and Switzerland with 2 teenagers. Spent time in France with my parents who lived there. My plan was to do the on my own travel where I have already been. Do France and Germany and then do an Italy tour. So by your posts I don't think it will matter in which order. I was thinking that having someone do all the planning for the time at the end of the 3 weeks might be kind of nice.

Brenda, I am getting ready to do just that. I have a 12 day R/S GAS tour in Sept but am also doing 5 days on my own before the tour and 2 days after the tour on my own. This will be my first R/S tour but am looking forward to it as it goes to many places I had planned to go anyway. The other 6 days, I already have planned to see things not on the tour or things I am interested in. Don't think there is any schedule to follow. Just depends on where his tour goes and what other plans you have. You can work your schedule after you pick your tour dates.
Planning is so much fun. ENJOY

Brenda,

I agree with a previous post that it's a good idea to arrive a couple of days before the start of a tour. However, since you've been several times already, I'm sure you've got that sorted.

Fitting a tour at the end of self guided travel has worked well for me. Which Italy tour are you considering? If that's going to be your last bit of touring before flying home, one nice benefit of the RS tours is that the Guides will help with all the arrangements to get you to the airport or whatever.

Cheers!

Thanks for all the really good suggestions.
The heart of italy tour is the one we are planning on taking. And I do think that after 2 plus weeks traveling I will maybe not want to be the tour guide which is why I was planning the RS tour at the end. Also I have never been to Italy which is the reason I thought the tour would be nice. Thanks again to everyone for the ideas. Brenda

It's probably just a matter of personal preference, and either way would work. I'd rather tour the tour at the front of the trip, since it's an adjustment for me coming from CA to the time difference, and I'd rather have someone else be handling all the details of lodging, transportation, etc. and all I have to do is show up. However if you do the tour on the front end, I'd recommend showing up a day or two in advance to allow for any glitches in travel and to get over a bit of the jet lag.

I've taken a few RS tours and have always combined it with some solo travel.

I find that I prefer to have most of my solo travel at the beginning of the trip. It gives me time to get over jet lag plus I always feel more energetic at the beginning of the trip. Near the end of the trip, it is kind of nice to have someone else planning the transportation and hotels.