Favorite Rick Steve's Tour & Why

Tony thats such a personal taste question.. but obviously the one that springs to mind is the Europe in 21 days.. a taste of many places.. I have only done the Europe in 14 days and I loved it.. we took a "Family " tour .. but the regular one follows the same itinerary.. and I really wished we had that one more week.

I have been on quite a few RS tours. That said my absolute favorite was Village Italy. I would take this tour again in a heart beat. There are many reasons I enjoyed this tour, here are a few. The food and wine were fabulous. The village aspect versus larger city was another factor. This tour goes mostly to smaller villages, but some larger cities/towns as well.The people of Italy, so friendly and welcoming. Plus this tour is slightly different in that there are many activities the group participates. Some being a cooking lesson where the group prepares the meal that is eaten. Another is going to a farm and hunting truffles, afterwards joining the family for a meal and a sing along. When in Lucca, riding bikes along the wall. Having the option of hiking in the Cinque Terre or just relaxing in a lovely setting. The wine tasting and olive oil tasting. Did I mention I love this tour? So, if you are like me and like a very active tour, this is it!

I agree with everything Debra said. We have taken 7 Rick Steves trips and Village Italy is our absolute favorite. That said, all of them have been good.

I have taken Village Italy, Istanbul, and Scotland. I loved all three but also loved Village Italy the most. I'm also looking to the Adriatic, Eastern Europe, Germ/Aus/ Switzerland, and Belgium/Holland for my next choice. I WANT to pick Eastern Europe, but the timing isn't working out for me this year. Oh, there's always next time.

For the Village Italy, I liked that most of the places we went were relatively tourist free, so I felt like I was really on vacation. Also, since it was just a regional tour, time in the bus was short too. The experiences mentioned above (truffle hunting, etc) were amazing!

Good luck in your decision.

We will be taking our 12th RS Tour, in 13 years, this May (Greece). I often get asked which ones we liked the best. As Pat posted, it is such a subjective issue and depends so much on person preferences. If my life depended on picking one, I would have to say it was the "21 day Best Of Europe Tour". A real whirlwind tour that covers LOTS of ground but one which you get to see the highlights of so many countries. Happy travels.

Another vote for Village Italy. I have done five RS tours, also really loved another tour called Paris and Provence but it isn't offered anymore. Village Italy has such a variety of experiences from staying in the tiny village of Montone to wine and olive oil tastings to a truffle hunt with family style dinner to visting an Etruscan museum to fantastic scenery... and on and on. Read the tour tineraries and view the tour scrapbooks to see what interests you.

Like many have said, my favorite of the 5 I've taken is Village Italy. It was my first and still my favorite. Partly I enjoyed it so much because of the smaller villages. Also, this group really got close-we shared drinks and snacks almost nightly, even if we weren't dining together, and my guide on this one was terrific.

Spain and Portugal. It was the combo of great tour guide, perfect season, surprisingly fun experiences, and great travel companions. I hadn't wanted to see Spain before, but thought it was good for a traveler who had seen most of Western Europe already. It was my seventh RS tour.

Wow! I agree ! Villiage Italy was great!
Wish he had a Villiage Italy II Tour going to a new group of towns. If he had a Village France or Village Germany, I'd sign up.
I loved visiting the small towns and getting a more intimate perspective. It was a wonderful introduction to smaller towns, like Padua, which I might never have seen on my own.