Leaving Saturday

Shelly , have a wonderful time,, I am sure you will enjoy your custom self planned trip.

A good mantra to have is " this will make a great story when we get home" LOL

So take notes and come back and let us know how it went!

Shelly,

Which countries will you be visiting? As pat, mentioned, be sure to post a note when you get back to let us know how the trip went.

Regarding tour companies, they're not all equal. On a future occasion, you might consider one of Rick's tours as they're excellent! I find that I learn far more and have a much more rewarding travel experience on a RS tour than travelling on my own (I suspect pat will concur). I usually combine these with travel on my own either before or after the tour, and that's been a great combination.

Buon Viaggio!

We wanted to visit London, Paris, Munich and Rome. In addition, our daughter is studying in Alnwick, UK right now and we want to visit her for a few days. I looked at Rick's tours but couldn't find any that covered these areas (or that we could afford). We decided to start in Alnwick and work our way south staying at each location at least 3 nights.

I'll post a trip report upon our return.

Shelly, just relax and remember that flexibility is important. Inevitably something goes not quite right, and it's great if you can just roll with the punches, so to speak. My husband gets all freaked out initially and I have to spend my time trying to get him to realize it's just part of travelling.
So glad you were adventurous to plan your own trip. It's really not that hard, especially with the great help from people on this site.

What a nice post. Have a great time!

Bon Voyage! And a big credit to you for doing the "Rick Steves" way. You will now enjoy it more than if you took a package bus tour with all the obligatory shopping stops. Have Fun.

Go, Shelly! I think you'll find that most Europeans won't try to eat you alive. You'll have a great adventure.

Steve,

I've travelled both on my own and with RS Tours in Europe, and I've found that combining both methods on each trip is a fantastic combination.

I like to be on my own for at least part of the time to visit sites that most tours don't cover, or those that might be of specific interest (especially WW-II sites). I do take day tours (ie: BattleBus or others) on occasion when travelling independently.

However, I've found that RS tours are a very efficient way to cover lots of ground in a very short time, and with all the items included these are good value. I also find the tours are much more rewarding in many ways, as I tend to learn a lot more and get a better sense of the "character" of the country (as opposed to travelling on my own with just a Guidebook).

I'm sure this type of travel wouldn't appeal to everyone, but it's a method I plan to continue in future.

Cheers!

Happy Trails!

Have a great trip!