I guess this question is mainly for alum's of the RickSteves BestOfEurope trip, but I notice that on the BestOfEurope 14 day tour there are several days with some rather long bus rides (4, 6, 8 hours); What kind/size of buses do they use for these trips, and do the buses have a toilet or not?
Posted by
Bloomington, IL, USA
9363 posts
In addition to what Ken told you, most of the time tour buses only want you to use the onboard restroom is extreme emergencies, anyway, so they schedule plenty of stops.
Posted by
Vernon, Canada
32219 posts
Matt, The Buses used on all RS tours are similar. On that 14-day Best of Europe tour, you'll most likely be using one of the Heidebloem Buses. These are a full-sized Coach, and they do have a somewhat cramped Bathroom (often located in the rear stairwell). As your group will be no larger than 28, everyone will have lots of room to "stretch out". One important point to note is that although some of the rides are longer, they stop on a regular basis at highway rest stops, which allows the group to use "normal" WC facilities, and also to get a coffee or pastry. I believe the duration of stops is also necessary for the Drivers. European laws covering Coach Drivers are very strict, and the Drivers are required by law to take breaks at regular intervals. They're monitored by a "black box" which is uploaded to a central database (sometimes on a "real time" basis), so there's NO possibility of cheating. I'm sure you'll have a fantastic time on the tour! Happy travels!
Posted by
Columbia, SC
989 posts
Click on the TOURS tab above, and directly below you'll see a link to order a free tour guide book and DVD. That DVD should answer all your questions. You'll follow a BOE tour, see the bus, typical accomodations etc.
FYI - The DVD would not play in my HP laptop -it's the super-thin DVD - but worked in a portable DVD player.
Posted by
Nevada
39 posts
No worries. They make a stop at least every two hours. So you can use the restroom and stretch your legs. There was a bathroom on our bus, but nobody used it. There is so much room on the bus, nobody has to share a seat. The drivers and the guides are as good as it gets. You can't go wrong with the Best of Europe in 14 days. I loved it!
Posted by
victoria, Canada
11507 posts
Matt , I have only been on one RS tour, it was a 14 day Family Tour, we had 14 kids onboard( out of 28 people) and so, yes, bathroom does function fine, and frankly is no worse then an airplane bathroom( but much cleaner!) .
The bus also had a refrigerator onboard that was stocked with water , soda and beer, which was sold on the honor system( just sign in ) for one euro each. The bus was large and most of us had two seats to ourselves. As explained by Ken and others, the bus always always stops regularily , and at nice rest stops too.