Trying to figure out which tour company to use

Becky, I suggest you check out the feedback from travelers who took Best of Europe 14 day Tour. If you go to Tours and select the Best of Europe tour and scroll down, you will see a link to tour feedback.

I'm a tour alumni (not on Best of Europe but my daugher did the 21 day tour) and I am 100% satisfied. I thought my first tour of Britain could not be capped and then I went to Germany, Austria and Switzerland and it became my favorite. This year I'm headed to Ireland and we are already planning for the next trip. Yes, it is worth the extra $00 because the group is much much smaller and almost everyone get his/her own seat. The hotels are great and yes, I can pack for 22 days in a 22 inch suitcase. Not a problem! I have an extra bag (fold up kind) for souvenirs. It stays on the bus until the last hotel and then I take if off. I just keep filling it up. The age group varies on Rick's tours . . . everyone from a teenager to someone in his 70's (who surpassed all of us in stamina). Rick uses the hotels he recommends in his books. Check out their websites. Happy travels!

I agree with Audrey, be sure to check out all the previous tour member responses per Audrey's info. I have looked at every response on the Germany, Austria, Swiss trip and have singed up for it in Sept. The positives far outnumber the negatives. As far as packing goes, there are several lists provided for male and female as what to pack. It seems to work for thousands of Rick's tour members each year. Many members also carry an empty bag in there luggage to pack souvenirs. Rick sells a bag on his site but any type fold up bag will work.

I've been on 2 RS tours and I thought the hotels we stayed at were very nice, and they were both in excellent locations. I have not been on the Best of Europe tour - going to several cities, but I'm sure this would be the case as well. Also along with all the museum fees, tips, extra transportation costs included in the price are about 1/2 of your meals. They take the group to nice restaurants too, ones you wouldn't probably hit on your own. I think Rick's tours are a good deal, and the tour guides and the people on them are excellent as well.

Others have addressed your RS tour questions (I'm also an alumni), but no one has commented on Globus. Two couples I know have taken Globus tours in Italy. Both commented that there were almost daily optional events, from city tours to meals. They spent about $800 per person on optional events over a 2 week period. One comment on RS hotels - Rick uses a couple of hotels in each major city, as there may be multiple groups in town at the same time. They can be in slightly different parts of town, but all are similar in quality.

Having been on a RS tour I'd never take a tour with anyone else. Small group of interesting people and NO GRUMPS! Our tour ranged in age from mid 20's to mid 70's (and yes we did pitch in an give the 70+ ladies a bit of a hand up occasionally). Everything is included except a few meals and then the tour guide will point out the good but cheap eats. No tips, no tourist traps and alot of way out of the way resturants and places etc. you'd never go to on your own. We couldn't have been more satisfied and we've toured Europe on our own by car many times. We had two laundry days (bag it and have it in the lobby by 5 p.m) when we had our chill out in place days. We used the RS duffle bag (provided as part of the tour package) to stow our dirty cloths, flip flops etc. and used our suitcases for that item you "just can't pass up".

Becky,

I've only taken Rick Steves tours but can't imagine travelling with any other tour company. I've spoken with people who have taken other mainstream "big bus tours" and they often comment that the tour was "OK" but there's no enthusiasm in the reply. I've just booked another RS tour for this May, and can hardly wait to leave!

Even though RS tours cost more than some of the others, I feel these provide incredible value considering what's included in the cost (all lodgings, half of breakfasts & dinners, local tours with exceptional local Guides & site admissions, Guidebooks, Money Belt and MOST importantly incredible Lead Guides and Drivers with no tips expected). I keep detailed spreadsheets of expenses and so far I haven't spent a lot while on the tours (of course this will vary between individuals and I don't buy many souvenirs as I don't have room in my Pack). My answer to #2 would be YES, the cost is worth it!

To answer #3, the RS Tours tend to use smaller local Hotels close to the city centres. This makes it easy to go out exploring at night as some evenings are free. Based on my experience so far, the Hotels have all been very comfortable but some are more on the "basic" side (which adds to the authenticity in my view). You might send an E-mail to the tour dept. and get a list of the Hotels; check their web sites.

Regarding your comments about packing, I suspect the 22" bag rule is a strong recommendation, but I'm not sure it's "written in stone". Some of the people on my tours have been hauling "behemoth luggage". However, it's VERY important to remember that you'll be packing your own luggage from the Bus up to your room and if that involves 100 stairs, you'll appreciate packing light. Rick has a collapsible Duffle on his website, which could be used to make room in your luggage for souvenirs (as someone else suggested).

May is not far off, so I would HIGHLY recommend booking the tour SOON!

Happy travels!

I concur with the value of the RS tours. We are going on our second tour in May (Best of Adriatic). We went on the Paris and Heart of France tour last year and had a wonderful time. The hotels were small and all centrally located, and the restaurants were all superb. We had a great group of travel friends - no grumps! I have been to Europe 4 times with only a 21 inch bag. The key is to buy lightweight clothing that you can wash out in the sink and that dries overnight. I found a few pair of nice black micr-fiber/polyester pants at Target in the active wear(workout) clothing section. I had no trouble packing 3 pairs of pants, 8 tops and other essentials. There were however, a few people on our tour who had rather large suitcases. Happy travels!

I agree with so much of what's been posted so far.
We've been on 2 Rick Steves tours and would gladly take another.
All but one couple on our Spain and Portugal tour had been on multiple Rick Steves tours. I think this says a lot about the satisfaction levels.

Thanks everyone for your great answers. You have definitely helped us decide which tour company is the right one for us. We are tentatively on the list for the May 18th departure of the BOE 14 day tour. We can make our final decision by Monday along with our deposit.

Also, if anyone is wondering, when a tour says "Filling Fast", that means there are 1-5 seats left. The person that helped us was nice enough to look at our exact date and tell us there were 4 seats left (2 now).

And Ken, you are right. I asked about the 22" bag requirement and they said it's only a recommendation. If you want to bring a larger bag and lug it around, you can.

Thanks again everyone!
Becky

Becky,

Fantastic!!! I'm sure you'll really enjoy the tour (I can't imagine anyone not enjoying one of these tours).

I often feel that I learn so much from both the Lead Guides and the local Guides, that it's almost hard to digest it all (take notes!).

I'll be interested to hear your impressions after the tour.

Happy travels!

We took the RS 14 day BOE trip in 06. Fabulous. You will adore your experience. Ditto to all the positive things the others have had to say about the RS tours. And my advice is to stay with the small carry-on and a personal item like an RS civita bag. We also took an expandable bag for souvenirs, and then checked our carry-on when returning. You'll be SO glad to have packed light.

Take a look at all the BOE 14 day scrapbooks for a better idea of what to expect. Between the scrapbooks and feedback, you can usually figure out which hotels are used; all our hotels were wonderful!

http://tours.ricksteves.com/tours09/testimony_past.cfm

Ciao and happy travels!

Hello. I realize you've already made your decision, I want to echo what everyone has already mentioned.

I am someone who has taken both a RS tour and an 'other' internationally recognized tour (not Globus, but one you've heard of). I would definitely do RS again and wouldn't ever bother with the other company again.

You wondered if the $400 extra was "worth it" and I would say it definitely was! Of course, centrally-located hotels, tips included, etc. is helpful, but what I really found "worth it" with the RS tours was the extra 'experiences' you get. For example, on the Village Italy tour, we spent a WONDERFUL summer's evening on a small farm, with an Italian family who cooked our entire dinner and then SANG to us in Italian afterward. Even if you wanted to do that, it's hard to arrange things like this on your own and you CERTAINLY won't get it with other larger tour companies.

HAVE FUN and ENJOY!

Becky, regarding suitcase size. We were on the 14 day Family BOE tour , which basically is exact same as your tour, but with half the group being under 17( it was a great great group)!

You haul your luggage everywhere, but, we found it wasn't that bad, except in Venice. MOst places did have elevators( place in Switzerland did not, and we were on third floor) and you can roll your suitcases almost anywhere( get a strong suitcase able to handle bumpy roads),, but in Venice it was much more difficult. We crossed many small bridges to get to hotel, and those bridges were all stairs!!!
A lady had been on our tour before and she gave my dd and I great advice. She told us to take only the clothes and things we would need for the 2 days in Venice and combine into the smaller bag we had( dd had a smaller 19 inc bag, I had a 21 or 22 inch expandable bag) and leave the other bag on the bus( which you can do) . If I could saint that lady I would have,, it was much easier with the one smaller bag. I would have never thought of doing that but she knew what we were in for!

PS Our tour guide hauled a HUGE bag everywhere, he was on his last tour of the summer and was buying tons of stuff to take home, his bag was almost a trunk,, but he carried it himself and obviously never complained!