14 day tour

I did not take waterproof shoes and did not need them but we hit a dry spell. If you have them and they are comfortable, I’d put them in.

No need on any RS tour for dressy clothing. Often you are going directly from the day’s activities to dinner with not enough time to change, anyway.

Some people keep a dressier shirt for the farewell dinner but I am a light packer and just have 4 shirts for my trips so everything has been worn by the end of a tour!

We just returned from Italy where it rained some days. I brought my ALLbirds Mizzles which are water resistant and thin wool socks. On one all day rain, the shoes and socks got wet, but because the shoes and socks were wool, they still felt ok to wear and then they dried over night. Wool doesn't smell, either. You might appreciate the warmer shoes and wool socks on chilly days, too.

There’s no need to take a dressier skirt or dress on a Rick Steves tour. Some women wear a skirt or skort most days because that’s their style. Others wear only jeans. You’ll be fine if your dressiest outfit is a pair of dark jeans or black pants a blouse or sweater and a necklace or scarf.

Hi slp54,
I will be on the RS 14 day Ireland tour that starts March 30th and I have prepared myself for chilly weather and rain. This is my 9th Rick Steves tour and I grew up in England so I kinda know what to expect. Layers will be important, I did buy a pair of lightweight Salomon hiking shoes that are waterproof just in case, also REI rain pants and longer raincoat that I can layer over a puff lightweight coat. No skirts or fancy clothes on this trip, I'm more concerned with staying dry and warm! I was on the Rick Steves Andalusia tour at the end of October when all the rain storms hit and I learned from that experience that being soaked and cold on a tour is not fun!

I can' tell from your ID if your name is on my tour roster, let me know if you are but if not I hope you have a fabulous trip, it looks like it'll be a lot of fun!

Waterproof shoes wouldn't hurt. A skirt/dress, not at all. We took the tour in August and didn't go anywhere that would necessitate a skirt/dress. It wasn't warm enough in August; I can't imagine March. Someone above mentioned on the last night that sometimes people wear a nicer shirt to the last dinner. Definitely didn't happen on our tour. It was very casual.

It poured the day we toured the falconry and I’m glad I had a good raincoat and my Brooks waterproof sneakers. You can’t predict the weather but if you would be miserable in soggy shoes, I would be prepared. As others have mentioned, very few people “dress up” on these tours. No one wants to cart around clothes that are rarely going to be worn.