Best of Spain - Side trip expenses

I can't help you with tour specifics, but want to point out that the safest, easiest and cheapest way to get euros is to insert the ATM card you use at home (assuming you have one) in a European ATM and decline any offer to "lock in" a conversion rate. Just do the transaction in euros. You may end up paying an ATM fee (or you can keep trying ATMs until you find one that doesn't have a fee), and your bank may charge you as well, but those expenses are likely to be lower than any other source of euros. Taking a cash advance on a credit card would be the most expensive option, normally.

I'm a little confused by your post, as Rick Steve's tours don't offer optional, extra-cost excursions.
The guides may suggest free-time things to do on your own in a location but they are completely your choice.

There are always going to be meals, and extras that you need to pay for yourself, and the last few years Credit Cards are much more accepted for purchases, but as mentioned above, you want to draw from you checking account at a bank machine, not a CC advance.

LIZin PA,

Now I am confused. During our Best of Europe tour in 2019 there were at least two excursions that were optional and for which there was an extra expense. One was the tour of the Schilthorn summit in Switzerland. The cost for this one was something like 60€ per person, and we were four. The excursion operated as a group with the guide collecting the money and leading the excursion. I don’t recall the other tour. These were the excursions I did not factor into our Euro budget since I did not know they were not included in the price so I was left a little short.

We don’t operate like other tour companies where guides sell optional experiences. Occasionally, a guide may coordinate an activity during free time for tour members who are interested. For example, a guide may lead an optional hike in Switzerland on a free day but tour members will have to pay for the lift tickets. Many people spend very little money on tour and still have a great time.

The 14 Day Spain itinerary doesn't have optional activities that TMs have to pay for, but you’ll still need to have reliable access to adequate funds for your daily needs (extra and non-included meals, beverages, snacks, souvenirs, and transportation costs and/or admissions for sightseeing during free time).

As noted by the RS staff there are no planned side excursions that cost extra - they specifically tell you what's covered in the tour description. When I did the best of Spain tour there was a bit of an impromptu tapas crawl in Madrid. Our guide walked us to a cool neighborhood and showed us places to get good eats, all paid for on our own. It wasn't a "tour" activity but much of the group joined in for a great evening. Of course you don't have to join in, all your choice.

Make sure you have a debit card with PIN that works in Europe which is the most cost efficient way to withdraw Euros. A credit card will charge you as a cash advance at a horrible rate. Also you can ask your guide at the welcome meeting or first dinner if there will be any activities you should plan to have cash for. That will give you plenty of time to find an ATM to stock up if you need to.

MS and CL,

I understand where you are coming from and I appreciate your responses. However, the Schilthorn summit tour in Switzerland didn’t seem like an impromptu outing. It was announced on the bus when we arrived in Lauterbrunnen, and while we were advised we could opt out, it was honestly the highlight of that stop since there is really nothing else to do there but hike and take in the scenery. Anyone who makes that stop should definitely go to the summit of Schilthorn!

So you understand where I am coming from, the Schilthorn excursion cost about 240€ for my family of four, and while it was worth every penny it put me in a bind at the end of the trip since I had forgotten my credit card PINs and at the time my credit union’s debit card did not work in Europe. I fault no one but myself for coming up short in euros, but it sure would have been nice to know that such an expense was coming before I left home so I could have accounted for it. That is why I am asking if any major non-included side excursions are offered during the Best of Spain. I certainly want to budget for them, and this time I will make sure to have plenty of options to secure additional euros if necessary.

I don't know whether they've tweaked the itinerary, or the write-up, for the BOE 21-day tour since you took it, but the following text [emphasis mine] appears on this website at https://www.ricksteves.com/tours/europe/europe-21-days. You'll have to click on "Itinerary" to see it.

"Day 17: Free Day in the Alps
The day is all yours to enjoy some of Europe's most dramatic scenery. You may consider a mountain excursion that combines a narrow-gauge railway, a gondola lift, and a spectacular alpine walk above the tree line, surrounded by a panorama of cut-glass peaks…or ride a gondola lift up to the Schilthorn at 10,000 feet, loiter in the thin air, and hike down…or wander through the valley and walk to the thundering Trümmelbach Falls, a unique set of waterfalls encased behind the valley walls."

That day is described as a totally free day, with activities to be chosen and paid for by each traveler.

This following link takes you to the web page for the Best of Spain tour: https://www.ricksteves.com/tours/spain/best-spain-tour

If you click on "Itinerary", you'll find a day-by-day description of the tour, and clicking on "What's Included" gives you a list of covered entries and activities. In the itinerary, free time for your own activities will be indicated by text such as "you'll be free to" or "you'll have time to". I'm not aware of any single activities you might want to take advantage of in Spain that are as costly as high-mountain transportation in Switzerland, but entry fees for many of the sights in Barcelona are not cheap, and the discount for children is often not very steep. The tour takes you inside La Sagrada Familia, but you'll be on your own if you want to visit Parc Guell, Casa Mila, Casa Batllo, the Picasso Museum or the glorious Palau de la Musica Catalana, as well as other things you might choose to see.

I see that only seven meals other than breakfast are provided, so there are a lot of meals you'll be paying for yourself.

Completely understand the desire to plan for your expenses. I personally take a bit of cash with me but don't like carrying around large amounts, and for most of my Europe travels a credit/debit card was easily used for almost everything. If you have time before you leave, there are many online banks that have debit cards that work overseas. For example, I keep a small balance in a Capital One online checking account that comes with a contactless MasterCard debit card. It works overseas and has no foreign transaction fees. It was quick and easy to set up and I have used it in many countries without any trouble. I transfer funds before I leave so I can use it to pay for incidentals as I go and it is available for emergency situations.

You might also check out some of the tour scrapbooks from prior years, there are some for Best of Spain and they might give you an idea about how people spent free time on the tour: https://www.ricksteves.com/tours/scrapbooks/tour-alum-scrapbooks

CL,

I am like you and I try to avoid carrying large amounts of cash. I bring along two credit cards that do not charge international transaction fees, and I make sure to carry them separately.. However, not bringing more cash is what got me into a bind last time since little did I know the Schilthorn excursion was cash only and poof, there went 240€ of my available cash reserves. As mentioned in my earlier post, the inability to access more cash while in Switzerland was totally on me for neglecting to check if my debit card worked in Europe before I left home. As you know many smaller places do not accept credit cards at all and towards the end of that trip I found myself short. It all worked out, but I won’t make that mistake again and I have ensured that the debit card I am taking with me this time is good to go. At the risk of being too repetitive, that is also why I am seeking as much info on what cash only non-included excursions I can expect during BOS. Thanks for your good insights.

We went on the BOS in October 2022. You will have free time in Barcelona, Madrid, Seville, and frankly all the places you will spend the night. We used our CC’s for our dinners, but left tips on the table in euros and euros for snacks, ice cream, trinket souvenirs, fruit we bought at the open market (La Boquieria) and some bathrooms. There were NO optional side tours offered by RS. We did go visit other sites on our free afternoon in Barcelona and Madrid, but those places took CC’s. So you need to decide what you are going to visit on your free time- which means do some research- and see if it’s cash only. If you are short on cash, use a bank ATM. We used a capitol one debit card.