First Europe Trip, feeling torn...

You might be the perfect candidate for one of a Rick Steves My Way tours. Click on the Tours tab at the top of this page to see what they are all about.

Cheryl, For your first trip to Europe, being with a group would probably be a more "comfortable" travel method (if your budget will allow). The RS tours would be good ones to consider, either the regular guided tours or the "My Way" tours. Of course, with good planning it's also possible to travel on your own. You may find it very helpful to read Europe Through The Back Door before you get too far in your planning. It provides a LOT of good information on "how" to travel well in Europe. Once you've settled on places to visit, use the country-specific Guidebooks to plan hotels, sightseeing, transportation, etc. If you only have 14-days for your holiday, that will provide 12-days "on the ground", as you'll need two days for flights (you'll generally arrive in Europe the day after you depart). A few comments...... Visiting "the big three" (London, Paris, Rome) would be a good choice, as that will give you a sample of the three countries. If you decide on Switzerland, it's expensive so be sure to adjust your budget accordingly. Good luck with your planning!

It depends. Do you want to take a tour because you want the convienence of it all being planned for you, the social aspect of a tour, and the ability to do less research on your own and rely on your guides? Or only because you're nervous about traveling independently and want the security of the tour? If your reasons are the former, by all means, take a tour, but if it's the latter, I'd really encourage you to try to do it independently. All the places you list are quite easy to travel by on your own. Germany/Austria/Swtizerland in particular are very easy to get around in on your own by train. If you're already in Western Germany it's very easy to take a high speed TGV or Thalys train to Paris in several hours. Either way I don't think the "My Way" tours are a good fit, because you don't get the social interaction (you're own your own during the day and at meals) or tour guide benefits of the full tour, but you're still paying far more than you need to ($250 day for hotel and transit - can be done for half that on your own, easily without many compromises) I really don't understand the benefit of the MyWay tours except that some people apparently think it's worth to pay twice as much as you need to for not having to make hotel reservations or figure out transit.

The Rick Steves tours have a good balance of group and free time, the latter being usually 1/2 or 1/3 days when you can explore on your own. When in big cities the guide typically gives each person a Museum Pass and a Metro pass that can be used during your free time and that cuts a bit off the out-of-pocket expense. On one tour we were each given a city Museum Pass good for a full year, so I can return there later on my own and have free access to many museums. It was a central hub city that I would be very likely to return to within the rest of the year covered by the Pass. The Tours are a great way to ease into a first European travel experience; meet exceptionally friendly people (many are repeaters who have been on one or several previous tours); have great guides; stay in safe, centrally located hotels; have excellent group dining experiences, etc. It's more expensive than individual travel, but after I saw and heard a couple things during a recent tour, I'm now not so sure it's THAT much more, considering all that I got from the tour.

Thank you all for your insight! : ) I will probably go the escorted tour route since this is my first experience. What is the best Rick Steve's Tour you have been on? I don't see much info about the hotels through the site. Does anyone have feedback on Globus or other tour companies?

I understand your quandary of deciding where to go start by reading a few books and asking yourself what appeals to you most/what your interests are, then go from there. Look at pictures as much as, if not more than, reading they'll really help you get a better feel for your priorities. Re: alone vs. tour. You say you value freedom, but want "security." I've traveled to Europe more than a dozen timesmany times alone, and backpacked around the world alone. I don't think I've ever not felt secure, and I've camped, stayed in hostels, and budget hotels much of the time. Like other posters have said, if it's company you really are after, then a tour might be best. For me, planning where to stay and eat/what to see, etc. is half the fun. Traveling alone does give you an amazing sense of freedom, and creates opportunities to meet locals.
Also, if you do it on your own, you'll save enough $ to go again next year!

I would reply re: the 'best' that you should read the itinerary descriptions of the tours in the countries that especially interest you and choose the one that really appeals to you personally. For some, choosing a tour that's in an English-speaking country (i.e. the UK) is a bit less stressful for a first experience. There are English speakers pretty much everywhere in Western Europe now, but still - being in a place where you can read all the signs, the local newspapers and magazines, etc. makes a difference the first time out because it reduces the stress of going into shops, markets, etc. and feeling unsure if you will understand and be understood.

Besides reading the tour descriptions for the various tours, also take a look at the online scrapbooks that previous tour members have created. After clicking on the Tours tab, on the right hand side you'll see the "Why Travel With Us" section. Under this heading click on "Scrapbooks". Up will pop all kinds of great scrapbooks for the areas you're interested in. This should give you a really good idea of what the RS tour offers - lots of great pictures and descriptions. I love looking at these scrapbooks - some people are extremely creative!

That's an excellent suggestion from Dawn about reading the scrapbooks. Rick holds a scrapbook contest every year. The winner and runners-up get some pretty cool prizes. Some of the scrapbooks are downright professional looking and give a great sense of what the tours are like. Also, you can watch the full-length video titled 'The Rick Steves Tour Experience" or watch clips from it at: http://tours.ricksteves.com/tours/content/tour-experience-clips.cfm And you can read hundreds of candid, unedited reviews by people who have actually been on each of the tours at: http://tours.ricksteves.com/evaluation/publicevals/

Cheryl, Actually, Sarah brought up a good point about the "My Way" tours perhaps not being a good fit for a first time traveller, so I'll revise my suggestion accordingly. I haven't tried the "My Way" tours yet, but will be taking one later this year and will have a better idea after that. I've taken six of the fully guided RS tours so far, so have a good idea what those are like. It's difficult to recommend the "best Rick Steves tour", as some of them may be longer than the 12-days you'll have, so there's no point in recommending them. If you had the time and money, the 14-day Best of Europe would be a good place to start, as that would cover a few places in France, Switzerland, Germany and Italy to give you a "sample" of Europe. You could also use a "combination approach", which is typically what I do, combining both a tour along with some self-guided travel. You could (for example), do something like this..... > Flight to London (no language issues, and lots to see) - 3 days? > EuroStar to Paris (again, lots to see - 3 days? > Flight to Venice to join the RS "Venice, Florence, Rome" tour - 10 days. > Flight home from Rome That would require a bit more time than you have, but it's one suggestion. There are LOTS of options. You'll note that this requires open-jaw flights (into one city and return from another). That's generally the most efficient method. Cheers!