2 RS tours in 1 trip

Lots of people have done it. Here are some recent discussions:

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/tours/back-to-back-rs-italy-tours

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/tours/back-to-back-tours-17c4ff32-04d9-44f2-a817-406ed712f637

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/italy/booking-two-tours-back-to-back

If you search for back to back tours, you will find many posts on this topic.

In 2019 there was a couple on our tour that did the tour, then a riverboat cruise and then another RS tour.

I like to travel in the spring and/or fall and take more than one tour if I can. I've done back to back tours. I love to do that - when I can find some that work date wise. For me the BIG plus is not having to make two flights from the west coast to take two tours.

I did this with mixed results. Part of the issue was that one tour had 3 different guides (covid related) and the experience was definitely impacted by this. The other thing I learned is that I have a limit of about 3 weeks away from home and then I am ready to go home. This has nothing to do with the tours, just me.

Some people have commented that they like it best when the two tours have some contrast to them. It is really hard to see more Greek and Roman statues after 2 straight weeks of them and appreciate them for all they are worth. Mixing it up a bit can help. Some people like to do a city intensive experience followed by a more countryside oriented experience. Example: Best of London followed by Best of South England.

It is really all about you. Will you enjoy being gone that long? Will you be satisfied with the content of the two tours? Will you build in some rest between them?

In recent years I will often match a land tour with a cruise. Example: Last year I did a two week tour of Turkiye followed by a 7 day cruise from Istanbul to Athens. It extended my time, but was different enough that things still seemed fresh.

We did the best of Sicily tour and then a few days in Rome for R & R, and then the South of Italy tour. We ended up being gone from home for a solid month. We decided that was about one week too long, but was necessary to do those two tours with a break in between. My husband‘s idea of R&R during the break wasn’t quite mine as we did the entire Saint Peter‘s And Vatican tours during our “R&R”.
This was during 2022 when Covid was still around. We had to test for Covid in Naples at the end of our month to be let back into the US. Unfortunately that made the end of our trip anxiety ridden as someone on the last tour did get it before it was over. Luckily we tested negative and were allowed back home. But if you have stamina and being gone that long works with your life, it’s great to pay one airfare and see a great swath of Italy! Both tours were wonderful.

Yes, in 2022 I took the Rick Steves Best of Istanbul and Best of Turkey tours back to back. The first tour ended in the morning and the 2nd tour started that afternoon. It was fabulous!

One was a city tour and the other was a country tour, so there was a nice variety between them.

Because both tours included Istanbul, there was some overlap.... we didn't mind seeing those highlights twice.

It was also a great way to maximize the value of our airfare and the distance traveled.

We too have done several. We loved them. It is like a new vacation and cheap as there is no airfare for on a you save on a couple days you won’t need to time adjust.

We also spent a week in Amsterdam after BOE tour and used ricks local tour guides. This year we are spending 21 days in France with a 13 day tour in the middle. Always more to see in Paris and we have not been to “The South of France” .

We did the Best of Eastern Europe and Heart of Italy back-to-back a few years ago. It made for a long trip but made sense given the largest expense was airfare. If you have the time, go for it. I'd suggest spending the days in between doing something relaxing-it's easy to get overwhelmed with trying to see and do everything. The most important feedback I can give you is to pace yourself to keep healthy and pack light so you don't get tired of hauling luggage around.

We’ve done that a couple of times and it was great (Best of Scotland followed by Best of Ireland and Best of Sicily followed by Best of Southern Italy). Try to build in a few days between tours to recoup, get laundry done and tour some places that you will not visit on the tour. We had people who were with us on our first tour that continued on with us on the second tour. Lots of people do this. It makes sense if you have time to do back to back tours.

We have done this a couple of times. Our favorite was the Best of London, followed by the Best of Paris. We took the train from London to Paris and were surprised at how easy it all was. We'd definitely recommend this combo. They are so different, but the guides made each so informative and fun.

Post COVID we wanted to catch up on our RS tour count so we did Portugal and Turkey. Then in 2023 we did Sicily and Paris and the Heart of France. Last year we only did one but this year we plan the Best of Spain then on to the 7 day Paris tour. This year our decision was based on having direct flights. Given how much we spend on business call airfare my wife and I want to maximize our travel dollars so doing back to back really helps us meet that goal. Also we get a direct flight to Spain then a direct flight to Paris and a direct flight home. We have had bad luck the last couple of years in missing connections both going to Europe and coming home. Having a direct flight helps us reduce our stress level. If you are going and have the time then doing back to backs really is a great idea. But don't over do it. Our Portugal then Turkey trip had us dragging a bit at the end of the Turkey tour.