Connecting with Fellow Tour Participants before Tour Begins

As far as I know, the only way to connect pre-tour is posting in this forum as you did and seeing if anyone responds. The forum is not well known by most RS tour participants so you may not hear from anyone. I think some people have also set up Facebook queries in the RS group that is there, but I don't have experience with that.

If you want to get more responses though, I'd change the title of your post so it includes your tour name and date. Enjoy your trip!

I agree with what CL posted above.

As an example, RoadScholar actually has a page for every date of every tour to do just that.
The number of participants who even populate their profile there, let alone post anything, is maybe 1%.

I agree with both CL and Liz.

Out of the 12 Rick Steves tours I've done perhaps 3 or 4 others on the tour had even heard of the forum much less been an active member of the community or even posted.

AND on the Road Scholar forums...I agree the response there is really dismal. I'm not sure if the Road Scholar participants are just less technically able or if they are harder to find. I'ver recently signed up for a program in a year and see 2 others are showing up as having signed up (sometimes the numbers are off). I may start a thread just to see if I get a response but don't hold out much hope.

Have a wonderful time and I hope someone responds!

No, there's not a way, unless someone responds to your post on this forum. On our first RS tour 10 years ago, we received names and city of where folks lived (a few weeks before the tour started.) RS probably figured out that was a break in privacy. Now you receive first names only and I think the state they live in.

Even on the tour, there is no way the tour guide will facilitate the exchange of information, but usually someone in the group starts an optional sign up sheet towards the end of the tour, where people can write their contact information on, if interested.

I really enjoy the RS tours; taking my 4th this year. I'm also friendly and social. But, I wouldn't feel any need to be in touch with tour members before the tour. Like us, we've found many tour members are taking the tour as part of a longer independent travel plan so people aren't all just arriving from home to start the tour. The orientation meeting is designed to get to know the people in the group better. That's your time to say, "hey, we really enjoy hanging out with others and if you'd like to join us at ... let us know!" That type of thing. It's like summer camp, you bond easily and quickly. Yet there's room for people to be all in when the group is together, but independent when you're not. Something for everyone!

Anyway, just my perspective and experience! Have a great time. We've enjoyed every group we've been a part of...

As others have said, few tour participants know about this forum. As for keeping in touch after the tour, I have been on a more than one RS tour where there were people that had met on an earlier tour and decided to take another tour together. However this seems to be more the exception.

In my experience from a couple of trips what happens is towards the end of the tour someone passes around a sign-up sheet, strictly voluntary and without the guide doing it, on which people can list their email. Someone sends a test email while still on the trip so everyone can be sure they're on it (some people have messy writing!). The list gets fixed. Everyone seems excited about sharing trip photos; these days someone may offer to host a Dropbox or other cloud site where people can upload a few of their favorites. Back home there's an early flurry of group emails but in the end perhaps 3 to 5 people ever share any photos.

I agree Mark & Sandee. It is unfortunate, and strange to me, that there is not more connection with tour members prior to a trip through these forums. As you said, useful for getting, and giving helpful tips and adds to the fun and anticipation with the learning of other's plans for their free time.

You did get replies that most tour participants do not know anbout these forums. I have seen that often said when this subject comes up. I find that odd, too. As often mentioned on the forums apparently most (many?) of tour participants are repeaters. And as somewhat independant minded travels I would have expected them to have heard of the RS forums as a source of information if not connection. Just a hunch on my part, of course as I have never run such a survey. And how could I if most of them are apparently not on these forums.

My experience (you can safely skip this as off topic to your post): I had a lot of technical problems creating my post looking to connect with those on pour tour (segway to hijacking your post to announce my tour: 21 day Best of Europe April 26. Send me a private message if you are on the tour and would like to discuss plans). As soon as I submited I realzied I had entered the wrong day in the thread's subject. But could not find the post. After several log out, clear chache, coookies and such I found it. I then got locked out trying to edit (you do not have permission). And then it dispapperaed again. Unlike one other boards I am used to, I could not see how to contact a moderator for help. I tested further creating a new post to see if I could duplicate the problem. It got worse as I created a post (new thread) and that one did get posted. But I was unable to edit or add to it to say, all is good and delete it. Well, I did put "tetsing please ignore" in the subject line but I did get a couple of replies and one that took me to task for not simply removing the post. (I wondered what part of "please ignore" was not clear). But as I was locked out of editing I could do nothing. After that kerfuflle apparently did get a mods attention as shortly after that test post, along with the less than helpful reply, it was removed and I was then able to at least post replies such as this. I have not tried to create another.

There is great information shared on these forums. It is a shame that they do not reach a wider audience of like minded travellers. MAYBE part of the reason RS does not promote that use of these forums is he does not want a larger audience reading these posts and thus making the venues even more popular from that wider audioence who do not participate in RS tours. That would not be a good thing. Just guessing out loud.

A couple years back I had looked at Road Scholar as mentioned in a previous post with the thought of taking one of their tours but the lack of participation in the tour specific boards that they helpful provide did concern me; "why is there no one here if this is a popular tour" sort of thinking.

It seems to me it would be easy, and beneficial to RS, and beneficial to tour members to simply include a mention of these forums in the trip resources or planning notes that every tour member receives. It takes some work and resources to provide individual boards for each tour as Road Scholar does but no need to start on that scale. Just a couple of lines in the usual boilerplate that is sent out.

Enjoy your tour Mark & Sandee; it should be wonderful.

I think KD summarized it very well. We’ve done 12 tours and have enjoyed them all but there’s only a few people that we continue to be in touch with but then some have become close friends. As far as the forum, I know many people are not comfortable posting on an open forum where everyone and anyone can post and see your posts.

KD's sentiments match mine.
I noticed a couple months ago that a forum poster mentioned she and her spouse will be going on a particular 2026 RS tour. I have a hunch that we may be on the same tour later this year based on the date and country. I'll find out when I get there, but I don't feel a need to send her a PM and ask.

Everyone has a different outlook on these things and how they like to meet people and socialize. On the RS tours I've been on, I feel like these connections are more apt to happen post tour. For example, meeting up again in London for a pub dinner the night after the tour ends if tour mates are staying over. I've had that happen, and also a few of us went to Melk Abbey together the day after the GAS tour. This was years ago before Melk was on the itinerary.

While we haven't done an RS tour yet, we had participated in a couple of annual meets in Europe that were set up by members of a now sadly defunct travel website/forum I'd belonged to for years. Unlike this forum, we were able to post pictures, and most of the attendees (they were good -sized groups; much bigger than RS tour sizes) had 'known' each other virtually for some time. Some of us had met in person at prior meets both domestic and abroad. In short, in one way or another most of us were beyond the initial 'getting to know you' game and had a good idea of the personalities we were individually most likely to gravitate to.

So it was a bit different than a tour where you really don't know anything about your fellows beforehand - even what they look like - or if you have much in common. I would be most likely, other than to some RS forum folks I cross paths with a lot and share similar interests with, not to share my contact info out to complete unknowns prior to a tour.

For me it is more than about meeting people (a nice thing if it happens) but also about sharing information. For example, on my tour I saw that one of the suggested on our own sights was almost fully booked many months before the tour. Might have be useful info for others on our tour. Same for a concert I am booking today.

As has been said, we all travel differently and get different things out of a tour. I do enjoy the shared experience but certainly far from being needy. Nor the other extreme; aloof and stay in the very back row the whole trip as we've seen twice on tours. Travel is a learning experience. . As is planning that travel for me.

I see things differently than Mr. M. I'm a very friendly extrovert, but the buses are big and roomy and I just love sitting in the back. The tour guide uses a mic so it's not like we can't hear back there. On our first RS tour there were about 3 couples who preferred the same and we called ourselves the naughty kids. There are people who like to sit in the front row for nausea or love to be up close to the guide. The majority on our tours seem to prefer sitting up front, but I just prefer the back, because I like spreading out. Some people might choose the back because we have so much togetherness on a tour, that perhaps the back gives them an opportunity to reflect or recharge or have a little quiet time. It's not a personality defect.

It's not a personality defect.

LOL, if it is a defect, I have it, too! We sit in the back seat because usually no one else wants it. You have the people who think they deserve the front seat every day because they get car sick and other people that always need the seat directly behind the back door because their legs are long. We could use both those excuses, but instead I just use a motion sickness patch and my long-legged husband takes a seat in the back with me.

We did meet one man on this forum before a tour. When we had the meet and greet there were two men with the same first name, so we didn't initially know which one we had been talking to on-line.

And I like to sit on the bus toward the back where there’s a full window to see out of and less likelihood of someone closing the window shades and obscuring my views which makes quite irritable…We all have our quirks :-) And over the tours, we’ve had all types of personalities, if someone is aloof and stands back, you respect that and leave them be. No one signs anything that guarantees they’re going to be your next BFF.

Mark & Sandee, have a great time on the Sicily tour! I’m not on your tour, but I did spend five days in Palermo & recommend you go early. It’s a very interesting city, and I took the train out to Cefalu for a cute beach town for a few hours,

If you stay at your tour hotel a few days before the tour begins, you will probably run into a few people on your tour, also.

I seem to recall that in the distant past, tour participants mentioned getting a list of tour companions with an email address. Of course I may be misremembering, and did not actually take tours then.

In these days of protecting customer data and personal information, I suppose ideas like that have gone by the wayside. I suppose if people gave consent, maybe.

If the RSE folks did support something like this (and I am not in favor), it would be better to be something hosted within the "Tour Account" part of their system. That way people who are not actually on that specific tour could be screened from participating.

Not a tour per se but in a RS general sense if anyone is traveling they can post it. On ocassion there is a thread where two from the forum met up and it has always sounded positive. Ive met a few that came here. So to that end I started a thread. Ive done it two years now and it has rarely generated much interest.

I think among other things people have become very cautious. I think that's why the questions are at times very vague and leave out dates and hotel names and means of transportation.

I’ve thought about suggesting an option at registration to include one’s email on the tour roster document so those who wish to connect ahead of the tour could do so and those who prefer privacy wouldn’t be bothered.

"A couple years back I had looked at Road Scholar as mentioned in a previous post ...snip... but the lack of participation in the tour specific boards that they helpful provide did concern me; "why is there no one here if this is a popular tour" sort of thinking."

@Mr M....in regard to the Road Scholar forums which are dreadful. They re-did them a few years ago...right after Covid and they went from really dreadful and hard to access to merely dreadful and easier to access, hahah. Are you aware of the Road Scholar Facebook groups? There are 2 I am in, Friends of Road Scholar and Women of Road Scholar and there is quite a bit of activity on them. It's a much better place to connect with Road Scholar travel mates.

I also think on the whole the Road Scholar target audience is not as adept at technology as the Rick crew.

With the Rick audience I think many of them come to the tours either via the guidebooks or PBS and if they don't explore the website don't realize there are forums. Although the sign in to get your tour information should be a clue that there is more on this website!

There can be a downside to people connecting before a tour.
Although this isn't exactly the same, I've been on a couple of tours in the last few years where 6-8 people, friends or extended family, were participants. They tended to just interact with their own people and sit together at group dinners. I travel solo, and don't mind being by myself part of the time, but the cliques weren't an asset.

Liz, we saw that on one tour, a group of eight that did everything together and had preplanned all their free time activities together including a private van tour one afternoon. It didn’t really bother me but it does change the dynamics for the whole group. We have done several tours now with a couple that were our buddies on a previous tour years ago. Because our interests are similar we have a tendency to take off for free time activities together but we usually make a point of sitting with others at group dinners and it seems there’s usually several couples and singles that will end up gathering at a restaurant or whatever for lunches as we all become better acquainted.

@Liz and Margie...I've been in that situation as well. On one tour a group of 11 were traveling together. They really changed the dynamics of the group and were not welcoming to others. I went down early one morning for breakfast and was going to sit at a long table with tour members who were already there. I was told the seats "were saved". Uh. OK. And of course I watched and no one else from their group came down.

I'm not saying this would happen with people who meet on the forum but it's worth mentioning for those that are traveling in a group.

There is now way to connect. On my other tour to New Zealand, the tour connected us through Facebook Group and WhatsApp group. That was more organized. The difference is however, that tour company just focuses on New Zealand, and do 1 tour a month, which makes it easier for them to manage.