Favorite Rick Steves Tour

Well, I've been on 12 and it's hard to pick a favorite plus my likes/dislikes may not be your ideas of fun!

I've not been on any of the 3 you have selected, but I guess my favorites would be 21 Day Best of Europe, Best of England, Paris and the Heart of France and the Best of Paris tour.

Of the 3 you listed, I did South of France in September. My first solo trip. Loved it! It’s a part of France I would not gone to on my own. It was my second RS tour. Sister-in-law and I did South of Italy in 2019. Loved that too. Again, it took us to areas in Italy we would not have gone to on our own.
In June I’m going on the Berlin, Prague & Vienna tour. Very excited about that tour too. It’s been 53 years since I was in West Berlin. I wanted a tour that ends in Vienna so I can spend more time there then go to Salzburg.

We did the Best of Eastern Europe this summer. Great Tour. Great tour guide -- Peter. Exceeded expectations. After the tour, we met our kids and went on Norwegian cruise to see the Fjords. Wow. Geiranger -- every bit the equal of the grand canyon.

While we did southern France on our own, you can't go wrong there either.

So, golly, I am no help.All three are great.

To stir the pot a bit, here is my take:

If only...

If only 1 city, Paris.

If only 1 country, Italy.

Top 5 cities:
Paris
Venice
Rome
London
Madrid

Top 5 counties:
Italy
Spain
France
Germany
UK

Most overrated:
1) Neuschwanstein castle
2) Mona Lisa
3) Stonehenge
4) The Black Forest
5) Loch Ness Monster

Best people: The Irish
No close 2nd

I don't think you'll get a consensus.

I did 2 RS tours this year, my 7th & 8th, and have not yet done any of those three.
I'd be hard pressed to rank the ones I have taken. Usually something I hear or see somewhere sparks an interest in a particular country or area and I must see it in person.

I'm sure you will enjoy whichever you choose.

I’ve been on 8 wonderful RS tours. Of the 3 you are considering, I vote for Scandinavia for several reasons, one being it is very different culturally and geographically from Italy. I completed the Scandinavia tour this past May and feel it is one of my top European experiences!

Full disclosure, I have traveled to Italy on the RS Best of Italy and the 7 Days Best of Rome tours. I have also been on 2 Staycation tours in Venice and Florence with Adventures with Sarah. I guess that adds up to 4 times in Italy!

I haven’t been on the Eastern Europe tour or the Loire & South of France tour so I can’t address those.
Enjoy your chosen tour, I know it will be great.

I have been on 4 RS Tours and 2 Italy (Tuscany, Umbria), Southern Italy/Sicily Tours with another tour company. Our first RS Tour was Loire to the South of France. We also took Heart of Portugal, Best of the Adriatic, & Athens & the Heart of Greece. Other than these we have traveled independently to Central Europe, Italy, Spain and beyond Europe. All I can say, every tour is my favorite tour! That said, we really enjoyed your #3 consideration. Glad you had a wonderful first RS Tour! Great choice. :)

I've only been on 3 RS tours (VFR, Greece and Sicily). If I had to pick, I think it would be the VFR, but not by much. Greece absolutely blew my mind. I loved Sicily, but the group lacked a cohesive vibe, which slightly marred it for me.

The above poster got it right: you won’t get a consensus. As I’ve posted before the ideal tour has many components: the place (of course) the guide, the group and the weather. You can’t control for any of these except the place, so carefully look at where you’d like to travel, what excited you about your last trip. You started with Italy-those are big shoes to fill when it comes to sites and food! Plan as if this was the only trip you’ll ever take (it won’t be of course, but you never know). Our favorite of 9 we’ve taken (my wife did one more with our daughter) was Greece. We had the best guide we’ve had on any trip, the group was great and congealed nicely, the sites were fabulous, the food great (best tomatoes of my life). The Adriatic could have been second but we did not care for the guide and he shared his terrible cold with most of the group. Loire to the South of France was nice, but to be honest, I was “chateau-ed out” after a few. Have not been on your numbers 1 or 2. The one that surprised us the most with sites, food, etc.: Portugal. We plan to return on our own someday.

We’ve done four RS and I can’t pick a favorite. Our first was 12 days in Turkey tour and loved every second. Our second was the 21 days best of Europe, Portugal and 8 days Barcelona Madrid were our third and fourth. I know that what ever tour we take next will just make it harder to pick a favorite. I can say that we really enjoyed our trips with another tour operator to Egypt and the Galapagos a lot!

We loved Best of Switzerland- surprised it hasn't come up.

Best of Istanbul was my favorite. Taken in 2011.

Thanks for all the great input - we have also considered Switzerland. Hard choices…just very happy we have the opportunity to travel.

• Venice in 7 Days (no longer offered) - because it was my first and was magical
• Eastern France - because of its diversity and breadth of locations
• Village Italy - also a wealth of locations
• My Way Alpine - because this is where I want to be in my dreams, fantasies, imagination - over and over

Where to next? Right at this moment, I am thinking the south of Italy.

I've done twelve tours and The Eastern Europe one has to be my favorite. I've signed up for the South France tour in 2023 and I took the Scandinavia tour in 2019. The Eastern Europe tour was great and had my favorite guide too.
It really depends on what you like. I'm sure you'll enjoy which ever you choose.

We chose the best of Eastern Europe. There are wonderful places to visit that are difficult to do on your own. This tour takes a big loop through “central” Europe. Our guide, George, was also excellent. You visit 6 countries.

I’m just wrapping up my 15th tour - Best of Tuscany - and am hard pressed to choose a favorite. I’d say the Tuscan, Sicilian and Eastern France tours all rank high. But at the same time Best of Venice and Best of Florence which are no longer available were also excellent. Turkey was exotic and very interesting. I’ve taken some tours a second time. I find that it is not the itinerary alone that makes a tour a favorite. It is also because of the guide and the interactions of your fellow tour members. On the Best of Barcelona (RIP) there were 24 tour members 10 of whom worked for Boeing. Though it was not planned by them as a group and few knew any of their coworkers, they formed a clique separate from the rest of the tour and it negatively affected the group dynamic.

My two personal bests, as far as memories, would be Best of Venice in 2002 and Best of Paris over Christmas in 2005. As far as a number one overall? I think it is my current Best of Tuscany starting in Florence, visiting small towns, the island of Elba and now our last night in Lucca! Great group of fellow travelers, two brilliant guides, scenery and food to die for and wonderful experiences interacting with Tuscans!

The thing that made the Sicily tour my favorite, was that I was totally surprised at how unexpectedly beautiful it was there, and the history and culture were so interesting. In other words, I had a good idea what to expect in Rome or Paris, for example, but had no notion of what Sicily would be like. I haven't been on any of the three you are considering, but I expect they would all be delightful in their own way, so you just have to go with your gut feeling.

“ On the Best of Barcelona (RIP) there were 24 tour members 10 of whom worked for Boeing. Though it was not planned by them as a group and few knew any of their coworkers, they formed a clique separate from the rest of the tour and it negatively affected the group dynamic.”

The tour groups I’ve experienced have thankfully not had any cliques.

Before I was retired, this would have been such a negative experience on a RS tour! And I’m speaking from the point of arriving at a tour and finding out there are employees from my same company….who want to talk about work during a vacation! It would have put me into a dangerous category of becoming a “grump”! ; )

Jean, I agree. The only tour I ever took was to China and there was a woman in the group who had just retired from Toronto Public Library. Since I work at a public library, she wanted to talk about work a lot. I did not! I was dangerously close to being a "grump", but thankfully this company had no anti-grump legislation!

Top 3 tours for us:

1. Istanbul (don't think its offered anymore)
2. Basque country and France
3. Best of Sicily

We've been on 12 tours

Istanbul is still offered:
https://www.ricksteves.com/tours/greece-turkey/istanbul

Whenever I am asked this question, I usually respond it’s the last one I took. Last May it was Eastern France-wonderful! I traveled with my sister and two of our closest travel friends. Following France in June was the 8 Day Ireland with two of my granddaughters, also wonderful. That said, I am going with my family on the Adriatic tour next May. This will be the second time for this tour as it was one of my favorites. I have also taken the Sicily tour twice (slightly different itineraries) and enjoyed both equally. we planned a return tour to Greece in 2020……(sigh) that one didn’t happen! I have completed 24 tours and they have all been remarkable in different ways. Traveling with ETTBD just suits me.

I have been on 6 RS tours and just signed up for Scotland in 2023.
Bulgaria was fantastic & not a country that many Americans consider going to or know anything about. If you have done all of the typical tours, branch out to this one. Stefan the guide is amazing. I would also highly recommend Sicily & Portugal. I just finished Greece in October & it was amazing. Be aware that this is really physically challenging because of all of the climbing. Never knew the Peloponnese peninsula was so mountainous.

Best of Eastern Europe is the only one of the 3 you've mentioned that I've been on and it was fantastic! I really loved our Greece tour.

I've been on 10 Rick Steves tours and loved them all; the guides and the itineraries were all wonderful. They're definitely my favorite tour company. The only one of the three you mention that I've been on is Scandinavia, and it was great. I'd say to just choose the area that you're most interested in seeing and go with whatever tour Rick offers of that area.

We have taken 7 RS tours.
Our first was Village Italy and we loved it. The itinerary was great so between that and the guide (Lisa Anderson) we were convinced that we wanted to do more.

We have taken the Loire to the South of France and again loved this tour and guide.

The last one we've been on was the Best of Eastern Europe and again the itinerary was excellent, with Etelka as our guide.

She is a Hungarian school teacher who speaks many languages so she was perfect for this tour.
It was very interesting talking with her in free time about the history of these countries under communism. We signed up for this tour with a couple that we met on a previous tour and we all thought this itinerary was extremely interesting. At the end we took a train to Munich and spent a few days there before our flight home.

We don't have experience with the Scandinavia tour, but I think you would be happy with any of your choices.

Please keep us posted about which tour you decide on and then a trip report.
Happy Travels

Take the best of Scandinavia tour… You’won’t regret it. It combines three world-class cities, and some of the most jaw-dropping scenery on the planet. The food was better than advertised, they speak English, and they love Americans! We had a blast there last summer.