Just got our tour kit! Packaged with RS tour love

How thrilling!! That always makes it feel real, doesn't it?

My 2nd favorite day is the day we get the list of our fellow travelers and where they are from.

Exciting day! You’ll be glad for your backpack style luggage. It’s so nice to be mobile without the wheels. I’m in Spain right now.

Have a great time!

Agree! Doesn’t it feel like the trip is so far out in the calendar, then all of a sudden it’s here? We leave in May, and this time I’m going to read the book cover to cover and write out a list. I missed a couple of things in Prague I wanted to see because I thought I’d remember to do them.

I know I should rip out pages and put them into the little RS binder, but it’s hard to tear apart a book!

Getting the tour packet is such fun!

And I definitely agree with you about the backpacks. (Not that I want to start up the backpack vs roller bags war again.) As a fellow "old fogey," I'm starting to have trouble on steps, especially down. I can't imagine how I would cope with a rollie.

Enjoy the new toys!

We are definite back pack fans. We saw people missing a train because of their luggage. Also I can lift a backpack into the overhead bins. I struggle lifting a roller bag. I only use a roller if my husband is with me or I want to check the bag. They weigh the same, but the bulkiness and lack of handles on a roller where I need them is probably the issue.

Plus we meet young people who are backpacking. We become fellow travelers with them for a brief time en route. They are wonderful because they can practice English with us and help us with the transportation system and where we need to go and what to do.

I've been reading my ITALY tour book that came this week. Anticipating another great trip.

I think it's a great sign that so many people are repeat customers. I hope to sign up for my first but it won't be until 2026, I think. But can't wait until I am getting my stuff in the mail, too!

We'll be taking our first Rick Steves tour this year. Can you explain what the 'RS travel guide' is you get in your kit? Is it one of his published guidebooks, or something different and specific to your tour?

Books&Tea, it isn't an actual guidebook, nor is it specific to your tour. It has general tour information, as well as a suggested timeline that you can fill in (or not) to keep track of dates - Payment due, tour packet expected, etc.

And it includes vignettes of some of his favorite travel experiences, linked to some of the offered tours.

ETA: And, as Diane M states below, you do indeed also get a guidebook, relevant to your tour.

Actually, the tour kit does include the Rick Steves tour guide book that is appropriate for the tour you'll be on. The same one you'd find at your local bookstore, but it's included in your tour price. By the time I receive the tour kit, I've already had the same guide book out of my local library for as long as they'll let me have it. Once I receive my tour kit, I start taking the book apart, just as Rick recommends. I cover the front and back pages of each section with transparent adhesive covering to hold it together, and I've got mini guide books for every site we'll be visiting.

I just ordered our tour kit yesterday and I can't wait for it to arrive! Have a great trip, Mo R!

Thank you Jane and Diane! I appreciate the information and the response. I also currently have Rick's guidebook checked out from my library and I keep renewing it. :) I kept thinking it would be nice to have my own copy, so I'm very glad to hear I'll be getting one!

How exciting to read all of your posts and the excitement of upcoming tours! For first timers-- RS tours are so much fun. We enjoy the balance of organized tours as well as free time to do our thing. I call it bumbling about and exploring the alley ways, sidestreets and out of the way spots in a town. We find so many amazing things and meet fun local people, too.

The guidebooks are RS Books you can buy online or in bookstores that carry them, but you get the latest edition for your trip. We are going to Spain-- so we got the Spain book.

I really need to read it. The trips seem so far off, and then bam, they are suddenly here!

Mo R, my husband and I took the RS Spain trip in October - it was great! In some ways, it was the most intense trip we've done with RS because there are so many major cities - Barcelona, Madrid, Granada and Sevilla - with so much to see in each! I spend a LOT of time with that guidebook in advance of the trip. Have a wonderful time, and I'm happy to answer any questions if something comes up.

Diane M, we're doing that tour this fall!

Diane M, we're doing that tour this fall!

My partner and I will be doing the Best of Spain this fall too.