Life after the BOE 14 day tour...

Well, I did the 21 Best of Europe and know how you feel! I had done 2 RS tours prior to that (Heart of Italy and Best of Ireland) and enjoyed both of them. Since the 21BOE I've done 7 more, hahaha! All excellent!

I think the 21BOE will always remain my favorite BUT my enjoyment of that did not diminish my enjoyment of the rest of the tours I've done! I've loved seeing areas more in depth than you can on the either the 14 or 21 day tours.

Since the 21 BOE, I've done Best of Paris, Village Italy (both of those back to back to back with 21BOE), Best of England, Paris and Heart of France, Germany/Austria/Switzerland, Villages of Southern England and Best of Scotland.

And....for any trip I also try to find some way to tack on days in Paris, hahaha! Yep, going to do RS Belgium and Holland in April with 8 nights in Paris ahead of time!

Eurostar is very easy to take between London and Paris in case you choose any of the trips in UK. Otherwise, Low Cost Carriers fly between many European cities and Paris, hahaha!

Welcome to the obsession, hahaha!

Kind of like that commercial from a ways back... ' bet you cannot eat just one'

The tours are addictive. I've done nine and have signed up for two in 2019. I've loved them all but probably my favorite was the Eastern Europe tour. I took it when it was 16 days. I also really enjoyed the Paris and the Heart of France tour. I spent about 3 days prior to that tour in Paris and discovered that I really, really liked the city. But all the tours that I've taken have been good. My first tour that got me addicted was the Germany, Austria and Switzerland tour.

It is hard to pick! I often travel with my daughter so we have to negotiate. This year it's the Scandinavia tour. We hope to do Spain in a cooler month. She's the one who convinced me to do the Eastern European one and it still is at the top of my list.
I'm sure you'll enjoy whatever you choose.

Switzerland!!!!!

We were addicted after our first tour (Venice, Florence & Rome), of all our RS tours the Greece tour really stood out as an amazing adventure that we will always treasure. There's something about standing on the Acropolis looking at the Parthenon and realizing the history it represents that just grabs you.

Here’s my 2 cents from another RS addict! My first tour was Paris and the Heart of France so I would recommend it. Since you already like Paris I would do this one, you will see wonderful Loire Valley chateaux, Normandy and Giverny!

2 was 12 Days Best of Berlin Prague Vienna
3 - 17 Days Best of Italy
4 - 7 Days Best of Rome
5 - 8 Days Heart of Ireland
6 - 13 Days Best of Turkey
7 - coming up in 2019 is Munich Salzburg Vienna

Every tour has something special so it’s difficult to choose. Scandinavia and Greece are high on my list for 2020.
Are you going to the RS Reunion next week? I’m going for the first time and looking forward to it.
Enjoy whatever tour you choose!

Take a trip outside the western Europe orbit and visit Bulgaria or Eastern Europe. Both were excellent when we took them.

Has anyone started their RS addiction with a BOE 14 day trip and then found other tours that were just as good?

No, but our first was My Way BOE 14 day. We took just one other RS tour (My Way France) and decided we could tour more to our liking on our own and for far less money. Our BOE group was fantastic, we covered such long distances and were able to see so much. But subsequent trips have been and will continue to be on our own, until we get to the point we can't do it anymore. YMMV if you're not a "My Way" type traveler, though.

On you BOE14 what did you want to see more of? I would pick that place as a jumping off point. Paris? Then how about another tour that includes Paris? Enjoy the planning!

Another one who is addicted to his tours. In fact, I have seen/met him three times. He came to my son’s college Oklahoma Christian in Edmond, OK twice and we went to his reunion in 2017. As for trips, I have lots on my bucket list. We can only afford to go to Europe once a year. So I decided last year (2018) that we would try to do several years of back to back tours.

My first year was in 2014 with my sister on the best of Ireland 14 days. Now my husband and I retired early and I told him that I want to go to Europe once a year now since we are both retired. 2nd trip for me and his first was April 2016 holland and Belgium. He loved it , so now he is hooked. 3rd was 2017 barcelona and Madrid, 2018 was ireland 7 day and best of Scotland. This year (2019) will be 7 day London and paris and heart of France. In 2020, with two couples we met on our Belgium/holland tour will be the scandinavia one. I am toying with the idea to add the 9 day Finland, Estonia and St. Petersburg tour with it. Wish I could win the lottery to do more. Lol!!

My favs were holland/Belgium, Scotland then the 14 day ireland

Happy travels to wherever you go!!

For your next trip maybe do one of the France trips, that way you are already in the country for your added time in Paris. I'm with you, I added a week in Paris to my Switzerland trip this coming May/June.

We are doing our 15-th and 16-th RS tour in July. Looking back there is not a tour we would not recommend. Yes there are some that probably fall into the been-there-done-that category. But our recommendations would be

1. Best of Italy FOLLOWED by Villages of Italy. Do the Big Italy first and then the Small Italy
2. Spain

Joe in Orlando

Having had a sample of western continental Europe, I'd actually suggest a different geographic area for your next tour. Best of Eastern Europe is a great tour (although a few days shorter than when I took it), or you might consider an England, Ireland or Greece tour. For a bigger contrast, Best of Turkey is another great tour. If Paris really is a high priority, then you could consider doing the Paris and London city tours back to back (easy connection using the Chunnel train).

Thank you all for your insights and suggestions. Although we really wanted to do Paris again, we’ve settled on Eastern Europe in 15 Days. Pending confirmation we’ll be travelling this fall.

We also considered: Portugal (but wished it included a little bit of Spain), Heart of France ( but felt like we should go where we haven’t been), and also London in 7 Days + Paris in 7 Days. It was a tough choice. So many places and only a few weeks of vacation time ( and budget).

Thanks again and happy travels!

We, too, are totally and completed addicted to RS! Here's a thought ... what about the My Way Best of Europe tour? You see all of the same destinations, but you're on your own. Now that you know your way around those cities it's the best way to see them again. And less expensive! Good luck with your choice. You can't go wrong with any RS tour you choose.

Having traveled through both Spain and Portugal, I like that there is a trip dedicated to just Portugal. Too many trips short change Portugal by adding a small portion of it to a trip to Spain.

We started our "addiction" with the Best of Europe in 21 Days, and though it's been hard to beat I have to say that last years Best of Greece is my favorite so far! We have done the 21 days, Best of Spain in 14 days, and Best of Greece (where we added 4 days in Athens before the tour, 2 days in Meteora after the tour and 4 days in Santorini). Next month will be our 4th tour and it will be Sicily, with 3 days before the tour in Rome, and two weeks after the tour visiting Naples, the Amalfi Coast, Milan, and Lake Como. I don't think you can go wrong with a RS tour, all of our groups have been filled with wonderful people, & fantastic guides and bus drivers. I am taking my adult daughter on the RS Munich, Salzburg, Vienna tour in December so we can visit the Christmas Markets...there are so many wonderful tours!

I liked Berlin, Prague and Vienna. Minimal 1 and 2 night stops. Very nice.

Hi there!
My first ever RS tour and also first ever solo trip was last April May, Best of Europe 14 days. It as a trip of a lifetime, one of my best vacations ever and the tour itself was excellent, guide Tina and driver Big John were the best. The rooms were all great and every day was a 'wow' day. I had such a good time I booked another tour for 4 months later in September, Athens and Greece. This tour was great but it just wasn't as good as the Europe one. The hotel rooms were not as nice, the guide not quite as good and the scenery not as 'wow', so yes I agree, I started my addiction with Best of Europe. I am however booked on the Village Italy tour in September and I'm very excited for that. I know someone who has done it along with Best of Europe and also Greece and she said it will be right up there at the top of the list as well! I fell in love with Italy on the BOE and can't wait to go back.