My way Europe trip gone?

You might want to use the contact info at the bottom of this page to ask someone in the RS company directly.

Correct - We only had five departures of that itinerary last year and it's not scheduled to run in 2020 or 2021. It was a great trip but perhaps "too similar" to our fully-guided multi-country tour routes on offer. (If you've never tried a fully guided tour, you might love that, too!) For further in the future, the tour planners are always brainstorming!

FWIW, I took the 14 day My Way Europe tour a few years ago. I have also taken a number of RS guided tour and have traveled on my own in some countries of Europe.

In my opinion, the guided tours are a better value for the dollar than the My Way tour I took. I was surprised as to how often I was reaching for my wallet on the My Way tour. Tickets, transportation within a city, meals, and more all drained the savings. And the amount of time I spent figuring what to do in each city when something unexpected happened (like trail closure in the Cinque Terre) was significant.

My choice is to take an RS tour and then add-on time on my own either to explore areas the tour did not go to, or to return to areas the tour hit, but which I wanted to see more of.

Next, is the fully guided tour. They are well done, and I find that I rarely have to open my wallet for anything other than the occasional dinner, or souvenirs.
Last (not to be taken as bad, just least preferred) the My Way Tour.

This is all just my opinion. Your needs may differ.

Thank you!!

We haven’t done a my way tour, but my wife and I had the time of our lives in 2018 on the Best of Europe in 14 Days tour. That was our first RS tour, and our guide, Dave Stringer, was excellent. As the other poster said, the ancillary costs, combined with the time spent buying ticket and waiting in lines (we often had priority access) could make up the difference. After the first guided tour we haven’t looked back... nor have we considered any other tour company.

Barnstormer, that's good to know. We've considered the MyWay tours, but the regular RS tours are such a great value... Yes, they cost more, but goodness, you get so much.

To each their own, gotta figure out what you like. Guided tours are too restrictive for me - I’m up early and back late and cover a lot of ground. I may not learn a lot but I see a lot.

Reaching into one’s pocket for money on a My Way tour should be expected and is not a negative thing. Don’t forget that you have ALREADY reached into your pocket for money on the guided tour...you just did it on the front end when you booked the tour. Sorry they are canceling this My Way tour.

@Jane - yes, you get a lot on the RS guided tours. One other money saver is that the group dinners are substantial, very substantial. on the days we had a group dinner, I had a very light lunch, perhaps splitting a panini or a plate, or sometimes just having a gelato and coffee, or a pastry and coffee, or buying a sandwich from a shop near a bus or subway entrance. The last thing you want to do on group dinner nights is stuff yourself at lunch. :-)

@dovetraveler - You are right of course. If having to follow an itinerary is a problem for a person, they are best off going on their own or a My Way tour. FWIW, I did the My Way tour because I was with one of my adult children and realized that her tolerance for the Great Museums of Europe was minimal. Roman ruins, the Eiffel Tower, the Nazi death camp, Cinque Terre trails were interesting. Museums just did not cut it for the kid. FWIW, her main interest in Rome after the Colosseum and the Vatican church was the Cat Sanctuary. What can I say?

@Jim - Trust me. Having paid for several RS guided tours I know I have already reached into my wallet, more like my bank account. I mentioned that so that people understand that visiting all these wonderful places is not free, and the admission costs are often 12-25 euros. There are very few free or 5 euro deals on the great and popular sites. OTOH, one can find free and very low cost ways of seeing interesting things. I love turning a tram into a 'free' or low cost tour bus in some cities. YMMV.

I now want to take my granddaughter to Europe. I hope buy the time we go they still have the similar Family Tour.

We have taken both RS guided and My Way tours and found both formats wonderful. They each have their own benefits and are very well done. I have done the 14 day My Way tour and have to say that it is too bad to see it has gone away. On one hand I thoroughly enjoy the planning aspect of a trip and the My Way tour allowed me the opportunity to make all decisions as to how we spent our time with out any concerns about hotels or transportation between cities. This way of traveling allows you to move throughout the day at your own pace without the worry of having to keep up with a group. On the other hand the guided tours take away literally all the stress of traveling while providing experiences that you may not have given a thought to otherwise. Those activities truly enhanced our travel and were many of the highlights of the trip. So bottomline is that you chose the format that best suits your goals at the time. They both work well, and I hope that we will continue to be given options.