One more try: anyone on the Best of Eastern France tour starting Sept 3?

Not on it this year but did it last year and it was fabulous. Colmar Chamonix and Vaison were our highlights. Doing village Italy this year. Have fun

unfortunately very few folks doing the tours find their way here to the Forums and it is sad but almost never is this sort of thread replied to by folks on the actual specific tour,

I hope the anticipation isn't too much for you...

I will be on the one just before yours, starting 8/20

Wendy:
We have already registered for Village Italy for next year. Seems like we are a little behind you. I hadn't really considered Village Italy in the past because it seemed to overlap with Best of Italy, our first RS tour; but when looking through a brochure I noticed that Village Italy included a stop in Ravenna, and that got me to open my eyes a bit and consider the tour. Since I'm most interested in experiences that aren't art museums (art is ok, but not the main interest) Village Italy sounded like it might be just the thing.

Thanks for your response; I'm especially looking forward to Chamonix. Though sometimes it's the places for which I have no expectations that I like best.

Nigel: agree that few of the tour attendees make it to the forums. I'll be meeting them soon enough. I'm not sure if your comment ("I hope the anticipation isn't too much for you...") is snark or if you are as earnest as I am, but to me the anticipation is one of the best parts of a trip. Add to that that we booked this trip as soon as the 2023 tours were available to book (June 2022?) - so it's been a long year+ waiting.

415sar: Have a great trip! Your tour ends the day before our tour starts. Do you also have Chris Coleman as your guide? I wonder if guides work back to back like that? It would make sense from a logistics point of view, though it might be a bit tiring for the guides.

is snark

I don't do that. I have never done that. I'm just here to help, never antagonize, even if some see me that way

Sorry about the accusation! I’m a little sensitive.

Have the best time Tony and Jim! Hope you guys love it as much as we did. Crossing fingers and toes that Chamonix is bright sunshine like we had.

Tony, It is sad that tour members don't read the forum. They can learn so much. It's not just for newbies.
I was on the Berlin, Prague & Vienna tour in June. No other participants post to the forum or said they read it. Same with last year's South of France tour. In 2019, I met several forum posters in Rome and on the South of Italy tour. I'm going back to Italy early September 2024 on the Village Italy tour.

Bon voyage! Buon Viaggio!

I took the tour years ago when it ended in Nice. I have such fond memories of it.

• Mornings start at a more relaxed time since there are no major sights to get to before the crowds
• While the one full day in Charmonix was foggy and drizzly. We did have a memorable group dinner with fondue, raclette, charcuterie plate and wine. Scrumptious. Of course the skies were sunny and clear the morning we departed!
• About halfway through the trip I came upon the bus driver having an evening drink on the hotel’s patio. He invited me to join him and we did so a few more times during the trip. Fun company and conversation. Our guide even joined us one night.
• After the farewell dinner our guide had some sparkling wine and invited everyone to join her on the promenade in Nice. Several of us did and it was a nice surprise and a great way to cap off the tour.

Village Italy is a great tour too. Have a fun trip!

We had Chris Coleman as our guide on this tour several years ago and I felt she worked really hard to make it informative and enjoyable. Glad to hear she's still doing tours.

Our tour guide will be Virginie More. Hope you have a wonderful time!!

Hi Tony
We did this tour preCovid with Virginie. Great tour that covers a lot of different areas of interest. We went a few days early and did a champagne tour which we enjoyed. We had Chris as a tour guide for the Loire to Southern France tour. She’s a seasoned Rick Steve guide that was no nonsense and very well informed. I hope you guys enjoy it!

I wonder if the Rick Steves staff could add a blurb to the general pre tour planner that encourages people to come to this forum to engage with others and ask questions.

A lot of people I’ve talked to are leery of this type of social media site. On FB you have some type of control over who sees your posts. But on this site, although dedicated to traveling, there are times that the moderator has had to say “Enough!” and lock the discussion.

Tony, try to do the luge run in Chamonix, it was really fun. We also did a Mumm’s tour in Reims, it was great. Have a fabulous time. Our guide was Daniela and she was great

Wendy,

Is there time on the free day to take the tram up to Aigulle du Midi and the luge run too? It sounds like it might be too much for one day. Sounds like a blast though.

Yes you’ll have time for both, the trip up to Aguille du Midi and across to Italy will take the morning as long as you get up and out early. So you’ll have the afternoon to fill up with whatever sounds best.

Tony we did the train to the glacier and the luge run on the day we arrived in Chamonix, we also went up the gondola that faces Mt blanc. On our free day we went up Mt blanc and because it was a beautiful sunny day we went straight for the four person gondola to Italy. It was spectacular. Our tickets for Mt blanc were for 10:30 so hopefully you can get an earlier time. Make sure to do the Ice Cube. Worth the line up. Have fun

Ours starts 9/17 with Chris Coleman. Glad you asked, though, as I had some questions about our time in Chamonix and there were insights shared. Have a great time!

I've been on five RS tours and will be in southern Italy & Sicily for six and seventh tour this October. My first RS tour experience was the Best of Eastern France in 2014. I happen to love French wine and enjoyed this tour immensely as we encountered each distinctive wine region. I reached nirvana drinking Rhone wines in the south of France where they were produced. It was a bonus to have the capable & entertaining Chris Coleman as tour guide; and also tour guide on the Loire to the South of France tour in 2018. Can't say enough about her skills and leadership; course we're both from Minnesota. You'll have a great time!

You will love this tour. We did this in 2015 and our guide was Daniela. We had so many memorable moments on this tour. We still talk about it to this day. We made several lifelong friends on the tour. We were blessed with gorgeous weather in Chamonix and did the RS recommended hike from the midway point up the mountain to the Mer de Glace, visited the glacier (lots of stairs coming back up from the glacier) and then took the train back to Chamonix. We were having so much fun on the hike taking photos of the glorious views that we were late getting back to the hotel for the impromptu get together. Our guide Daniela was getting a little frantic and concerned for our welfare. She was relieved to see us return. Although the tour has changed somewhat since 2015, I am sure it is still fantastic. Have a great time!

We took this tour in May. We were so fortunate to have Steve Smith, the author of the RS France guide book, for our guide so we got a few special experiences including lunch with his dad at his family house in Burgundy. Loved it all but I think Chamonix and Vaison-la-Romaine were my favorites. The hotels in both those places were Rick Steves special. We travel light, sink wash and take advantage of drop-off laundry when available. This tour was a little sparse - we did laundry in Colmar and skipped a chance in Vaison-la-Romaine which I then regretted.

A big thanks to everyone who replied with your suggestions and thoughts.

Ours starts 9/17 with Chris Coleman.

Since our BEF tour with Chris last year, I have been searching for the perfect chambray shirt to wear on our upcoming trip to Norway. I found it a few months ago, and I hope I can nail it's versatility like Chris does. She's a great guide and from a great state:)

The first time we were in Chamonix we went to the top of the mountain. On our second tour through there we did a hike above the town.

I know you will have a great time!

“Ours starts 9/17 with Chris Coleman.”

We are on same tour!

Tony, we will be joining you on this tour. We look forward to meeting you!
This will be our 8th tour, and we're still trying to figure out the packing and laundry options. LOL! The temperature differentials are challenging on this one.

Hi drmsryan,

Nice to meet you! I'm looking forward to meeting you in person on Sunday. We fly tomorrow. Can't wait!

Tony