I just re-read our email that was sent 30 days before our tour starts and it mentions to not forget your N95 masks. Is this really required for RS tours? Our last tour was 2022 and indeed, we did wears our masks but I didn't realize that was still continuing.
I've no issue bringing one but only could find 1 N95 amongst my stash
Hi Kathy, I brought two of them on my tour in May. It states that if you have a contagious illness, you’re required to mask to prevent it from spreading across the group.
Maybe check with a local pharmacy before your trip,
Besides the potential of you needing to keep from spreading bugs you might catch, there could be others that are not so thoughtful on your travels (like on airplanes). FWIW in 2023 I took the Best of Turkey tour and wore a mask on the plane to/from home but also managed to get Covid somewhere on the return trip. No one else in my group had it but several others had a bad cold. I suspect if you ask around you may find someone who has a stash you could borrow from. Have a fun and healthy trip!
I buy 3M Aura N95s on Amazon. I find them much easier to breathe and more comfortable to wear than some other types. I also wear one from airport to airport and briefly take it off for a meal on the plane.
I will sometimes wear one on the RS bus and definitely would if people were coughing. On two tours, after restrictions were lifted, there were three people traveling together and one by one each got Covid. Masks were still required on the bus at that time. On the other tour, three people got Covid. One arrived a few days prior with it and then gave it to her spouse. One other lady got it and had to be reminded to wear a mask. I just masked up on the bus, as did others, and nobody else got sick.
Several of us who came down with colds on our recent Village Italy tour wore masks on the bus, as well as in other enclosed spaces. Our tour mates thanked us.
Here is what the tour FAQs (https://www.ricksteves.com/travel-help/tours-faq) say:
What happens if I get sick on tour?
We expect tour members to monitor their health and only travel if they're feeling well. However, getting sick while on tour can happen to anyone — and it can affect not just your trip, but your fellow tour members' trip, too. If you start to feel sick during your tour, notify your guide right away, so they can direct you to a local clinic or pharmacy for diagnosis and treatment. Also, if you're exhibiting symptoms of a contagious illness (such as cold, flu, Covid, etc.), we require you to wear a N95/KN95 mask while on the bus or in other settings with your group.
We were on the Best of Germany in May. At our initial group meeting our tour guide reminded us of the requirement to wear a mask if you become sick or have a cold and, yes, one of our tour member did come down with a cold and was asked to wear a mask and sat in the back of the bus. If you are asking if everyone is still required to wear a mask on the bus then the answer is no.
On our tour in 2024, one person in our group wanted to bring up covid and the guide politely shut the conversation down, but did ask everyone to use common sense about being in a group and suddenly catching a cold or getting sick; and asked that someone wear a mask if coughing, etc. became an issue due to illness.
I received my email, too. It states that masks are required only if you are experiencing symptoms that manifest with colds/flu/COVID.
There has been a reason for some to wear a mask on most every tour I've been on in recent years. Not covid maybe, but something contagious. No big deal.
I wear a mask on flights because I discovered it saved me from the uncomfortably dry sinuses I used to have.
And another need for masks, as I was reminded this week, is air quality. It has been the most hazardous air quality in history here because of the wildfires up north. A couple days ago we were the worst air quality in the world (Twin Cities, MN) I was glad I'd kept a supply of masks from Covid as I had to wear one to go outdoors to shop. So masks can help with both preventing the spread of disease & protecting your lungs from poor air quality.
The masks are nearly essential in Detroit right now if you need to spend any amount of time outdoors in the dim smelly murk. We've had our worst air quality in our history the past 2 days.
During our recent RS Best of Scandinavia tour people were succumbing to a cold like dominoes. It didn't appear to me that the masking was very effective as eventually even our guide caught it and had to miss several activities and barely made it to the farewell dinner. It was a particularly bad cold with severe nasal symptoms and terrible hacking cough. There's a number of tour members missing from group photos when they opted out of daily activity or stayed on the bus when it was too cold or rainy outside during photo taking.
Some people only brought the surgical masks, I'd recommend bringing the better quality masks. You might need them.
