I know he has gone along on tours in the past - I wonder if he’s doing one this fall? We have our eighth tour coming up (Best of Germany) and I always think about that. One one hand, would love to meet him, but on the other hand, I would imagine it could be quite disruptive to have him on a tour. Some tour members are bad enough with a “normal” guide - monopolizing their time and attention. Would they be worse with the man himself? Any experiences? Your thoughts?
If I recall, Cameron Hewitt gently touches on this issue in his book. It sounds like he has a hard time restraining himself from inserting himself into the guide's plans. But it also sounds like he doesn't give advance notice of which tour he's joining, so you just have to suck it up and roll with it. Good luck, and let us know if it happens!
Best of Germany is a great tour. Lots to see and enjoy.
I had the pleasure of Rick joining my Ireland tour. Things couldn't have gone better. He joined us for most of the excursions and all of the dinners, rode the bus and told great stories... if you get lucky enough to have him join your tour, it will be a once in a life time experience. He also walks the walk when it comes to packing and travel...just a carry on! Travel on...
He joined our BOE 21 days tour in 2014. It was not disruptive at all - he was very low key and "normal" tour participant although he could not resist adding his perspective during bus rides and along the walks - it was great. Our tour guide was not nervous or intimidated (he had worked at RSE for 20+ years). He is genuinely interested in the "tour experience". It was amusing to be doing a city walk and have people reading the book and/or listening to the podcasts and look up and recognize him. I think it is a treat to have him join a tour.
While not officially on our tour, he did stop in on our group dinner in Lauterbrunnen. We were the Aug. 15th departure of the My Way Alpine tour. He spoke a bit then made his way around and spoke to everyone. They were staying at the same hotel, Hotel Oberland, as our group. The next morning we saw them as they were moving on to Gimmelwald.
It was nice that he shared his valuable vacation time visiting with us.