I'm trying to learn more about Ricks Steves tours - I've never been on one before and I've done a couple of posts here on the forum to get more insight.
I'm curious, what is the biggest thing you take away or learn from the experience? What are some of the best places you have visited, and are they touristy or non-touristy? How are the crowds, and do they affect your overall experience?
Thank you!
I like the tours to meet other people. Our last guide was a victim of the Bosian war. I will never forget his story:(
Most places on RS tours have plenty of other tourists:(
and are they touristy or non-touristy?
They will be touristy.
A tour is going to take you to the most popular places because that is where people want to go. They will be crowded.
If you're looking at the difference between taking a tour and doing it solo, a tour does many things for you....they take care of hotels and ground transportation, they offer a guide to tell you about what you are seeing, they help to get you through places quicker especially if there is a long line. They give you traveling companions to share the experience with.
The downsides are you may spend time at places that don't interest you, you must stick to a tour schedule rather than do things at your own leisure, you don't get to choose your accomodation and they are usually done at a very quick pace to offer more.
As to where a tour goes, well, that's up to you. Taking a tour doesn't magically eliminate the crowds. Certain places are crowded. A tour doesn't make it less so.
Everything in Europe is crowded these days. What a RS tour does is get you in the crowded places as easy as possible.
I just finished my fourth RS tour, my third traveling solo. Tour 5 is already in the works for next summer. I wrap independent travel on both sides of the tour. Right now I’m in Florence, then heading to Rome tomorrow.
Since you didn’t say which tour or countries you are considering or your travel experience, I’ll give you a general overview:
Pros:
1 Knowledgable guides both tour guide and local guides. You don’t waste time not knowing what to do and see. I had a couple minor health issues this trip and Ruth our wonderful guide helped translate at the pharmacy what I needed.
2 Great tour mates. This tour was very inclusive; I never lacked for companionship.
3 If you haven’t done much European travel, you learn HOW to travel.
Cons:
1 Tours cost a bit more than independent travel.
2 The tours are active; you need to be able to walk, climb aboard the tour bus and hustle a bit on and off local transportation.
3 If you don’t like people, any tour is not for you.
I’m sure there are more reasons. If you provide more info, we can provide more answers.
I agree with the points Horsewoofie has made above (I love horses and wolves by the way).
I have traveled extensively solo throughout my life with joy and without problems. About 10 years ago my daughter decided that it was not wise or safe for me to continue to do so in spite of my experience. So, to allay her fears I looked into Rick Steves tours as I had been using his guides for a few years. I was very happy with my experiences. So much so that I have taken 9 tours so far. I mostly choose tours that may be a little harder to do solo from a transportation aspect as I absolutely will never drive in Europe again after doing so twice in Ireland, what an experience that was.
What I found in addition to the pleasure of someone else driving, is the wealth of knowledge of every single RS guide I have had!! And their ability to share that knowledge in an informative and personable manner. I feel that I have come away from each tour having experienced an in-depth experience of that country/area of country. This is why I keep coming back to Rick Steves tours.
Yes, they are touristy but let's face it you are a tourist whether alone or with a group. They are not in your face touristy with a large group and a leader with a flag or umbrella in front.
I also do as Horsewoofie and add time before and after the tour. This gives me the pleasure of planning and doing a little solo travel as well.
Turkey, the Adriatic, Sicily, Southern Italy, Villages of Italy, Tuscany (when it included Elba), and Southern England could all be traveled on your own, but some parts are a little tricky with local transport vs driving yourself. As far as crowds it also depends on time of year you choose to travel either solo or with a tour. The only crowds I can think of were in the big cities such as Rome, Florence, London, Venice, Palermo. The guides arrange visiting the big sites in the big cities at the most opportune time, such as Stonehenge first thing in morning with only perhaps a dozen other people there which was absolutely the most ideal way to experience this site.
It depends on the tour itinerary whether you are going to "touristy" places. I went to very non-touristy places on the Best of Turkey tour, including a local woman's home for lunch. If you go during peak travel season (like summer months or during Easter holidays), places will be crowded. Pick an off season tour if you are worried about crowds, but know that there are going to be crowds at popular sites any time of year.
Here is my advice. Try a tour. It is really the only way to find if it is a travel method for you. I did that and labeled that trip “the experiment” in my mind. A bit to my surprise, I found I really enjoyed it. I still travel a variety of ways, but that includes 5 RS tours and I really enjoyed them.
I don’t think you’ll be getting any more information than the responses you got a week ago. I’d advise picking a shorter tour in a place you always wanted to go and take the plunge. I was skeptical because there can be an erroneous assumption about tours and people who take them. You probably will soon find out what great travelers your fellow tour members are! I’ll be starting tour #9 on Oct 3.
Did any of the responses on your first thread help with your questions about tours? This forum does better if you are able to interact some with the other posters.
I answered there but will mention a few other things here:
Best places visited on a RS tour:
- One of the ones I did early on was the Best of Paris tour. I'd been to Paris in the 70's and did not enjoy it. I saw so many people loving Paris and thought...what am I missing? So, I did the 21 Day Best of Europe tour that ended in Paris. I decided to add the Best of Paris onto that and WOW!! Rolinka, the guide, was extraordinary. Unfortunately, I now can't stay away from Paris. I "get" it!
- Did the 21 Day Best of Europe which is a sampler tour....loved the Lauterbrunnen Valley. Even as someone who lives in Idaho like you do and can easily see or get to mountains, the Swiss Alps, especially the Lauterbrunnen Valley blew me away. So jaw-droppingly gorgeous.
- On the Best of England tour on the free afternoon, I walked up to Castlerigg Stone Circle outside Keswick in the Lake District. I love neolithic sites and that was awesome. At that time of the afternoon it was uncrowded, had maybe a dozen people thru the whole site and was just amazing!
- On the Paris and Heart of France tour spending the day in the Normandie area seeing the DDay landings with a superb local guide. The time spent with just our group in the church at Angouville-au-Plain was very emotional and moving. Basically, medics from the 101st Airborne set up an aid station in the church on June 6,1944. They wound up treating Allied and German troops and a civilian child. The battle raged over them with the line switching back and forth during the day. At one point a German commander appeared at the door, saw they were treating wounded from both sides and asked if they needed anything. At the end of the day the church lay in Allied hands and a German sniper who had been in the steeple climbed down and surrendered. Wow.
So, yes, lots of excellent sights/experiences I might not have managed on my own.
Here are some previous discussions on RS tours that may help you with understanding RS tours better:
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/tours/is-a-rick-steves-tour-right-for-you
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/tours/best-of-italy-video
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/tours/diversity-on-rs-tours
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/food-drink/meals-on-rs-tours
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/tours/is-everyone-on-rs-tours-american
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/tours/rs-tour-first-timer-questions
My husband and I have been on several tours with RS. Previously we had traveled on our own using the RS books. Our first was Spain and Morocco. We were both working and most of the planning fell to me. The logistics of travel in Spain using public transportation was harder for me so we tried the tour—much easier to only plan the few days before and after. We really loved the group dynamics. In Seville our guide advised on going to an Arab bath. My husband had no interest but most of the women joined in and it was wonderful.
Other special moments: our guide on Berlin,Prague and Vienna was a music teacher and the music played on our bus rides was great. Similarly, our Scotland guide played local folk music.
One other thing for me—I am awakened by the sun and enjoy the early mornings, but was not used to waking at 5 and having late evenings. I kept falling asleep on the bus. Then I realized that the bus time turned out to be a big bonus in Scandinavia. Now if I see a tour with longer bus time to get from place to place, I realize I can use that time for writing or chatting with tour mates or napping. And I don’t have to drive or navigate.
Next up—Greece and Turkey.
Been on many RS tours, and the best thing about them is having someone else handle the logistics for transportation and hotels. Second best is that they are generally made of of really nice, good, intelligent, outgoing people. Only once have we encounterd people who don't fit that description. Third is that they are small compared to most tours.
Some places were crowded and touristy, but many were not. But you will find that to be the case regardless of the tour company you use, or even if you do it yourself.
The biggest thing we've learned and taken away from the RS tours, is that all people are pretty much the same everwhere. Despite the obvious cultural differences, we are more alike that one would think.
We do much more independent travel. Been on 2 Tours, one of which was a RS tour. I will say without any hesitation that for me the tours are a much more relaxing trip. The planning required for the independent travel can be intense, to say the least. Train schedules, site tickets, private or group tours bookings, booking hotels, etc, it can be a lot. The tours on the other hand your schedule is more or less set, hotels and many attraction tickets are taken care of for you. Get to the bus or meeting point on time, do a bit of research, or take a guide book and you can more or less be good to go. The guides often have great tips for you as well.
So on a very personal level I get tired of living on someone else's schedule at some point in time. That is the biggest down side of the tours. I'm good for about two weeks, then I'm ready to strike out on my own. We will take more tours for sure though, and mix it with independent travel before or after the tour.
As to touristy and crowds, just be ready for them. People all around the world want to visit the same big attractions. In my daily life I avoid crowds at all costs. When traveling I just take them as part of the package deal. Some great memories I have are due to big crowds, super busy day on the Rome subway a young local delivery man warning us to watch out for our personal items.. In Florence out in the streets while they were having a giant labor protest.
So take the good, roll with the bad and make the best of it. Mostly enjoy each and every minute that you get.
If you are traveling to Europe for the first time, a tour might be a good idea. Especially on tours that that include many small towns, to have the transportation logistics taken care of is a big plus. The local guides are also an advantage you might not want to spend money on while planning your own travel, but they provide a wealth of information about things like other things to do after the tour. I also like exchanging travel stories with others in the group to get an idea of where I might want to travel next. We do a mix of tours and planning our own. As an example, fly into Bordeaux for 5 days on our own, train to Bayonne to join Basque tour in France and Spain, fly to Barcelona for another 5 days on our own. I do all the flight and logistics for the time on our own and enjoy going with the flow on the tour. This type of planning takes HOURs you might not have, to devote to it. TIP: You don't have to be with the group all the time. I don't care if I ever see another castle, so I ditch the tour for that day. I wander around town, stop in grocery and hardware stores and peak into backyards.
1 {RS} Tours cost a bit more than independent travel.
A bit? LOL A lot of bits...... but if it provides what you enjoy then who cares......
Check the listed RS talks and books. They put great effort into preparing you for the group experience and Rick’s style of travel. They are all invaluable. I’ve done a lot of independent travel to Europe over the years. When my husband and I decided to travel together we chose Ireland. I had traveled there frequently and had great experiences. By the time we went together all of the “good” tickets at all of the premium venues were taken by tour groups. I swore after that trip to explore group travel. We’ve traveled with several companies and will join RSE for trips 4 and 5 this year. The RS experience places you “in the moment, in the place”. Sure there are guided aspects, but that’s what you would be there to see. Some of the best guides I’ve experienced have been on RS tours, either leading or at a site. Tours are designed to circumvent the crowds, as much as possible. So your friends may have gone to the Vatican too, but you’ll have had a better guide and gone when you can actually experience the Vatican. You might go early or late, but you’ll have had a great experience. The travelers on the trips want to be there. It’s not just a vacation but a cultural experience. What do I take away from the trip? A better understanding of the language, culture and history of the areas I’ve traveled.
What I like about the RS tours is they take you to places I never would have thought to go. Definitely out of the way places that aren't touristy at all. Certainly they hit the highlights, but also give one a real sense of the local culture. And they're experts at navigating the crowds, whether it's going very early in the morning or late afternoon, and by hiring masterful local guides who know all the tricks. You won't be disappointed.
Edit: We've been on 6 tours and have our 7th planned for this summer, and we've traveled on our own. The tour is easier because they take care of most of the planning, but we also have a lot of free time that we have to plan. For example, on the Scandinavia tour this next summer, we have lots of free time in Copenhagen, so right now I'm looking at the RS itinerary to fill in the gaps the tour doesn't cover. Then looking at the things we want to do, opening times, mapping it out on googlemaps, etc.
During covid, I planned an entire trip using the exact RS itinerary. I did a deep dive and looked at every activity cost, location, and added in expected hotel costs plus food and travel. I estimated the tours cost $800 more per person than traveling independently. That's $1600 which isn't going to break my bank. Decide for yourself how much you want to spend and go from there. Know that taking a tour is easy-they take care of a lot of the stress (travel, etc). On that note, I've never been on a cruise because it doesn't sound like fun at all!!
We are soon to head off on our eighth RS tour and there are many things we really enjoy about the company’s package. One big “plus” is you can’t relax in the a.m., scanning internet news, dawdling over a second cup of coffee, then parking yourself in the bathroom for a leisurely sit down. You have to be on that bus ON TIME, regardless of your digestive tract’s schedule. But it’s worth it.
As for most memorable tour, Venice-Florence-Rome is a fantastic first-time tour that may spoil you: three leisurely nights in each city with the option of getting into Venice days early, then hanging out in Rome at the end of the tour for day trips to Ostia Antica, Pompeii and Orvieto. No other package offers this sensible pace in various locations.
Ticketing for all the touristy highlights are prearranged - no standing on lines - and nice food is almost guaranteed. Yes, we walk around as a small herd but we are NOT following a guide holding up a paddle, flag or colorful umbrella. You will learn how to navigate the local mass transit system and how to order “fast food” without embarrassing yourself. But rest assured, you are always securely in the RS “bubble-of-selected-experiences.” You will never be exposed to “how the other half lives” (as Jacob Riis once put it.) Which is fine because we’re on an RS vacation.
During our younger “self-guided”, unstructured travel days (or “off-the-leash” from a tour group) we could head out at dawn and just wander about. The locals would be at the public fountain collecting potable water for the day or busy in the produce market. Some experiences were fleeting but affecting. At a small neighborhood pharmacy I waited in line behind a young girl as she handed over some coins for a single disposable diaper. Just one. Her sandals were home-made from tire treads.
Outdoor restaurants on a plaza might have “la dolce vita” ambiance but - depending on the country and neighborhood - they could also have vigilant waiters trying to chase off children asking for leftovers from our plates. This level of “Meet the Locals” and “Why We Travel” will not be experienced on an RS itinerary and with good reason. An estimated 70% of the globe never venture outside their own country; RS travelers are a uniquely elite group.
We realize our RS tours have been extravagant bouts of “Affluenza.” My wife and I are aging white Americans who are privileged enough to have sufficient disposable income. Take a closer look at those many RS website photos of smiling tour groups. You’ll find plenty of gray-haired, paunchy-but-spry AARP-caliber members. As for those perky younger adults in the other promo photos … not so many will actually be part of your tour group.
I love the my way tours. It allows me the group experience of getting to know others and also allows me the opportunity to go at my own pace and see the things I am most interested in seeing. It really is the best of both worlds. The tour guides and managers are wonderful too.
All major sights in Europe are touristy.
Hi Spencer,
I just completed my 20th trip to Europe - 4 of those were RS tours, and rest were independent travel except the first trip. So I have plenty of experience seeing both sides advantages & disadvantages. I will say that the RS tours set me up to be a successful independent traveler. You will learn so much as a jumpstart, if you wish, about answers to questions you don’t even know to ask starting out - cultures, logistics, wearing a money belt, how to cross a street in Rome & survive - LOL!
The RS tours really do maximize your experience for the amount of time. This was critical when my husband & I were working (before retirement) and days off were precious. You won’t waste time wondering what to do, but you also benefit greatly if you’ve taken the time to read his guidebook, so you have tentatively planned what interests you for your free time in a city,
Honestly, if a city is on a RS tour, they will mostly be touristy. Some of that is because of the sites, some because it’s listed in his guidebooks and becomes popular. If you’re looking to avoid touristy sites, that usually comes with subsequent independent trips to the same country.
Be sure to arrive a day or two pre-tour to get over jet lag before the tour begins and also to have the fun of exploring a bit on your own. We typically liked to begin a few days ahead at a nearby city, although many n the forum like to stay at the beginning city pre-tour. Have a great time!
