My wife and I have been on 4 previous RS Tours--Ireland, Heart of France, 14 day Best of Europe, & Village Italy--and trying to decide where to go next. The leading contenders are South of Italy and Best of Spain. (Also giving thought to England, Scandinavia, Sicily, and Greece). We are wracked with indecision and are looking for someone to make up our minds for us. Any thoughts would be appreciated. Thanks!
Posted by
Seattle, WA, USA ☔️
6790 posts
No bad choices here. Flip a coin.
Posted by
Folsom
2732 posts
Agree with David, no bad choice. Our favorite after a number of RS tours is still Greece. We loved the country and we had a great guide and group. Spain was a close second. Both Greece and Spain were relatively inexpensive, especially food and wine which we really enjoy. We have not taken South Italy but will be taking Sicily and Rome back to back this summer.
Posted by
Carmel, CA, USA
2456 posts
How about one after the other, after the other, after the other, and so on?
Can’t go wrong, although Scandanavia, and thus the RS Scandanavia Tour, are considerably more expensive.
Posted by
Barcelona + Sweden
4180 posts
I am of course biased, but since you have already visited Italy, maybe you could give Spain a shot?
Another consideration should be when you plan to take this tour? For example, I would probably discount both South of Italy and Best of Spain if you are planing to travel in mid-August or something like that.
Posted by
WA State
3961 posts
Really can't go wrong with any of the contenders. Our choices in order were Tuscany/Umbria, Loire to the South of France, Southern Italy/Sicily, Portugal/Spain, Greece, Venice/The Best of the Adriatic.
We travel to Europe in September and have always had great weather for these areas. Your decision may be dependent on what time of the year as well. Let us know what you choose!
Posted by
OP
7 posts
We have some flexibility in picking travel dates. We will probably go sometime between mid-September and mid-October.
Posted by
Pacific Northwest
894 posts
To borrow a line from Monty Python......"and now, for something completely different......"
Fly to Sofia on September 20th - arrive on the 21st - and the next day, begin the RS "Best of Bulgaria" tour.
That tour begins and ends in Sofia.
On October 3rd, fly from Sofia to Bucharest, Romania. Stay three nights.
On October 6th, fly to Budapest, Hungary. Stay three nights.
On October 9th, fly home.:
Europe like you have not seen.
Posted by
Edmonds, WA 🌨 ☂
11875 posts
Have not been on either of your 'leading contenders', but have done Greece and it is WONDERFUL.
Posted by
Barcelona + Sweden
4180 posts
If you can take the Sep 21–Oct 4 Best of Spain tour, then I believe that you will be in Barcelona for our annual city festival, La Mercè (Sep 21-24).
The festival itself is huge, there are 100s of events spread throughout Barcelona's squares, streets, museums, and parks. The best part - all the entertainment is free! This is something that we put on for ourselves, not just for tourists. If you want to experience Catalan culture like a local, at least for a few days, this is a great opportunity!
During La Mercè, make sure to check out the Castellers, which are human towers built by teams of the local communities. Also something that is really cool is the Correfoc, which I would describe as a pyro-musical with synchronized fireworks, there is usually a big one at the base of the Montjuïc mountain.
You can also take the Sep 23–Oct 6 tour, arrive a few days early in Barcelona, enjoy La Mercè fully, and then join the tour on the 23rd. Just another consideration :)
Posted by
1258 posts
I would say Greece or South Italy. We really loved our Greece tour!