What did you like best and least about any RS tour you have taken?

General answers, fitting any tour (we've taken 11): Best: the teaching. The guides don't just point us to things, they teach us about them. I posted a bit about this yesterday on a thread having to do with drinking on the tours. We don't just drop in on a winery and have a drink, we walk through the vineyard, listening to the grower telling us about viticulture. We visit the cellars, or learn about bottling and aging. At olive oil tastings we tour the mill and listen to the owner talk about keeping up old traditions in today's computerized, industrialized world.

Other best thing: all the free time. We're not herded around all day, checking "must see" sights off a list. Usually we're given a general orientation to an area, then turned loose. Love it.

Least favorite: Not enough time in any one place. This is one reason I love the city tours; you get an entire week in one place. Lots of group activities, and lots of free time to apply the travel skills we've learned. On the multi-city tours, even two nights in any one place is not enough. The Barcelona-Madrid tour is a nice compromise: 8 days for two cities. But still not enough time :-)

Payntertex what did you like best and least about any RS tour you have taken?

Here are links to the previous threads on this topic:

2017 thread:
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/tours/what-do-like-best-and-least-in-a-rick-steves-tour

2015 thread:
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/tours/what-do-you-like-best-and-least-in-a-rick-steves-tour

My answer was the same on both those threads and it still stands.

I do like Jane's answer here as well and that is important to me.

I've taken 3 RS tours (the rest have been independent travel):

GAS (Germany, Austria, Switzerland):
Best - our very personable guide who gave us so many insights to the countries while we were traveling on the bus, and she interspersed her classical music knowledge, especially in Salzburg. The towns, especially in Switzerland & Austria. Free time in the tour, since we were celebrating our 25th anniversary.
Least favorite - we both thought Baden-Baden was our least favorite stop. We would have rather had another traditional German town, instead.

Best of Italy:
Best - all of the locations were "wow" spots. Excellent RS group menu items for meals. Overall, a wonderful experience, and we felt that our time was well spent to receive a great introduction to Italy.
Least favorite - I can't think of anything.

Paris - 1 week tour (I did this as a solo traveler):
Best - a very nice hotel. Receiving the Museum Pass & 1-week Metro pass to maximize my time. Guides in art museum, etc. were excellent. I was very happy with the woman who was my roommate for the week.

Least favorite - our group meals weren't at the same standard as previous trips which was surprising since we were in Paris.

My husband and I are signed up for our first RS tour to Greece this spring. I used to read lots of posts but it has taken us this long to finally be able to go on a tour. I guess there has to be a first post for everyone. Just looking for hints - things to enjoy and things to do differently. Part of the fun of looking forward to the trip!

Glad you are finally able to take a tour.

Hope you get some insights.

I did some minor editing... just in case a feather or two was ruffled which I don't believe was anyone's intent. Carry on!

Oh Greece, that one is easy. Best-everything! Least-when it was over! This was our favorite RS tour of the 7 we have taken.

We've taken two -- Best of Eastern Europe and Alpine My Way tour. For Eastern Europe, the best was knowledge imparted by the guides, and also the walking -- I much prefer walking all through a city rather than being on a bus from museum to museum. Worst -- probably lunch in a school cafeteria. Many of us felt like they were providing us better food than the students received.

For the My Way tour the best was the input from the tour manager as she visited each traveling group on the "bus" days to provide suggestions for what we might do the next day. Worst -- I cannot think of a thing.

Best: Our RS tour guide, the hotels (often quirky but fun and interesting) and their locations, some of the local guides, and the information provided to best use our free time.

Least: Some of the local guides. Museums in particular. Our guides in Amsterdam and Florence often spent 10 minutes talking about an individual painting which really limited the number of things we could see. I'm all for background information to add depth to art history but too much leaves one with the feeling that much was missed.

Dinners were hit and miss and, having said this, I realize how difficult it must be to satisfy so many individual tastes. I would note that the meals Rick shares on his videos seem considerably more interesting than those sometimes provided on the tour. Maybe he has learned that his average tourist is far less adventurous than he is. I'm also guessing that meals may be one of the most difficult items to manage for consistent quality.

You can't go wrong with the Greece Tour. Athens was so educational and fun, strolling around the Plaka and all the sites. We had great hotels and met the greatest people on our tour that you could hope for. Even the bus ride used to be a concern but it was fantastic. My favorite towns were all but I really like Nafplo, Monemvasia and Hydra. But from dancing in Nafplio to Dinner in Athens it was truly amazing. Our guide Colin was simply the best. What an amazing trip we had! If you like to hike there is lots of that as well. Enjoy and have fun!

Greece tour questions-- I was concerned about so many immigrants. Was that ever a problem?

I have traveled with multiple tour companies around the world. We finally took our first RS tour last November to visit Sicily. I am not going to compare/contrast RS with other companies. This is simply my opinion based on this tour.

Best:

-- We had an AMAZING tour group. Seriously. These were some funny, friendly travelers. While I'm terrible at names, I quickly felt at home with everyone.
-- We had outstanding lodgings. I know some people may shy away from the tour descriptions which say that some of the lodgings are quirky and smaller, but OMG. I'd take these lodgings over a Kempinksi Hotel any day. These places had character and were just downright fun, even in the one place where apparently our room was the only spot where wifi didn't work.
-- We saw things that I would never have seen while traveling on my own, and we were often greeted by the owners/chefs/proprietors of the places we visited. (I think that one is self explanatory.)

Least:

-- I hated super early starts on some mornings, because I didn't feel there was enough time (for me, YMMV) to have breakfast before the tour departed.

We've done 4 RS and loved them all. Greece was one and we took it because we were still mobile. It exceeded all expectations. We arrived 1 1/2 day early and that was perfect. We like the fact that RS tours give you so much independent time, but offer activities that your free to participate should you choose. On every tour there have been situations when the guides have said, "I'm going to be doing this, let me know if you want to join me". We also like the fact that all our guides have been accurate with suggestions for what to do and where to eat.

I know that not everyone is happy with some meals and some hotels, but we've made less than stellar choices on our own, so we just go with it.

Regarding Greece, specifically, we liked all our meals, all the local guides were top-notch, and there were no issues with immigrants.

I have taken 2 tours. Turkey and greece. Guides were excellent. Hotels some were quirky and not in line with cost of tour. imo., and too many free days in Greece with nothing to do.

I've only taken one - the Best of England. The ONLY problem I had with the entire tour was that I didn't get enough time at a few of the stops. The remedy is that I'm taking my husband to my favorite stops this summer:). win win!

Ive only taken one tour.. years ago, with my then 11 yr old daughter.. The Family Europe in 14 days.

Loved everything ( except what Ill list below) .. we didnt find the early starts that early at all.. seemed like they ranged from 8-9 am.. which is when we are up and about when we travel independently also. We loved all our hotels.. some where nicer.. but all were just fine by us. We loved the guide, the hikes we did, the bus time ( and having so much room on the bus) .. The sight guides made things more interesting..

The one think I wouldnt say I loved was the group meals.. the food was pretty bland to us.. but I guess they err on the side of boring so as to not upset pickier eaters.

The person asking about "immigrants".. I dont even understand that question... they arent going to run up to you and try and jump in your suitcase.. lol .. in fact I doubt you will have a clue when you see a local if they are in fact a local or an immigrant.

Having gone on 14, there must be something I enjoy about them.;) That said, I agree with the learning aspect of the tour. I feel I come away with a better understanding of the site, than if I had visited on my own. The guides, both the tour guide and local guides, are very knowledgeable and enthusiastic about the subject matter. I enjoy presentations, such as pottery, olive oil and candy making with no pressure to make a purchase. I agree there have been sites where I wished to have more time and occasionally, the opposite where I wished to leave. Most of the hotels I would not mind staying in on my own. But not one has been unsafe, unclean or not centrally located. Most meals have been quite good. There have been a few I didn't enjoy, such as pineapple chicken(whaaattt??) and swordfish served every course except dessert.

After completing the first tour, I sat down and wrote out a pro/con list. I felt, and still do, the positives far out weigh the negatives. Until my opinion is altered, I will continue to sign up for tours. My next one is less than two months away.

On every tour there have been situations when the guides have said, "I'm going to be doing this, let me know if you want to join me".

I've been on 4 and have only have this happen on one of them, the guide said he was going on a hike our free day (we were in Switzerland) and anyone who wanted was welcome to join. For the rest I had the impression (although it wasn't explicitly said) that the guide's time was their own. On one trip I was with a few people from the tour in the small town we were staying when we ran across our guide who seemed surprised and bit dismayed to see us.After a few hello's and so on she managed to discreetly slip away, not to be seen again.

I'm also guessing that meals may be one of the most difficult items to manage for consistent quality.

That is true with any group tours, and one reason I haven't taken any. Enjoying local food is one reason I travel. On a group tour I envision encountering:

• Rushing through lunch in an hour.
• Limited to set menus.
• Eating in restaurants that can accommodate a "small" group of 16. And missing out on gems with only four tables.

Surprisingly, reviews of group tours have plenty to say about lodging, and little to say about food.

Did our first RS Tour - 21 Day Best of Europe. It was fabulous! We learned so much about the different cultures from our RS tour guide and the local guides. Loved that our lodging was always located close to the "action" allowing us to venture out and explore as time permitted. The group experience was wonderful, as we were very like-minded when it came to travel. Perhaps the RS Tours agreement that you sign prior to the tour was instrumental in getting us on the same page. Our guide, Dimitri, also set the tone and helped to make it a memorable experience. I really enjoyed traveling by motor coach and taking in the landscape as our guide shared information about our next stop. My least favorite thing is there wasn't enough free time. I am considering a My Way tour in the future, but this year it's the 14 Day RS Tour to Spain.

"Our guide, Dimitri, also set the tone and helped to make it a memorable experience."

Vickie, I also learned so much from Dimitri! Loved, loved, loved traveling with him. After the first meet-up I approached him and said, as I usually do "I'm your problem child when it comes to food. I'm vegan." He looked me straight in the eye with those chocolate-brown eyes of his and said "Do not worry about this. It is my job and I will take care of this for you." Wow, I was hooked. And yes, he did. EVERY group meal he at least caught my eye and asked "OK?". Every meal I smiled and nodded - Yes! I don't easily give myself over to the care of others but Dimitri? Yes, total trust.

In Paris after he did our transportation lesson at one of the big Metro maps he said..."I want Pam to lead us thru the Metro. I am looking at her and I am not sure she understands this and I want her to." Yep, he was right. Yep, I led. Yep, I got it figured out with help from him and the other group members. Yep, I am now in love with Paris.

@staynsavor - If food is your primary goal then you are right, a tour would not work for you. However, on a RS tour in general you are on your own for dinner every other night and most lunches. You can skip any meal you wish and go off on your own. I've never felt rushed to eat within an hour and usually I am ready to move on to an activity before others are finished with their meals. I'm vegan, as long as I get something that's vegan that works for me. I don't really focus on the food part of travel as that's not important to me. I'd rather be out and doing/seeing.

John, on at least two of our tours, the guide suggested an extra activity for anyone who wanted to go along. Lace making in Bruges, a tour of Borough Market in London. One of those guides offered to let us tag along to his favorite place to eat in Delft, as well. But on the whole, I agree that they need their private time. And they do a lot of record-keeping in their down time, as well.

Staynsavor, I'll echo what Pam had to say, pretty much. We did have one tour (Sicily) where the morning activity stretched out too long, and we were in danger of missing an afternoon appointment with a local guide. So our guide made arrangements with a local sandwich shop for us to quickly grab something to eat and drink. I think that's the only time we ever felt rushed, and to make up for it, the guide paid for all of us! (Yes, it was Rick's money, but this was not a scheduled group meal.)

At most group dinners there is a choice of items, and they tend to be characteristic of the area. Of course, some are better than others; that's to be expected. But we've seldom been disappointed either in the choice or in the quality.

Our favorites have been a buffet type spread of local specialties; we had a couple of these on the Village Italy tour. Occasionally the food is first rate; it's never been bad. (Well, there was that one hotel in Rome with fake orange juice and instant coffee....)

And Pam, our Paris guide did the same thing! She chose one of the least confident people to lead us on the Metro. The point? All of us thought "Well, if she can do it, so can I!"

The meals that I seem to enjoy the most on our 17 Day Best of Italy Tour were not the group meals, but the ones where the guide said he was going to eat dinner at a particular restaurant and anyone that wanted to join him was welcome. Not surprising, but a lot of tour members went. The nice thing about that was you could order anything from the menu you wanted and you knew it was going to be good if that’s where the guide chose to eat. You were not limited to what was on the group menu. What I liked the least was our menu at the agritustismo where they only had one main course which happen to be lamb on the first night. If you didn’t like it, you filled up on pasta. There was no place else within walking distance to eat. I think there should be at least two main courses to chose from when it is the only place you can eat at. At the ski lodge in the Dolomites, we could choose between three main courses. At the Cinque Terre, I chose not to attend the group dinner because I could not eat the food on the menu do to allergies, but there were other restaurants that I could eat at.

One part of my RS Tours, so far 9 of them, that I especially like are opportunities to really interact with local people who are not in the daily business of dealing with visitors, as are guides, hotel and museum staff, waiters, store clerks in touristy areas, etc. The tour that most offered such interaction was the RS Bulgaria Tour. First of all, Bulgaria has many fewer tourists around than just about any other RS destination, so various things tend to be less busy, and thus easier to interact with people, especially as many people, especially younger people, speak English. The RS Tour includes half-day stops at both a Roma (“gypsy”) neighborhood, including a school visit/discussion and lunch in a local Roma leader’s home with extensive Q & A about Roma life and challenges, and also a half-day in a small minority Muslim town, again with a school visit/discussion and lunch in a local home with local entertainment. There were also several other times which offered special interpersonal interaction. A very memorable tour.
What I tend not to like so much are daytime stops in small towns that are just overwhelmingly touristy, with a heavy concentration of souvenir stalls and shops and restaurants targeting tourists. Generally these stops are made for a reason, the towns may be very beautiful, or have one important site to visit, but they really make me feel like a mass tourist. A stop in Rovinj, Croatia, comes to mind.

I have taken 14 RS tours and have no complaints about any of them. I will soon be taking another two RS tours and look forward to both of them. About the complaints about the tours being too short, the RS folks at the Edmonds, WA, headquarters explained to me that there use to be more longer tours (I like the 21 day tour I took) but they we not selling nearly as well as some of their newer shorter tours. Part of that they attribute to the fact that so many Americans do not get much vacation time. Therefore, we see a large number of 7 day tours. I will be taking a 7 day tour and an 11 day tour in May. This way I get to spend more time on tour. aloha charlie

Thank you so much for all your insights. It gave me a few ideas for our trip and they were all fun to read!