What to wear at dinner?

I'm sure you'll enjoy your trip and find that most RS tour members are also casual travelers and usually wear to dinner whatever they wore that day. The one exception seems to be when people may dress up a bit for the farewell dinner. You may want to search the many packing topics on the forum for great suggestions on what to pack.

Yes, these are very causal dinners. Most people will be dressed in same clothes as worn during the day. A few people may change into clean clothes. On a few occasions I have seen tour members dress up a bit. But, mostly all will be dressed causally. If you like wearing dresses, bring a few along. You can certainly dress up an outfit with a scarf or some costume jewelry. You might find some scarves while there, they make great souvenirs or gifts. I find dresses to be cooler and usually pack at least one, if the weather is going to be warm/hot. Shorts are ok, but be careful when visiting churches. In my opinion, dresses and capris are better options than shorts. That may just be an age thing! I usually take along capris, skirts, skorts when traveling in warmer season. If you like jeans take along a pair. Although, jeans may be heavier and more difficult to dry than other fabrics.

Remember to pack light. You will be expected to carry your own bag. Sometimes the bus must park a distance from the hotel. Plus, hotels may not have lift and your room may be located on an upper floor.

I hope you have a great trip!!

I agree with Lomosh. On my tours I usually wear whatever I've toured in that day. The exception is if we've gotten to a hotel early enough that I've done a hand wash, in which case you'll see me in tomorrow's touring clothes, lol!! I don't usually dress up for the farewell dinner. I was shocked on one tour when someone was wearing a different blouse. She said she had saved it for the farewell dinner. I try to pack light and believe me, by the end everything will have been worn!

Capris are fine. Shorts might be fine but I haven't done the Greece tour so don't know about requirements for church visiting. It'll still be hot so if you are cooler in a dress go for it. Whatever you do- have comfortable shoes no matter what!!!

I, too, am a very casual traveler as are most on the RS tours. To me it's more about the places, experiences and people than about who's wearing what.

I hope you have a fantastic time!!

Cross-posting with Debra! I agree with her too!

I recently took the RS Greece tour. The weather was very hot, and most likely will still be quite warm while you are there. At dinner, most everyone wore the same clothes they wore all day. The men wore shorts; the women wore shorts, skirts, capri pants. No one dressed up for dinner, except some who dressed up a bit for the farewell dinner. Most of the included meals, except for the farewell dinner, were at very casual family style restaurants/tavernas.
For daytime, wear what is comfortable. You will be walking - a lot, and on uneven/slippery surfaces - so sturdy and comfortable footwear is a must. Sandals with good tread (like Ecco or Keen) will make your life easier. There are opportunities for independent hiking, so decent trail shoes might be a consideration if that's something you like to do. We visited few churches - actually only on one day in Mystras was there any concern over the wearing of shorts - and there was no issue there either. If you are comfortable in yoga pants, wear them. Capris are always fine.
Have fun. It's an action packed itinerary. Remember to drink lots of water as it is really hot and you will be walking a lot. The Greeks are super friendly, the food is simple but delicious, the scenery is lovely, and you should have a great time!

Whatever you are comfortable in at home will probably be fine. RS tours will take you to decent places with good food, but not the fancy carpet-on-the-floor kind of place where you would want to wear your best pearls.

Having done 5 tours, including Greece (still our favorite) my wife and I pack less each time. I swear one day I'll have all I need in a ziplock bag! But seriously, bring less and accessorize with scarves and such you buy there. They have great earrings, bracelets, colorful and inexpensive. When we visited Greece I tried to shower and put on a clean shirt before dinner, just because of the heat. Timing did not always work out. I wore shorts the entire time, my wife capri's.

I went on my first RS tour, Heart of Italy, last month. Dinner attire was casual or a little dressy (by choice). Some people wore the same outfit all day, and some of us changed for dinner. I like dressing up just a little to go out for dinner, so I brought a comfortable sundress that packed small and traveled well, would put on a necklace, some lipstick, and mascara, things that added little weight or bulk to my packing. A few other women on tour did the same. It's just a personal preference thing- I like the celebratory feeling of going out for dinner with the group and having a few special things to wear makes me happy. My advice: you'll likely see a mix of styles among your tour group, so pack what is comfortable and works for you. Have a wonderful time in Greece!

Hi,

We took the Greece tour last year. Everything you suggested would work. The Greek people were also very casual.

Mary

First RSE tour was in 2014. Our group was 60% repeat travelers. While only a couple of women changed for dinner, everyone put on at least a fresh shirt (likely on a freshly showered personage) and all of the women added a cute accessory and more makeup. I like to fit in, too.

Thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone who took time out of their busy life to write a reply!
I feel so much better about the choices we have made concerning clothing!
I think we are really going to enjoy this trip.
Again, thank you!

Been watching the daily weather there as we have a relative over there on holidays...it's been very very hot, even the daily low is hot, so keep that in mind for what ever you wish to pack.

Have a great adventure on your first RS tour. Ours is yet to come!

We thought we could just wear our travel clothes with a cute shirt, but we felt underdressed. At least I did, on the Italy tour it wasn't as bad but on the Paris tour all the women wore dresses at night. For our next tour I'm going to bring a couple of packable dresses to wear to dinner.

We did the Paris tour last summer. Everyone wore pretty much the same clothes to dinner as they wore during the day. The exception was the last night's farewell dinner, when the women, especially, dressed up a bit. No one was over the top, just a little nicer on the last evening.

Interesting, no comments on the type of restaurant or how the locals are dressed and how you may be impacting their night out; if at all. Very revealing posts.

The problem with dresses is is that it is more difficult to deal with the money belt.

Well, James, in my experience the tour group is sometimes put in a separate room so it would have little impact on other diners. At one dinner in Bourges, France the restaurant was closed to accommodate the group so I guess the closure did have an impact on others. In instances where I have been with a tour group sharing the restaurant with others I have never noted the group being dressed much differently than the general population.

Interesting comment about the Best of Paris tour! The group I was with did not dress up for group dinners.

Sorry, I just wrongly assumed a broader cultural interaction than what you describe. RS tours sound fantistic, seriously, but i might encourage getting away from the group meals from time to time and finding a place where tourists are a bit more rare. The locations RS goes have some of the finest restaurants in the world. Having that experience, if just once in your life, could also be memorable but not in hiking boots.

I am traveling this week and next and have had memorable times and great an unusual food in local dives where no one speaks more than a few english words and the menus are in in the Cyrillic alphabet. Made friends in the process.

Interesting, no comments on the type of restaurant or how the locals are dressed and how you may be impacting their night out; if at all. Very revealing posts.

Curious comment and, in itself, a very revealing post. The OP asked about attire for group dinners and, from my experience, the responses were spot on.

James E, not all the dinners are with the group. In fact, tour members are encouraged to get out and explore, try different places to eat, and interact with locals.

Group dinners are usual on the first and last nights of the tour, on days when the group arrives late at a location, or just whatever the guide decides. In general, about half the non-breakfast meals are with the group. Some are at wine tastings, baking demonstrations, etc. And nobody is ever required to attend a group meal.

There is plenty of room for individuality and exploration. Best of both worlds, in effect. Or at least, a taste of more than one style of travel.

Nancy i already apologized. I didnt realize all the RS tour group dinners were at tourist restaurants. I assume now that the OP already knew that which us why the first question was not where do we dine, but what to wear. My apologies, but still think people should on ocassion dump the group and find something unique. Which would raise the question of "appropriate" for the situation.

Of course Jane sort of makes me think I was right in the first place. Very confused. Not that it matters. Let me just put it this way, I was raised to consider those I might affect before considering my "wants". I am sure the OP meant well as did the posts that followed. I just miss hearing words of consideration of others.

I am traveling this week with a backpack and some pretty "comfortable" clothes and so far I have had to forgo 2 places I think I really would have enjoyed. Thats life.

I think tour members are more likely to dress up in Paris just because it's Paris, whereas Greece is more casual all over. My experience is closest to Jeepers' description. I'm often hot and sweaty enough to want to shower and change before dinner. I'll probably take that opportunity to add a favorite necklace and to wear my less-heavy-duty shoes.

Mary, you can wear ANYTHING. We are about to take our 3rd RST. We weren't sure the first time, learned more the second and now we will be packing even lighter! It is VERY casual. I never took a dress. Jeans and two pair of black pants (in case I got one dirty which never happened!) You will find that NO ONE cares what you are wearing. Some start with jeans the first day and carry it all throughout the tour. Who cares? Not me. A friend of ours got to be known as the "guy in the blue shirt"! Really, it is NOT dress up. I usually take a couple of black tops and change out the scarves! There is nothing fancy that you have to "dress for". Really, NO ONE cares what you wear or if you repeat it every other day:) You are there for the experience, not to dress for others. Have a great tour! I am packing even LESS this time, since I hardly wore the things I packed last time!

Actually, I was wrong when said about half the non-breakfast meals are with the group. The tour info states something like: "All your breakfasts and half your dinners are provided." On several tours we've been on, a lunch may be substituted for one of the "provided" dinners. So that leaves approximately half the dinners and all the lunches that are not group meals.

It can be confusing if one is trying to cover all the possibilities: wine tastings, picnics, the occasional sack lunch.

My main points were, and I'm sorry I did not make this clear, is that most meals are not with the group, RS tours encourages folks to get out on their own, and that nobody is ever required to attend a group event.

And James, you are right that sometimes our group meals can be intrusive on other diners. One of the things the guides try to teach us is cultural sensitivity, which includes lowering our voices in restaurants.

Jane, i admit that courtesy towards one's hosts is a subject that I am a little hypersensitive about. I have been witness to way too much "me" in attitude and action and it has worn me a little thin.

i might encourage getting away from the group meals from time to time

Not a problem since the group dinners are only half of the nites on tour.

As for dress, personally after a day of walking around in what is typically warm weather I like to shower before dinner so I'll put on a clean set of clothes. I haven't been on the Greece tours but for the ones I've been on men would typically wear pants of some type (including jeans) and a shirt to dinner.

I hardly remember what anyone wore on our 21 day BOE tour....I guess I must be very unobservant. I will say that I never felt out of place or under-dressed at all. Our tour started in April and continued into early May. We had some chilly days and some very warm days. I did not bring a dress nor did I bring shorts or capris (but the weather never really warranted it either). I brought black jeans, black "travel knit" pants, straight leg tan pants, and I wore my stretchy jeans on the plane. I think you should wear whatever you feel comfortable in and I agree that adding a scarf to a top worn during the day really changes the look of an outfit!

HI the OP Mary should be on her trip right about now. Hope she comes back and posts what she and others wore. We found on our recent BOE tour that most people I think wore the same items day and night. We did change a few times because it was hot. I wore dresses a lot but that is what I like to wear and it was summer. I have to say the best dressed tour member was our guide. I don't think we saw the same outfit twice and she should do a video on how she was able to pack it all in a small carry on suitcase. It was amazing.

People are low key and we found that most locals don't dress up either. If you aren't wearing logo'd shirts and hats you will be fine.(not that you can't wear these items we just did not see any locals wearing them that except in Munich) Or if you are coming from a Football game. (Or what we would call a soccer game)

Enjoy your trip.

For a group dinner, I always dress like "His Lordship" on Downton Abbey. The whole table gets better service that way.

Brainstormed, why do you suppose that is?

Wear whatever I wore during the day.

Thank you, everyone, for your replies! We are home and I am washing the clothes that I brought! Thanks to the famous packing list and your replies, I think we did very well!
Our group was fabulous. Ladies were quite complimentary to each other. Everyone seemed to freshen up for dinner. I loved the advise to wear your clean shirt to dinner and then wear it next day. I did that several times adding a scarf for the evening! I used my yoga pants to travel, but did not feel comfortable touring in them. Loved the Columbia capris that I bought...super comfortable and easy to wash in the sink. We had a mid tour washing hotel. A bag of clothes for 6 euro!
Again, thanks for your replies!
Happy travels!

Thought I'd peruse this thread, as I always seem to be thinking about what clothing I'm going to take on my next trip! I think it's an issue when you're a "carry-on only" traveler, so your very few clothing articles have to be very well chosen!

Lately, we've been going on cruises (going on my third Mediterranean next week!), and I travel with clothes that are suitable for "daytime/casual", and also "evening/kick-it up a notch" for evening dining on board. I laughed out loud when I read about your Columbia capris as that is exactly what my main "daytime" base is going to be! They're great -- quick dry, easy to sink-wash, and have a little stretch for comfort!

I love all the RS gear and resources. I salivate over the RS tours, but haven't been able to justify the cost... vs independent travelling.

Vivian