When do the 2024 tours go on sale

While I admire long term planning, this is far, far to advance. The 2023 tours came out in May/June 2022. I think you could be looking at something similar for 2024 with the tours being released in Spring 2023.

A tour that starts this year, for example, on Tuesdays, will likely start on Tuesdays the following year. The calendar dates change, but not the start day. So you can use the 2023 schedule as a guide and guess the dates. If you're looking for itinerary changes, or new tours, then you'll have to wait and see.

Probably May/June 2023.

I'm considering a 2024 tour, but not unless these covid restrictions are dropped and people are allowed to make their own choices. Nothing spoils the fun (and expense) of a European vacation knowing that it could be cut short at any time.

I've also noticed a few cuts in perks (like the early booking discount), and activities now optional that used to be a part of the tour. Hopefully these will come back too.

There are now “optional”activities on RS tours?? Which tours, does anyone know?

Considering that the Rick Steves Company has taken some big hits over the last couple of years, I would think that they are trying to survive. They may not offer the early booking discount but they still offer the previous tours discount and a discount for back to back tours. I’m another one that would like to know which activities previously offered are now optional?

I agree margie - people can do RS 'my way' or ask for help here & do their own thing. Thanks RS people for doing your best to help us travel safely

As an example, I recall the Lake Bled boat ride on the Adriatic tour was once part of the tour. Now you simply have the time to do it on your own if you wish. That was the sense I meant in 'optional,' not that they're selling an optional excursion. Sorry for the confusion.

"I've also noticed a few cuts in perks (like the early booking discount)."

Correct, the early booking discount disappeared (for now), but that's because we added a perk of vastly more lenient cancellation terms. Before the pandemic, the offer of the early booking discount ended immediately before the timeframe in which cancellation leads to loss in real dollars (your deposit). Today, you can cancel much later and get your money back (see our Terms and Conditions for specifics). That has saved our customers loads of money this year in the event of cancelation.

"And activities now optional that used to be a part of the tour. Hopefully these will come back too."

This really depends on the specifics of a tour. Tour itineraries are constantly evaluated and adjusted for a number of reasons. Sometimes it's because we've added an activity that people like better (or folks particularly didn't like the experience we removed). Sometimes a site/location is no longer available to groups, or they're now closed on the days in which our groups are in that area. Or, they can't guarantee ticketing in advance to the point where we can guarantee it on your tour. Sometimes we "surprise" a group when we are able to get such tickets (we have an under-promise, over-deliver approach on what's included).

There is a lot that goes into this, and we do our best work making our tours fun and high on value.

Thanks for clarifying those, Webmaster.

I'm going to take a stab at the "Lake Bled Boat Tour" example. I went on this tour last month. When we arrived at Lake Bled, people in our group had different interests that they wanted to explore in our time there. 8 of us wanted to do the boat ride. The guide showed us where to catch the boat and made sure we were taken care of. 2 of the group wanted to do the mountain luge. A few just wanted to sit in the cafes and eat the famous cream cake for a few hours! Others walked around the lake or a combination of the activities listed above.

My point is, that it is actually a little better when people are given more options during their time at Lake Bled. Instead of everyone being locked into a boat ride, they could choose what really interested them without feeling like they were "missing" part of the tour. Sometimes, less is more.

“My point is, that it is actually a little better when people are given more options during their time at………” fill in the blank.

I do believe theres a bunch of My Way tours just for that purpose.