Tours and flights

First, this board is not frequented by Rick Steves or his tour staff. We are "members of the traveling public," like yourself. If you are talking about a Rick Steves tour, you arrange flights yourself, or you can use their recommended travel agent (for a fee) to have them do this for you. If you look at the "Pre Tour" tab on web page of the tour you're looking at, it will suggest the best arrival and departure airports. It also says you get a "50% discount on a consulting appointment with our in-house experts to assist with your pre- or post-tour travel plans" Many of us (whether going on a tour or not) use http://www.kayak.com to look at our flight options, then book directly with the airline. But of course, some do prefer a travel agent. To contact Rick's tour office, call 425/608-4217.

If you sign up for a RS tour, you will be sent the info you need. I have been on a number of RS tours and recommend arriving in your starting-point city at least a day early. I like to arrive several days early so I can deal with jetlag first. As soon as you know which tour dates you have, look for airline bookings. The earlier the better IMHO. In my tour for later this year, I had already scheduled my plane flight then looked for a RS tour that would fit in the time-frame. If you have time to stay in Europe after the end of the tour, consider spending a few days at the last city or move on to some other part of Europe for a few days. The tours are really a "sampler" of the places visited. You may find a place during the tour that you want to spend more time visiting.

Thank you to Harold and Swan for advice and recommendations. They pretty much answer my question. Thanks again,
Ray Hanbeck