We have taken two guided trips with RS. We took the Best of Italy Tour and The Best of Germany, Austria and Switzerland tours within the last two years. This year, our travel budget is less so we were looking at the RS “My Way” tour to Spain as a way to possibly save some money. We are not sure if you really do save after paying for additional tours or meals. Does anyone have any experience comparing costs of “My Way vs. fully escorted tours:. Also, we were wondering whether there is good comraderie on the “my way” tours . We have found that travelers on fully escorted tours gel together quickly. Any insights are appreciated.
Posted by
Massachusetts
328 posts
Hi. You’ve posted this in the “Trip Reports” section. You’ll probably get more replies if you post this in the “Rick Steves Tours” section. Good luck with your travel planning!
Posted by
Fort Myers, FL
1943 posts
Just looking at the posted costs, the PER DAY on the guided tour of the Best of Spain vs My Way Spain is about an $80 per day difference. So, the My Way tour may save you $880.00 per person for the entire trip. You have to ask yourself whether or not you will spend $160 per day for the both of you on meals and guided tours. Probably not. The My Way is less expensive.
Guided tours of any kind are never cheaper than traveling on your own. However, both these tours take the work of planning hotels and transportation off your plate. Both tours do make you travel on a set schedule and you have no real flexibility in how much time you spend in a city as you know.
I cannot speak about meeting other travelers on the My Way, but I would imagine you would find people like yourselves who would enjoy some meals together or splitting the costs of a guide with you. It is hard to predict. Enjoy your trip.
Posted by
Used to be Steilacoom, now it’s Las Vegas
2324 posts
I’m getting ready to post my tour report from our My WAy Spain tour next week, but I can quickly address the group dynamic part. Our tour group was very surprisingly cohesive. From reading the reviews, it appears some of the guides will arrange for optional group activities and that was the case for us. There are chances to gather at breakfast, on the bus and comfort stops as well as gathering in the evening. We had an optional orientation walk in every stop and then the guide was available each morning to help with questions. Make sure you book tickets early, especially for La Sagrada Familia and The Alhambra (Nassrid Palace).
Posted by
1030 posts
I like some of the perspectives shared by experienced "My Way" travelers, as we've only done the RS guided tours. The guided tours always come with comaraderie, and I would expect that "My Way" draws the same, generalizing of course, types of travelers. But, people would be signing up for "My Way" because they want to be independent, so you can't fault people for wanting to do their own thing on a "My Way" tour. I guess I feel you shouldn't expect comaraderie, but be pleasantly surprised if it occurs.