Did "Paris and the Heart of France" trip 2 years ago. Guide was was brilliant. A font of knowledge, went way out of her way to help us when help was needed. Good hotels, splendid food. Yes, it was summer and hot. Had a great time. Thought this was the benchmark for Rick Steves... NOT!
Returned 2 days ago Switzerland. Guide was initially personable, knowledgeable, knew people all over Switzerland. Was HOT!, fairly humid, did miles and miles of walking. Group made up of fairly young adults and older, retired types. A very few days into the tour complaints started. Hotels were iffy. Most had no air conditioning, which was expected. Many had no small refrigerators. Some had no room phones... did have numbers to call in emergency... go figure. Many with no elevators. Several had no staff in the hotel after about 8 p.m. What if there were an emergency? One member, whom I quickly grew to like, purchased a smallish fan for himself and his wife as his room was hot. I was told the tour guide was unhappy about this. Why? We could easily have taken taxis or busses but instead repeatedly walked on hot days in narrow heat traps formed by stone-faced buildings.
Climbed up steep! hill to spot of 1291 founding of Switzerland, only to be told that event was a lie. Then, why the hard, hot climb? Guide did not understand time management. One Saturday, on the bus at 5:49 p.m. Told stores closed at 6. Some of us had to hoof it 300 yards, uphill, to reach a COOP for food. She could have cut time at the wonderful wine tasting by 20 minutes. One member complained to me many of the members were twice the age of the guide. She did not have a clue as to what that meant, and maintained a fast pace. Flooding cancelled one visit and I praised Heaven. Some members began dropping out of events, or even entire days. At the end of almost every day, this member and others were hot, sweaty and pretty near exhausted. I realized RS simply does not offer what I want - a lecture or 3 about local history, art, religions, the Swiss banking system. Most people wanted cheese, potatoes, wine and chocolate.
Up gondola at Ebenalp. Some hiked up, others down. Guide ignored warning by 1 member about darkening sky and continued. We were caught in a rip-roaring mountain storm: gale force winds, lashing rains, hail, lightning and thunder. Most were drenched, including myself. Later, guide told us she had checked weather twice – she knew(!) storm was rapidly approaching and never told us. At Bellinzona old fort the same day, local guide led us all up to the top, now covered by a lawn... in a lighting and thunder storm. She encouraged us to walk the castle walls and up to the unprotected top of a tower - all the while the storm raged and came closer. She took shelter under a chestnut tree, as did our guide. Several of us refused to participate in such dangerous actions. We sheltered under stone arches. One woman and I warned the guide against standing under a tree. She replied there was a lightning rod. I said, "Do not bet your life on it." She looked sheepish and moved to better shelter. The same woman wondered aloud if the guide had never been taught basic safety tips about lightning. I counted eight lightning strikes in the neighborhood. Colossal stupidity by our guide and the local guide.
We paid a lot of money and used valuable time to stay in hot rooms, walk many kilometers in high temperatures, walk up steep hills to the site of the founding of the Swiss State – only to be told it was a lie and never happened. She told us the William Tell story and we visited his hometown. Then she told us it was a myth, a lie, never happened. The regular guide and one local guide put us in danger – twice in the same day! The bus driver was great. Good man, personable. I will never again take a RS tour. People asked me if I enjoyed the trip. More accurate answer - I endured it. Be warned.
Posted by
Land of La
9218 posts
OP did you contact the RS Seattle office and share your complaints?
Posted by
USA
57 posts
I would contact RS regarding the safety issue.
I find the William Tell complaints kind of odd. One man was complaining that Romeo and Juliet "weren't real" on my recent Italy trip.
Legends aren't lies, they might not be entirely historically accurate, but they're still cultural and important.
Posted by
50 posts
Please post after you have contacted the Rick Steves main office. I will be interested to hear what they have to say about this horfi ble experience.
Posted by
northern CA
2766 posts
There is a non-profit mostly volunteer guides group in SF that I often recommend. To become a docent you have to pay them to go through the 3-month training. Most volunteers are retirees or students whose schedules can fit in leading walks around the city. An item of esprit des corps among the guides is that other than stating at the beginning of the tour that 'we have x number of spots to get to in the next 75 minutes' they do not play camp counselor or drill sergeant and they do hustle along from one point to the next. Some wait a moment for stragglers to catch up before picking up the narration, some do not. You came to hear what they have to say. If the pace doesn't suit you, make another choice. Now, I realize that there is difference between this and a pricey tour package, but I'm pretty sure the package was clearly labeled.
Posted by
Freedonia
16270 posts
As someone who has worked as a tour director--not for Rick Steves--I have to wonder about your "guide."
Unfortunately, many of the RS guides are not professionally trained guides but trained by Rick Steves. I would be surprised if your guide was the former.
Unless a site is actually closed, the guide has to go on with what is planned. Otherwise, the tour company might have to give partial refunds. What the guide should have done was to give everyone a warning about the weather, or what was ahead, and then given you a choice on what to do. You could go on with the tour plan, or stay in a sheltered place. This way the choice is yours and the tour company is not liable for your choice.
As for pacing, knowing what to do and how fast to go comes from experience. I've led tours that had everything from teens to octogenarians. Finding that good balance is tough. (Although I will say that RS mentions many times that you need to be in good shape for his tours.)
Folklore and telling stories that are well known is part of culture. If you go to Boston and hear about Paul Revere, well, much of what we "believe" is from the Longfellow poem, "The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere" rather than the truth. (Spoiler Alert: Paul Revere never yelled "The British Are Coming.")
William Tell folklore is an important part of the Swiss culture that everyone includes it.
As for the hotel rooms, many RS tour hotels are not known to have US comforts. Rick has said many times that if Europeans don't have it we have to ask ourselves why we need it. (We need it because it makes us happy.)
As for you being interested in history, and everyone else interested in food, well, you can't blame Rick Steves for that.
Lastly, let me just say in general, unless you have no choice, don't travel in the summer.
Posted by
Lynnwood, Washington
8876 posts
Your experience is so different than what I experienced on this tour which remains one of my favorites among the 5 that I have taken. From the information you presented, it does sound like there may have been some issues with your guide and I recommend that you contact RS Europe and discuss these concerns with them.
I can also see from what you wrote that you may not have read the description of the tour carefully prior to signing up for it. The description clearly mentions that there could be hotels without air conditioning and that there could be days with strenuous walking. Your description of the walk up to the meadow where the birthplace of Switzerland is celebrated showed a completely different point of view than the enjoyable walk I experienced in the same place.
I am truly sorry that this tour did not match your expectations or travel style. It is upsetting to invest money into a travel experience and have it not work as you expect. I think you are correct in thinking you may want to look at other travel approaches that may be a better match for you. Tauck is a tour company that might be a match. Have you ever tried a cruise or river cruise?
Posted by
Cape Ann, Massachusetts
3334 posts
I've only been on one RS tour, but it is my impression that RS wants you to be fairly independent. In this case, it would be checking the weather for the day and bringing a raincoat. Standing under stone arches on a mountain top watching a fantastic lightening show sounds pretty interesting to me.
Posted by
50 posts
I think part of the problem was the heat but also the reality of walking on these tours is very different from the description sometimes. We just finished our first Rick Steves tour and we both are right beyond 75. We thought we were in fairly good shape for our age. There was definitely more walking than we thought. The descriptions say 2-6 miles but I don't think it was ever 2. We had an awesome guide with 25 years experience and I liked her so much I would take any tour she guides from now on but she kept adding things to the itinerary and most involved more walking. She added some whole other towns not even on the plan for the day because she wanted us to see them. There was one older couple who opted out of a few things but for the most part everyone kept up. The entire group was mostly retired people in their sixities and almost everyone in the group had done numerous tours so I think they were probably better prepared than we were. We are still debating about taking another tour. We loved it and loved our guide but it is physically challenging.
Posted by
Almost Heaven
3113 posts
chinesebill30, thank you for your report. We will no longer visit Europe during the summer without AC in the hotels. I've learned this lesson the hard way in recent years. Common amenities such as AC, a fridge, and a microwave in the room are uncommon in Europe, with often tiny rooms.
It's clear the guide was subpar to say the least, and notifying the RS staff could prevent other tour groups from having the same experience. Funny, but we've had 90 percent plus great guides, but in recent years for some reason it's been rather hit or miss.
I prefer guides that don't bloviate about the local history. Keep it concise and then leave some air for questions and comments. Also, the bus is a good place for long-winded history lessons, I guess.
FrankII, you nailed it. Well said. As for the comment, "If the Europeans don't have it..." Well. When I grew up we didn't have AC, but we do now and I'm glad about it.
I have to admit the trip/tour reports that aren't all unicorns and rainbows are far more interesting to read, because it's more like real life.