This will be my first Rick Steve's tour and I am a bit concerned about the physical requirements, i.e. 6-8 hours of walking per day and carrying own suitcase through town, not having elevators......I am 70 and have some health issues which have "weight" limitations. Getting a bit concerned whether I can make it or not...Any input would be helpful. Thanks,
Deb
Posted by
SE Pennsylvania
2680 posts
Only you can decide if you will have trouble with the physical demands listed on the tour page. After 12 tours, I think the demands are described well.
Physical Demands
Our tours are physically active! It's an essential part of the Rick Steves tour experience. On our Best of the Adriatic in 14 Days tour — among other things — you'll need to happily…
Carry/roll your luggage over uneven pavement (possibly several blocks) and up stairways to reach your hotel, then up several flights of stairs to reach your room.
Be on your feet, walking and standing, for up to three hours, indoors and outdoors, in all weather conditions.
Sleep with street noise and no (or weak) air conditioning.
After orientation and transportation lessons, be able to navigate towns and cities on your own.
Travel on a bus without a toilet (rest stops every two hours).
Posted by
Bend, OR
1071 posts
After 12 tours, I don’t ever remember walking continuously for 6-8 hours. I think 3-4 hours in a museum with a guide or walking slowly thru a town with a city guide has been the max (Dublin comes to mind). But yes, you may have to pull your bag (a rolling carryon sounds essential for you) a few blocks over cobblestones because centrally located hotels means the tour buses might not be able to drop you in front of the hotel and yes, some of the hotels might not have an elevator.
We have not done this tour but maybe someone who has might be able to give you an idea of the types of hotels they stayed in and how far you walked from the bus but keeping in mind that RS does not always use the same hotels on their tours.
Posted by
Lynnwood WA
116 posts
Definitely get a rolling bag - one where you can slip your carry-on on top so you can roll everything.
I'm trying to remember the activity of this tour. There was one hill town when I went that was steep to walk up but the bags were taken by a small van (I think they may even have been used by a mobility restricted tour member (but not sure of this)). Most hotels have a small elevator - but definitely not all. Maybe contact the office to see what if any help/guidance they can provide. And also start walking (a lot!) and definitely add in some stair climbing to get in the best shape possible. Generally one walks with the group no more than an hour or two before some sort of break (but that could be standing while the guide explains something.
Posted by
Idaho, USA
7861 posts
I went on the RS Adriatic tour in 2023.
If you want to walk 6-8 hours a day, that is by choice during your free time. I remember walking with the group about two hours continuously per new city. Of course there was a lot of exploration everyone wanted to do after our two hours!
Yes, you are responsible for carrying your own luggage to and from the bus at all stops. In Motovun, the bus goes partway up the hill before needing to stop. They loaded our bags onto a small truck, so we didn’t have to carry them up the steep hill. But, we had to walk up the hill ourselves.
There’s a lot of beautiful sites where you will want to walk. Plitvice - the beautiful waterfalls, is a gorgeous walk on decent trails and boardwalks over wet terrain. Rovinj is charming and nice to wander up its lanes. Dubrovnik was wonderful to wander! You could skip the walk along the wall if you didn’t want to go.
Posted by
23 posts
I took this tour last spring and found there may be 2 to 3 (at the most) miles of slow walking with a local tour guide through specific cities, Split, Dubrovnik, Ljubljana in the morning, while plenty of time in the afternoon/evening of free time to do what you like. The only place with a lot of walking was Plitvice Lakes which are magnificent and you can walk half at your own pace. Good paths. Many people on the tour were in their 70s and 80s and did fine. Perhaps start walking now and work up to a confident 2 miles...? You will love this tour. It's amazing!
Posted by
Northern Minnesota
785 posts
We were on this tour recently, and this is an accurate description: Activity Level This is a very active tour! Most days are moderate to strenuously paced with 2–8 miles of walking, including hilly terrain and lots of stairs. This statement was brought up in our group, as there were a couple people that couldn't keep up with the group.
I checked my Fitbit app, and my average step count daily during the trip was 14,600 which is about 6 1/4 miles. My biggest step day was 23,583 (just over 10 miles).