Forgive me if this has already been addressed. I don't see a way to search all the forum.
We have the idea to stack the most difficult physical tours in our early travel years. Therefore, we need a fairly easy way to log the tour's physical requirements in order from most difficult to easiest. Before I embark on a lengthy clicking and documenting effort, has anyone already done this?
Appreciate any input.
Perhaps call the RS office? Safe travels!
In my opinion, there isn't a super big difference in physical difficulty in Rick Steves tours.
They all require fairly active walking, stairs, and luggage lugging.
As somebody who anticipates reaching a point where RS tours will be too much, I'm concentrating on going to the places that most call to me.
Sometimes I have found that the slow pace of walking, "museum pace" , and lots of standing is much more demanding than healthy pace walking. We did VFR and I found the standing and listening to guides in the art museums stressed out my body, along with the Italian late dinners and then early morning hotel departures.
However, for the Best of Switzerland, with fewer museums and churches, later morning starts, earlier and quicker dinners, and much more outdoor time and regular hiking, my body was quite happy.
So the physical demands can come in multiple ways, altho locations with multiple steep steps and climbing are undoubtably physically demanding.
Have a great trip!
Just google ‘activity level of Rick Steves tours’ and you’ll come up with a bunch of previous comments from the forum on it. As far as a stacked rating of the different tours from difficult to easiest, I agree, check with the RS tour office. And after numerous tours, I really don’t remember one that stood out as more strenuous than the other no matter how they’re ’rated’ by the RS group but then you kind of make it what you want. For example in the Dolomites most of the group just meandered around the meadow for awhile. We chose to hike with several others and took public transport back to the hotel. And like Pat, I find it much more tiring standing in a museum, listening to the tour guide go on and on about a painting than getting out and walking and climbing stairs.
That's a good point, Pat.
I'm finding museum walking/standing harder all the time. There is so much variety over most of the tours that it's difficult to rate them. The scale on the tour page doesn't really help much, but I'm not sure it really could.
I agree about standing. I recently did a 2.8 mile easy hike with no problems but my back kills me when I have to stand still a lot at choir practice.
We are fortunate to have taken many RS tours and are hoping to do the remaining “most active” tours on our bucket list in the next few years …while we can still enjoy them fully. We have found that strenuous can mean early departures, full days, and later dinners. Strenuous can also mean lots of walking and stairs to climb, sometimes uneven and/or slippery, or as others have mentioned, standing for long durations in museums. I do wish there was a way to sort the tours by activity level. That might have saved me from making my own spreadsheet.
I tend to agree with Jony's observations. We've done two RS tours. Both were considered most active. Our next tour is the 11 day Belgium and Holland tour. This upcoming tour is considered more moderate. I wonder if it's because we tend to stay in towns a bit longer, (some for 3 nights) fewer bus days, flat topography, and a full on our own day, which we've never had before. I'm guessing it's based on lots of different circumstances. Not just miles walked and hills/steps to climb. I guess I'll have a better idea after we get back!
I like going to museums; maybe because I walk thru at my own pace... I was an Art Major and don't need all the technical stuff explained; I just walk up as close as possible and then quickly move on. Some works "read" better from across the room. If you can't stand still, just jump ahead. I do admit that it drove me crazy when I had to wait for my Mom to read every Label in the Smithsonian. We all cope with somethings and enjoy other things more. Since I live in the scenic PNW...I would never go so far just to hike...I need me some Culture and History! Look into getting a cane with a small foldout seat that some have used at the races or while hunting or fishing. If you are hiking use trekking poles, some may be folding, but if not, you'll have to check them in your luggage.
Are you thinking of going on a tour group? I did that once and did not like the schedule. it was packed and involved some very early mornings and some very late nights. My husband and I prefer to go on tours but not be in a tour group. That way, we can choose the tour sites, the days and times, how many, etc. It's worked well for us.
Way back when we were starting to travel our doctor suggested doing the difficult trips first which meant third world locations with fewer levels of comfort.
If you read descriptions of tours that seem too demanding then travel independently where you can control everything. In Europe, we always travel independently. We go on tours to third world countries.
Good for you Suki! But we like the RS tours because we've traveled independently most of our married life and even before. But now, we want someone else to plan and give us a schedule. Less stress. Plus, we enjoy meeting other people on these tours. We've got some great friends, and RS tour guide are the best! It's tours from now on for us
After taking Greece and Sicily tours which are stated as most active, I’d rank Greece as the most active tour we’ve been on. They rank Sicily as just as much but I do disagree, Greece had more steps and even more uneven ground than cobblestones. And perhaps the 11 days for Sicily vs 14 for Greece made it seem a bit easier.
I guess my own personal method was/is to rank the importance of the places I wanted to see before anything happened (age, illness, etc) to prevent further travels, or at least any kind of strenuous travel. I have done most of those places already and now I am at the point where I need a slower placed, less active, tour style. As far as the RS tours go, when it gets harder for you to do the strenuous tours remember you can always opt out of the more strenuous activities and still enjoy the tour. Wherever the tour goes you can replace those strenuous activities with other less active options or use that time to enjoy the culture of the place by sitting at an outdoor cafe, or in a park, and just letting life happen.
Adding to Nancy's comment, we found the RS My Way Tours a great alternative. They arrange transportation, lodging and breakfasts. You also have a tour manager to answer questions and offer assistance, but what you do and when you do it is up to you. We planned our daily activities ahead of the tour as you would for independent travel, but the basic logistics were provided.
I am going on my first RS tour in June- the Best of Europe in 14 days. It is supposedly quite active. I have a heel spur, a foot that has had surgery, and a chronically sore lower back...but I find that movement is good for me as is an excellent pair of sneakers (Hoka, Brooks). What kills me is standing, and my trip is fairly museum-heavy...so I got this really cool little collapsible stool with retractable legs that folds down to the size and shape of a travel umbrella, is very lightweight (but sturdy), and will fit in my backpack. This is going to save me during the long periods of standing!
