For 25 years, I led our tours. Now I enjoy taking them. Every year I thumb through the Rick Steves’ Europe Tours catalog and see which tour fits my latest travel dreams. This spring, I enjoyed our Sicily tour (I wrote about my Sicily experience in earlier blog posts), and now we are wrapping up a great two weeks in Ireland.
One thing all of our tours have in common: great travel buddies. We learned long ago that if you promote your tours in the right way, you scare away the high-maintenance travelers — and the fun, easy-going people you’ll enjoy sharing your trip with end up on the bus. That was certainly the case with this merry band of Rick Steves travelers. Diana, Bob, Dan, Marlene, Marcia, Clare, Ed, Taffy, Cindy, Eddy, Demi, Keene, Jennifer, Mike, Kathy, Larry, Chuck, Lynda, Clark, Rebecca, Caryn, Pat, Tom, Ron, Susan, Kathy, and Mike — thanks for joining us, and happy future travels!
We had two guides with us on this trip: The very experienced Declan (with well over a decade of Rick Steves guiding experience) and Dara (after learning from the masters on several apprentice tours, he’s about ready to lead on his own, and will graduate after this last learning tour).
Being Rick Steves on a Rick Steves tour, I was constantly brainstorming with Declan and Dara about ways to bump up the vivid, experiential nature of the tour. For me, it’s the little things that add a lot. Here, after an appetizing cultural intro, Dara is handing out an assortment of local taste treats in an inviting basket (rather than passing around a grubby bag).
With the wind blowing hard enough to nearly fly us like kites, and the dramatic Cliffs of Moher stretching in either direction, Declan fortified us with a wee bit of Irish cream before setting us loose to join the gulls high above the crashing surf. (I love Irish weather. Even in July, every day on this tour was broken clouds, a good breeze, and temperatures in the 60s — notice we had the right clothing.)
Declan posted our itinerary every day. And every day, I marveled at the great efficiency of having a bus driver to do the driving and parking, and a guide to line up each day’s plan. Not a moment was wasted, and we knew exactly how to get the most meaning and fun out of each experience.
You’ll notice that we were staying in a B&B in the town center (beyond where the bus could enter), so we had a shuttle to move our bags to where it was parked. Our first stop was at a remote memorial at the site of the assassination of Michael Collins. Rather than sit for lunch in a big formal restaurant, we had free time at midday in the delightful town of Kenmare. After that, a farmer and his border collies were ready for us, with a sheepdog spectacle and a close shave. We were in Dingle with time to relax before a town walk, dinner together, and an evening full of live trad music in the pubs. Lots of experiences and stress-free efficiency — that’s the beauty of Rick Steves’ Europe Tours.
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This is Day 77 of my “100 Days in Europe” series. As I travel with Rick Steves’ Europe Tours, research my guidebooks, and make new TV shows, I’m reporting on my experiences across Europe. Still to come: England, Scotland, Germany, Switzerland, and more. Thanks for joining me here on my blog and via Facebook.