Destination: Uncategorized

There was a time when I believed only I could lead a “Rick Steves” tour. Of course, those days are long gone, and today I’m the first to celebrate that fact that our guides are the best in the business. Good as they are, we need them to know the Rick Steves style of traveling “through the Back Door.” That’s why we’ve gathered more than 100 guides here in Edmonds this week for our annual tour guide summit.   I just spent the morning giving a three-hour “Rick Steves tour guiding 101” talk to our newest guides. And I’m so excited about the caliber of these rookies. Many of them joined us last year and already have one season of our tours under their belts.

Most of them are seasoned professionals with deep, personal knowledge of the regions in which they guide. And now they are better equipped than ever to meet and even exceed the very high expectations of those who sign up for a Rick Steves tour.

Here’s a fun video we made during last year’s tour guide summit to introduce our rookies. These guides are the people enabling us to continue to grow as a tour company without compromising the ideals we’ve had for our tours ever since we started 30 years ago. These guides are our future, and they are sure to give our tour members the Rick Steves travel experience of a lifetime in 2014.

P.S. I don’t want to keep the guides to myself.  On Saturday, January 18, 9 am P.S.T. join me and my tour guides online for the live streaming of Test Drive a Tour Guide — eight free one-hour slideshows on Europe’s top tour destinations for 2014. Learn more and tune in!

If you can’t see the video below, watch it on YouTube.

There was a time when I couldn’t imagine anyone but me leading a Rick Steves tour. For 25 years, I personally led at least one departure of every itinerary. But for the last ten years, rather than lead them, I join them as a tour member. And each year, it’s clear to me that my guides — who are specialists in their country or region — do a far better job leading our tours than I ever could.

In 2013, our more than 100 guides led over 600 groups around Europe with my complete confidence. I am adamant about hiring guides I personally know and trust, and who share my love for Europe and passion for teaching. As they begin to land today in Seattle for our 2014 Tour Guide Summit, this clip reminds me of how they shine.

All of us here at Rick Steves’ Europe headquarters look forward to welcoming our guides starting tomorrow!

P.S. I don’t want to keep the guides to myself.  On Saturday, January 18, join me and my tour guides online for the live streaming of Test Drive a Tour Guide — eight free one-hour slideshows on Europe’s top tour destinations for 2014. Learn more and tune in to Rick Steves’ Test Drive a Tour Guide.

If you can’t see the video below, watch it on YouTube.

I’m gearing up for what will be the most high-energy and action-packed week of my winter:  the 2014 Tour Guide Summit. My tour guides — all 124 of them — will fly in from across the globe and descend on my small hometown of Edmonds, Washington, for a week of workshops and strategy sessions. We come together to learn from each other, rekindle friendships, and work to make our tours better than ever. It’s an exhilarating time!

But I don’t want to keep the guides all to myself.  We’ll cap off the week with our biggest live streaming event of the year: Test Drive a Tour Guide. On Saturday, January 18, join me and my tour guides for a day filled with eight one-hour slideshow presentations on Europe’s top tour destinations for 2014 — all free to view live on my website. You’ll get a colorful preview of where each tour takes you, and meet the great guides who lead our tours. Tune in from anywhere in the world.

Starting tomorrow, I’ll share a week of videos on Facebook that highlight our guides’ great work. Join me!

Next week we’re hosting all our European guides here at Rick Steves’ Europe headquarters in Edmonds for our annual tour guide summit. While they’re in town, I’ll take advantage of their passion and expertise by conducting about 40 interviews in six days. This is your chance to ask me — and my favorite European tour guides — your travel questions and share your travel highlights.

From Ireland to Italy and history to politics, please have a look at our recording lineup and submit your questions and comments for a chance to be on air.

You’ll also be able to eavesdrop on my live taping sessions all next week at www.ricksteves.com/radio. Join me!

Next week, I’ll be conducting about 40 interviews in six days for my public radio program, Travel with Rick Steves. In preparation, I was listening to a few of our recent interviews, and found this one, with Pico Iyer, particularly engrossing. I find him both a blessing and an inspiration. Listen and take some time to ponder the ways travel can bring us peace and provide an oasis from our hectic day-to-day lives.

By the way, we’ve been producing radio shows filled with interviews like this for the last eight years. That’s about 400 hour-long programs, and they’re all available for free at www.ricksteves.com/radio.

Do you already tune in to my radio show? Do you listen to it via podcast?  What was your favorite interview?