One of the great things about taking a tour is the people you get to travel with (assuming you join a tour that markets itself in a way that attracts enjoyable travel partners). With our “no grumps” policy, our “carry-your-own bags” policy, and our unapologetically “characteristic” hotels, we do our best to scare away the high-maintenance travelers. I love looking at the happy faces of a group like the one I was fortunate enough to guide — especially after two weeks together.
Here’s the group, giddy to be with each other (or maybe it was just the thin air — at 10,000 feet above sea level, high atop the Schilthorn in Switzerland’s Berner Oberland).
While touring the newly renovated and wonderful Museo del Duomo in Florence, we stayed until the very last minute. The museum guards, eager to call it a day, made sure we all packed onto the huge elevator at closing time and headed for the exit. Ciao!
Photo: thetravelphile.com / facebook.com/thetravelphile
Part of the fun of leading a group through Europe is introducing them to public transportation — whether subway or bus. In Rome, our bus #280 from St. Peter’s Square to Trastevere for dinner was running late, meaning that when it finally arrived, it was jam-packed. With 28 of us on board, let’s just say it was a very local experience. Our “whisper system” headsets allowed our local guide to be in communication with each tour member…no matter whose armpit they were staring into.
Photo: thetravelphile.com / facebook.com/thetravelphile
As a guide, it’s fun to grab spontaneous experiences when they present themselves. There are always two considerations: Can 28 people actually do it efficiently? And is it a budget-killer? On my orientation walk through Venice before dinner, we were running a bit late. I came upon the traditional traghetto (gondola ferry) that crosses the Grand Canal where there’s no bridge, and I thought, “Wonderful — that’ll get us to dinner on time, and be memorable, as well.” The maximum capacity is 14 per boat, and they go every 3 or 4 minutes for €2 per person — so two boatloads got the entire group across quickly for less than €60…and we all enjoyed an experience we’ll never forget.
(Thanks for following along here on my blog and on Facebook as I guide our Best of Europe in 21 Days tour.)
I have a comment which I’ve never seen addressed on RS travel pages but I think it’s important and it affected us on our Europe in 21 Days trip a couple of years ago. We decided to take our family of four on a once in a lifetime trip to Europe. Our kids were young teens, independent and curious. Although the trips are a great value, taking four people added up to a major expense for our family. It was summer and there were some other families with teens along. In addition, there were a few couples and two single women who were not traveling together. We got along with everybody and as any RS tour member knows, there is group time and on your own time built into the tour. One of the single ladies attached herself to us which was fine sometimes but not ALL the time. We dropped hints but she didn’t get it at all and it became very uncomfortable at times. We really wanted family time together as something to remember and we didn’t get enough of it. So, I wish RS Tours would make a point of emphasizing that if people choose to travel alone, they should be prepared to spend time alone and if they join other parties they should spread it around and not burden one group by being a fifth wheel throughout the whole trip. Aside from that we had a great time and wish we could do it again.
Dear Chris and fellow travelers,
I’m sorry you and your family did not have a 100% great trip.
Here’s my suggestion for any problem on any RS tour:
Rick only hires very professional and seasoned tour guides.
If any problem arises simply talk privately with your guide.
End of story.
Ricknick #1
in Tampa
That’s a good suggestion and I wish we had employed it instead of stressing out and dropping hints to someone who was unreceptive to them. I do think though that it would be a good travel tip to point out to people who travel solo on a group tour. I doubt if we’re the first people to have such a problem.
Thanks for your input!
Yes, I have a comment, too. The “no grumpy” policy may be in force, but many men were grumpy and withdrawn at times. If, I as a woman, seemed out of sorts which I then just wanted to be apart for a while, I was looked at as “grumpy” Can I say double standards. Our group needed to lighten up a lot and not be so passive aggressive.We hopefully will take another tour so we can see if this was just a fluke, but I didn’t see anything different in this RS tour than other tours I’ve taken except they really worshiped RS and wash and wear clothes.
As a single self supporting woman I waited almost a lifetime to be able to see the rich images of art history I had studied, and to experience firsthand the large and small marvels of European life I had always been drawn to. When at last able to afford time & expense of travel, there was no one I could travel with plus I felt uncomfortable going alone. As a long time fan and supporter of the Rick Steves Europe show on PBS, it made complete sense to travel as part of an RS group. I have now visited Austria, Switzerland, Germany, Italy, England & Ireland. The ambience & opportunities for fun and discovery of culture and history with others who were similarly eager have been some of the most meaningful and happy times of my life. My tour groups have exchanged contact info, and we continue to share photos and stories. The quality of travelers and guides has enlarged my spiritual life as we shared emotional & special moments as a group. I recommend these tours to all I meet. The best is yet to be.
This single traveler, always, since 2002 and that first RS tour, a week in Paris, felt accepted by each group, every trip…numbering 19 now. At that first tour, our guide William, introduced himself, his and Rick’s approach to the tour, welcoming us to what would be a new, thrilling travel experience. It was all that and more, somewhat surprisingly, to someone who’d previously, on his own, taken several independent trips, using RS books, to great satisfaction. The difference? Plenty, from the intimate knowledge of the guide on their “home” turf, to each fellow traveler, some of whom I still keep in touch with these 14 years later, I’ve always been comfortable on my own, love to walk back streets finding new sights, and on my own or with others travelers, following the free tour time to remarkable adventures. These tours, which I now take the MY Way version, as my mobility and walking pace is not what it once was for the traditional style, are the best. And I’ve taken others to compare. None other came close in any way. Looking forward to the MY WAY France tour in 2017!
I have taken 4 RS tours as a woman traveling alone. I have traveled alone for many years prior to the tours so I am comfortable on my own. On all 4 tours I felt I was welcome with various couples or groups of people or other singles and also felt perfectly comfortable going off by myself. I think it is all in your personal outlook. I also understand couples wanting private time so would also decline some invitations in case out of worries that I was alone which was totally unnecessary as I am comfortable alone. My RS first trip there were two single women who seemed less sensitive to this issue and did seem to attach themselves to other couples one to the point that people were rushing off to not be left with the individual. At that point I do think talking to the guide would have been helpful as they are familiar with all the different social situations that occur on these tours.