Rick Steves’ Road Trip USA: 20 Cities in 20 Days this March

For 30 years, I’ve spent all my travel time overseas…mostly in Europe. Finally, it’s time I saw the good old USA. On March 3rd, I’m setting off on a 20 cities in 20 days road trip, giving talks in mostly smaller cities and towns — all the way from Seattle, Washington to Tallahassee, Florida.

I’ve never been so excited about an upcoming trip — not only to be bringing my travel lessons to smaller cities, but to actually be driving across the entire USA. For the last few years, I’ve noticed that every time I’m hired to give a talk in a “smaller market” — places like Fort Wayne, Indiana, Fort Smith Arkansas, or Peoria, Illinois — I encounter lots of local pride, a super friendly welcome, and an auditorium packed with enthusiastic travelers. I was enjoying these middle-America gigs even more than my regular stops in the big cities.

So, for 2012, rather than do my usual “8 major markets in 8 days” tour of the big PBS stations during March pledge drive season (which I’ve been doing for more than a decade), I’m thinking bigger and smaller at the same time. On this year’s 20-day trip, I’ll have fun helping support smaller public TV and radio stations, giving lectures, and making impromptu stops at independent book stores that rarely get a travel writer visiting in person. I’m thankful for all the hosts who have already made it easy for us to book exciting events at each stop along the way. (My schedule is jammed packed.)

Beyond all that, my “Rick Steves’ Road Trip USA” agenda is to inspire people to get out and see our beautiful world — and to inspire myself to explore and appreciate the great diversity and hospitality of my own country. Our Road Trip USA page will track my journey, and I’ll be blogging daily right here. And, each night along the way, I look forward to giving talks that help Americans enjoy maximum thrills for every mile, minute, and dollar they have for their next vacation.

If you live along my Road Trip route, tickets are now available at each stop. If you have friends and family who live nearby, share the news. And, wherever you live, I hope you’ll travel along with me virtually.

Hop in, buckle up, and hang on. It’s going to be a fun ride.

Happy travels – in Europe and the USA.

Rick Steves' Road Trip USA
Comments

17 Replies to “Rick Steves’ Road Trip USA: 20 Cities in 20 Days this March”

  1. Love the fact that you are traveling to smaller cities. But you wouldn’t want us to do 20 cities in 20 days in Europe!

  2. Wouldn’t it be nice if you could do that by train instead? I’m crossing both the US and Canada by train in May, but I don’t have much choice of routes!

  3. Anybody consider the weather, plus a plan B, when planning this ambitious road trip which begins in EARLY March?

  4. Hi, Rick…Don’t know if you answer these comments, but I’ve looked at your USA Road Trip schedule and want to attend the PBS event in Houston; however, I can’t find any information on it even at the Houston PBS site. Can you help with ticket information? Looking forward to hearing you in person…we are great fans of your guide books and have made four European trips with them! Thanks!

  5. when you come to houston, please eat some food other than barbecue. unfortunately that seems to be the constant thing people want to feed out-of-town folks. houston is easily one of the top-5 food cities in the country, and it’s not because of our barbecue. with only 2-3 meals in our city, you want to maximize your eating pleasure. if you want suggestions, my email is attached to this post.

  6. I’m intrigued by ETBD’s marketing practices and notice that in addition to this cross country US tour to help re-fill the cornucopia of European travelers, Steves has implemented some sales prices for his spring trips. It makes me curious about whether prospective travelers are waiting to pull the trigger on scheduling ETBD tours: Because they are all traveled out; They are waiting for European turbulence to subside; Prices have gotten too high; Air travel is more of a pricey nuisance – or there are other reasons for delaying their commitments.

  7. You have some great places on your route! I’ve only been to a few of them, but am thinking about cashing in my HereStay miles to visit a few more…thanks!

  8. The cities on the tour are not at all small unless you compare them NYC, Chicago, Mexico City etc. But they do serve as a jumping off point for really interesting smaller places. Places in the U.S. that are interesting include Portland, Maine, Charleston, SC, Miami, FL, Fort Collins, CO, Bisbee, AZ, Santa Fe, NM, Cody, Mt, Alpine, TX, Rapid City, SD, Washington, DC, Newport, RI,
    Abilene, KS, Pittsburgh, PA, Carmel, CA, Rapid City, SD, Galina, IL, and on and on.

  9. I wish you would make a stop in Louisville, Kentucky one day. The Muhammad Ali Center would be a great place for you to speak at. We also have the Clifton Center and the Kentucky Center for the Performing Arts. There’s so much to see, eat, and do here!

  10. Dear Rick and fellow Ricknics:

    I’m delighted to hear you will be coming all the way to Florida.

    I’ll make a roadtrip of my own up to Tallahassee to see you.

    My friends at WEDU in Tampa say hi.

    Jeff
    “Doppelganger”

  11. There’s not much going on in Dayton, Ohio. Nearby Cincinnati is quite a spectacle, though, and Cleveland to the North is even better. Wish you’d picked one of them.

  12. Matthew, you and I are in total agreement–Houston is an international city, with great regional and international cuisine. There’s great Persian food here, there’s also great Middle Eastern fare as well. And if you want some good soul food, I do have a couple of suggestions…..

  13. Aloha Rick Steves,

    I add my voice to the masses and would love to see you speak in San Francisco where I am an ER nurse at the VA hospital. Also a Returned Peace Corps Volunteer (RPCV – Fiji 1985-87) I love the work that you and your staff do so well – so here’s a shout out to you and your staff – thank you very much. My wife Bonnie and I live North of San Francisco – standing invite to all of you to visit the ‘wine country’ and our 150 acre family ranch 2 /1/2 hours North of San Francisco. Saw your recent blog on cheese and have a few spots for you to enjoy by the way.

    Bonnie is a singer and we are going to Verona and Florence where she will be singing as a soloist with a choir from Occidental (North of San Francisco) from April 9-26. Will you still be touring the coast and towns that were hit by the flooding because frankly my own idea of a good time to to work and live with folks rather then just tour, watch and eat. Needless to say I will be visiting all the hospitals and clinics that I can.

    No reply expected but encouraged of course and the offer to look us up is genuine and heartfelt. I love the vision, attitude and philosophy that all of you espouse. Someday would love to joing one of your trips but I just like to stay in one spot and work / play most of the time. Guess the Peace Corps spirit lives on.

    Cheers,

    David McCullough

  14. Sooooo disappointed to find that Dayton is already sold out! By the time you posted on FB there were NO tickets left!?!
    FYI: Seriously considered applying for the editorial position listed, but don’t have the “official” credentials to compete. I’m sure you’ll be inundated – good luck!

Comments are closed.