<BR>Has anyone here gone on a Rick Steves tour, or conversed in detail with anyone else who has? I like their philosophy and am considering booking one for next year.

We have taken 3 Rick Steve tours-Turkey, France, and Italy. If you have read his books--Europe Thru the Back Door, seen his videos and like his style of travel you will enjoy his tours. Be prepared for carrying your own bags, climbing steps, and doing a lot of walking. Sometimes the places he stays are a little rustic, but they are always centrally located within walking distance of the town you are in. You eat where the locals eat and experience the culture of that area. In Turkey we visited in the homes of several families. There are only 25 people on a 48 passenger bus so you have plenty of room. His tours are not cheap as you have to buy your own plane ticket, but there are no hidden costs. All tips, travel insurance, all breakfasts and half your lunches and dinners are included in the price of the tour. There are no optional tour costs. Any museums, etc. you visit on your free time you would pay for. The people that take his tours are interested in seeing and learning about the countries you are visiting. You start out as strangers and end up as family by the end of the trip. His yearly reunions in Edmonds bear this out.

I live in Seattle and also part-time in Europe (paris) because my husband is French. I started going to free seminars that Rick gave at the U of Washington over 20 years ago and have had many friends do his tours-he is a real Seattle success story <BR> <BR>The first response was a really good one from what friends have said-Rick is very straightforward and honest and passionate about travel-so if you like his approach, you will like his tours. Just an aside-take the smallest, least amount of stuff you can imagine, and then as Rick says, take half of what is left in your bag out again! Not only are there significant stair climbing, etc, he will tell you that buying foreign toothpaste is half the fun! <BR> <BR>Hope this helps-if his literature appeals-go for it

I ran into a Rick Steves tour group in Ambroise, Loire Valley on my trip last month. They all said they were having a great time. One couple was on their second tour with his company. One note: almost the entire group of 24 were in the same restaurant and all but 3 were single women. The only men on the tour were one half of a couple. Nothing wrong with that, but single women (such as myself) probably shouldn't go expecting to meet anyone on the trip. Also: Jeanne, thanks for your advise on driving the Loire by myself. For the most part, I did just fine and loved it. Only got lost once in Tours! Hope your New England trip was fun...... <BR>

While I am not a fan of tours, I do like Rick Steves' guides, tv shows, and travel philosophy. I have considered taking one of his tours. While the fact that there are mostly couples on his tours doesn't bother me, what seems to be the average age group on these tours?

Caryn--On our tours with Rick the ages ranged from 29 to 79. The majority of them were in their 40's, 50's, and 60's. The people in their 70's had no trouble keeping up with the group, they were in great shape.

I have been trying to get some answers to your question myself for some time. There seems to be a measure of debate about Rick Steves! I LOVE his philosophy, love his guidebooks, and think his tours look fun. <BR> <BR>I've heard AOL has extensive forums on this topic, so if you have access, check there. Also, his website used to have testimonials in it (though I wasn't able to find them last time I looked). <BR> <BR>One thing I do know...Rick Steves' tours book up FAST! You can check the availability on his website... If you do want to go, book NOW. I think you can book with a small deposit and if you change your mind you can get the deposit refunded if you contact them by February-ish (don't quote me on this, though -- check the website!). And if you do go on one, let us all know how it went! I'm SO curious!

Forgot to mention that I started a similar message thread a number of months ago. Do a search for "Rick Steves Tours"... The title was "Rick Steves Tours/Europe Through the Back Door" or something like that. <BR>There was a bit of debating going on there. Hope that helps.