08/05/2024
I'm in Italy this month, updating our Rick Steves guidebooks. I don't speak Italian, but I know lots of good words. One I use a lot (along with bella, scusi, complimenti, and delizioso) is indimenticabile — "unforgettable." There's something about great travel that isn't just "memorable"…it's indimenticabile.
When I'm on the road, I meet lots of travelers. Some are doing Europe on their own; others are on our Rick Steves tours. It's fun to simply observe these on-the-ball travelers as they navigate the crowds (and the new booking requirements), wander wonderstruck through layer cakes of history (and layer cakes of great lasagna), pose with loved ones at just the best viewpoints, and laugh with the locals they meet — thanks to our passion for people-to-people travel.
I enjoy checking in with the people on the other side of that connection, too: the European hoteliers, restaurateurs, and local guides that we recommend in our books and partner with on our tours. These Europeans marvel at how "Rick Steves travelers" are a special breed. They tell me that you display a keen curiosity, have longer-than-average attention spans, delight in experiencing new things, and approach everything with a positive, fun-loving outlook. Sometimes they ask me what makes Rick Steves travelers different. I think it's because we're almost like a family…a merry band of travelers, united by our shared travel philosophy.
Some travelers love the planning as much as the trip itself. Others prefer joining a guided tour so they can just sit back and enjoy. And many appreciate a little bit of both. I'm impressed by how many of our tour members alternate between "on your own" trips and our fully guided tours. And they're thankful that every Rick Steves tour includes the latest guidebook for that region, equipping them to spend their time wisely anytime they're on their own.
Just a couple of weeks ago, we started selling our Rick Steves Tours for 2025: more than 30,000 seats on over 40 itineraries, all over Europe — and sales are great. It got me thinking about what makes our tours unique.
First up are those great travelers I've been meeting. Our tours attract thoughtful, fun-loving, flexible travelers who share our travel philosophy. We keep our groups small (24–28 people), and we expect everyone to pack light, carry their own bags, and keep up with our experience-rich itineraries. (As I like to say, it shapes the clientele.)
Next up: unforgettable places. From the plains of Spain to the scalps of the Alps, from Balkan beaches to Nordic fjords, we cover precisely what we consider to be the very best of Europe.
We always prioritize vivid experiences…what our tour members call their "wow" moments in post-tour surveys: learning how to hand-make pierogi in a Polish kitchen, hiking among grazing cows through a high-mountain alpine pasture, or shaking the dust-covered hand of an alabaster sculptor in a Tuscan hill town. In other words, those indimenticabile moments.
And last, but certainly not least: our amazing guides — many of whom I'm working with this month as I update our guidebooks. We recruit and mentor the very best guides in Europe to deliver that unique Rick Steves experience that our tour members have come to expect.
If you share our philosophy about what makes for a great trip, give our 2025 tours a look. Maybe one of our itineraries will tickle your travel fancy. In the meantime, browse through our May Travel News to get my advice for choosing a bus tour and getting the most value for your money, learn how to enjoy the good life in Vienna, compare two of our Teutonic tour itineraries, and read about how Cameron Hewitt's been inspired by the clever little differences he's discovered in Europe. It's all available right here: www.ricksteves.com/news.
Whether you're joining us on a tour in Europe or doing a trip on your own with one of our guidebooks, you're sure to have travels that are indimenticabile.
Keep on travelin'!
