Europe Through the Back Door Tour Reports: 2008
Are you an ETBD tour survivor? Report on your experience here! Was your time used wisely? How was your guide? What kind of people were your travel partners? If you've taken several ETBD tours, how did they compare? Please share any favorite hotels, meals, sights, and "magic moments" too!
Please note: This board is for feedback on Rick Steves' guided tours only. If you have questions about our tour program, you can contact our Tour Department by email.
- Please don't post questions here. Use our Travelers Helpline.
Family in Europe tour
I wanted a tour that was long enough to give me a good value in return for the cost of the air fare and the travel time invested in getting from Dallas to Europe. The ability to travel with other families with children was also an important factor, probably the most important factor, and one the best and most enjoyable features of the tour. I also wanted a tour that included all highlights of Europe. The Family in Europe tour met my needs and expectations perfectly.
Robert
The Colony, TX USA Tue 08/05/2008
London & Paris in 8 Days
I LOVED my first Rick Steves' London & Paris tour. I arrived a few days early in London to explore the city on my own. This was my 5th trip abroad. I was very pleased with the balance of free time and tour-schedule. Our tour guide, Gillian was fabulous! Our group was enthusiastic, diverse, and overall--fun! Best of all, everyone helped me celebrate my 40th birthday in style in Paris.
Elaine <email>
Dallas, TX USA Fri 08/01/2008
Battlebus D-Day Tours
In April 2008 I took part in 2 days of tours of the Canadian battlefields in Normandy using Battlebus Tours. They are an excellent service, knowledgeable, friendly and extremely well informed! They were on time each morning and provided a fantastic tour with many out of the way details. I would highly recommend them to anyone seeking an informative tour of World War 2 battlefields in Normandy.
Tom Wilson <email>
Cambridge, ON Canada Wed 05/28/2008
Reine Mathilde Hotel, Bayeux
The Reine Mathilde hotel in Bayeux was a great, budget priced hotel. The proprietors were friendly and helpful, the rooms were clean, if simple, and provided a good base to explore Normandy. The hotel's restaurant provided plentiful and good food. The hotel's location is awesome, only a few steps to the Bayeux Tapestry, as well as the Bayeux Cathedral, and the pickup point in the Place du Quebec of many D-Day tour companies. I would recommend the Reine Mathilde for anyone seeking good, basic accomodation in the Normandy region.
Tom Wilson <email>
CAMBRIDGE, ON Canada Wed 05/28/2008
Rome in 7 Days
May 3 – 10, 2008
Just back from Rick's Rome in 7 Days tour with my wife and brother, to sum up our experience – Wow! We had a fantastic time: absolutely wonderful tour guide – Stephanie, great group of folks to hang out with for the week, fantastic food, and enjoyable sightseeing.
This was my wife and brother's first trip to Europe and I wanted to take them on a guided tour to ease them into the travel experience and hopefully avoid the typical 'decide what to do, find where it is, find out how to get there, figure out how to buy tickets, etc, etc waste of time that most trips become (with only a week I didn't want to waste precious time).
But I also had a lot of reservations about taking the 'typical tour' that you hear horror stories about – so we were pleasantly surprised to have a very positive experience with Rick's tour (the tour definitely lived up to his Travel Philosophy and his Ten Commitments).
I think Stephanie, our tour guide, was the backbone of our enjoyable time in Rome; an experienced guide who is very passionate and knowledgeable about Rome/Italy she easily managed balancing our tour together time and our free time, helping us to immerse ourselves into the local culture over our short time there – she definitely went out of her way to help us have a great time!
Thank you Stephanie!
My wife and I are already planning a Rick Steves tour for next year (2009). Looking forward to seeing how that one goes and hoping it's as great as this one was!!
Phil, Sudha, and Tom
Atlanta, GA USA Sun 05/11/2008