Tours Other Than Rick Steves': 2003
There are hundreds of European tours available: one-day local tours of a city or side-tripping from a city...factory tours...two- or three-week bus, biking, or hiking tours. Which ones can you, as a traveler, recommend? Please Note: Questions and excessive postings about the same company will be deleted.
Paris Tour Guide
Four of us had a wonderful day in Paris with Arnaud Servignat (recommended by Rick Steves in his Paris 2003 book--franceparisguide@noos.fr.) We took the Chunnel to Paris for a one-day introduction to Paris with the thought that we would be returning for a longer stay next year. Arnaud made the most of our time, showed us the sights we outlined were "must sees", and taught us how to use the metro, busses and taxis. For the four of us it was much less expensive and much more informative and enjoyable than the one-day tours offered by the train company.
Mary <email>
Bellingham, WA USA Fri 12/19/2003
Tuscan Winery Tour
"Tuscan Trails" provided a great "escape from tourism" near Florence to taste Tuscan wines and olive oils. The day includes touring two wine cellars, tasting a dozen wines and an outstanding lunch at La Casellina Osteria (known as part of the 'slow food' movement-using seasonal and fresh ingredients prepared immediately before service). The chef/co-owner prepared and served our four course lunch with wine after determining any food prefernces or allergies. Felt like royalty with the excellent food and service.
The guide/owner of the tour business is an american from Napa Valley who speaks fluent Italian, knows his wines, his Italian history and how to provide a personal tour. Trips are limited to 9 people, though we 2 were the only ones on our mid-November "escape".
Sandi <email>
Spooner, WI USA Sat 11/29/2003
Pasha Tours for Turkey
Pasha tours provides big bus tours of Turkey at a great value. The food
is good and plentiful. Buses used are clean and new. And you visit more
museums than you can belive. No extras charged. Spent about $50 for beers
at meals as my only extras. But not the people interaction I read about
on Rick's tours. Hotels were very cheap, good and big. Please feel free
to email me for more details.
John Brangwin <email>
Bellevue, WA USA Fri 11/14/2003
Acco-Dispo tour of Loire, Normandy and Britany
We had a wonderful tour of the Loire Valley, Normandy and Britany with a
transportation company recommended in Rick's book on France. If your time
is limited, and you want to see certain places and not others well and efficiently,
I recommend their service. They do custom tours for groups of up to 8. It
is really a great deal if you are a group of 3 or more. Our driver was professional,
kind and interesting. I loved the tour so much that I have named my new
puppy after a city in which we stayed, Amboise.
Dr. Jeanette Rollinger <email>
Visalia, CA USA Wed 11/05/2003
Dordogne, France (Sarlat)
I want to recommend Allo Philippe Taxi out of Sarlat. I just hired him for
6 days of touring in the Dordogne area of France, based upon your recommendation.
He knows the area, speaks excellent English, organizes the tours based on
your particular interests and is very reliable, which in the small town
of Sarlat is hard to come by. This is my third tour trip with Philippe Mouret
and I highly recommend him. He will also pick up at the area train stations
and airports. He can get his customers into sites (especially the prehistoric
caves) that other guides seem to have trouble with. I hope you keep him
in your guidebook.
Susan Trice <email>
Napa, Ca USA Tue 11/04/2003
Titanic Trail in Cobh, Ireland
The Titanic's last stop before heading out to sea and sinking, was Cobh,
Ireland. If you visit this most interesting city, just outside of Cork,
you must join Michael in his Titanic Trail walking tour! My boyfriend and
I started walking around Cobh, looking for Titanic landmarks but soon learned
that we were getting very little out of it. We literally stumbled upon Michael
and his small group of tourists. He invited us to join his group and for
about $7.50 each, we got the tour of a lifetime. We spent the next 2 1/2
hrs. listening to Michael relive the last day of the Titanic before it set
out to sea and to its fate. He also was a world of knowledge about Cobh
itself and the Cathedral which dominates the town. The tour ended at a local
pub and Michael treating us all to a bit of Guiness. To contact Michael:
info@titanic-trail.com He's an expert on the Titanic and was even consulted
when they made the recent movie of the Titanic. Don't miss this tour; it
was the highlight of our trip to Ireland!
Linda Pfeiffer <email>
Boulder, CO USA Tue 10/28/2003
Safari Wine Tours (Beaune)
This post is to recommend you give Safari Wine Tours in Beaune a try. Last
summer, as a result of trying (unsuccessfully) to help out some frustrated
Rick Steves' readers book a wine tour, I posted a warning about Safari Wine
Tours. To my surprise, I received an almost immediate email from the proprietor,
Mr. Philippe Cesne, stating his surprise at my story and explaining that
these tourists' experience was definitely not how he conducted business.
He assured me he had discussed the matter with the Beaune TI re: how they
book these tours. I'm pleased to belatedly post the business info Mr. Cesne
provided, so travelers to the region can book tours directly if they wish:
email bacchuswinetours@wanadoo.fr attn: Philippe, phone: 0380240920 / 0380244949,
web site www.athanor-hotel-bourgogne.com
Jeanette Herting <email>
Paris, FRANCE Sat 10/25/2003
Bicycling in Spain
I just got home from an adventurous, culturally enriching bike tour in Andalucia.
It was run by Matt and Julie Butler of AdventureBug (see their website adventurebug.com).
Canadian and British by birth, they settled in Casares, a small white hill
town (Pueblo Blanco) after traveling the world and teaching in several continents.
We rode through hilly terrain, about 50 km/day, through areas so desolate
that we went days without seeing a traffic light, and where the only traffic
jam was due to cows and goats monopolizing the road in the beautiful Algodonocales
national park. Each night's accommodations were in small, friendly inns
in the shadows of a Moorish fort or castle, in towns where a person traveling
by internal combustion engine would probably never discover! The tour group
was small and friendly - 1 American and 4 Germans, and at 760 Euros, it
was an excellent value. Check out Adventure Bug for all kinds of adventure
travel in Andalucia!
Jeff <email>
Waterford, CT USA Fri 10/17/2003
D Day Tours
We used Victory Tours in Normandy for our D-Day Tour. I had the impression
from the guidebook that we would be just getting a driver who spoke English,
not true. Raul gives a very thorough tour. He is with you at each site,
explains everything, shows pictures from WWII, recommends where to take
pictures etc. It was a great tour and we learned so much. He also has a
B&B at this Chateau. He told us he can make arrangements for pick up etc
if you don't have a car.
Jennifer Perdue <email>
Louisville, CO USA Sun 10/12/2003
Wine Tours in Alsace
Once my tour of Village France had concluded, I headed in the direction
of the white wine country of Colmar. We stumbled across a tour company called
Regioscope, out of Colmar, and had a delightful driver by the name of Frederic
Albert. He was very accommodating and enjoyed his tour tremendously.
Marsha Oldinski
Sarasota, FL USA Mon 10/06/2003
Personalized Vatican Tour
We booked a tour of the Vatican with Paul Bennett from Context|Rome. It
was fabulous! Inge took us five of us through the Vatican on a four-hour
personalized tour that was uplifting, inspirational, fun, and informative
all at once. We learned so much that my mind was still taking it all in
for days afterwards. There is no better way to see the Vatican, in my opinion.
You can reach Paul at paul@contextrome.com. An awesome experience!
Pam Kuck <email>
Shawano, WI USA Mon 10/06/2003
Accidental Tourist,
Tuscany
My family had the pleasure of
taking a tour of the Tuscan hills with The Accidental Tourist (in Bagno
a Ripoli outside of Florence). We'd like other visitors to know what a
hospitable, warm and personal experience they can anticipate with Accidental
Tourist. Everyone involved is a lover of, and evangelist for, the hills.
In a few hours, most of them over a delightful home-made lunch, we came
to share their love for their surroundings. This was the highlight of
a week spent in Tuscany.
Ed <email>
Chevy Chase, MD USA Wed 08/27/2003
Bike tours of Stockholm
Bike tours
are the best way to see a city. I went on a bike tour yesterday in Stockholm
and it was amazing. In the true sense of back door adventures John's Bike
Tours provides it all (www.johnsbiketours.se). You get to see some adventures
but you also see places no other tourist gets to see, like where John was
born in Stockholm. It really was fun and not too pricey. If you get a chance
to come to Stockholm I highly recommend trying that out. Happy Travels
Philip Searles <email>
Atlanta, GA USA Tue 08/12/2003
Globus and Cosmos are the best! Great guides and value. You can use
them no matter what travel style you use. For first timers they will be
there for you for everything. If you like to be on your own, just let them
know right away. Their only demand is that you BE THERE when the bus leaves.
Of course there are no 5 star hotels on the tour, but always safe an spotless.
Itineraries are great. But the strong point is the guides. Knowledgeable,
friendly, fun and unbelieveably patient. Some of my best travel stories
involve the tour company and guide.
Mimi
FL USA Sat 07/19/2003
Andalucia, Spain
If you want to get the inside scoop on Andalucia try this American expert
on Spain. He?s fun and educational. Whip up 2 parts historian, 1 part anthropologist,
1 part sociologist and 1 part the US neighbor-you-wish-you-had and you get
a wonderful guided trip from Dan O?Beirne. We are touring oldies, not good
in the heat or on forced marches. We engaged him for two, four-hour walking
tours interspersed with frequent refreshment breaks and some specialized
shopping, all the time learning about the past and present Sevilla and Spain.
It was more of a pleasant seminar experience focused on the overview, filled
in with necessary details, led by a man with passion for his subject. Dan
is a gem and if the rest of his group is nearly as good, as I suspect it
is, you can?t go wrong working with him. Contact at www.magicalspain.com
or Spain phone +34 615 291 736. Rick seems to have a talent for finding
the best.
Wayne Kingsley <email>
Portland, OR USA Wed 07/16/2003
Florence Uffizi Tours
We thoroughly enjoyed our Florence tour of the incredible Uffizi with Florence
Walking Tours. Our guide, Brie, was an American who had just received her
doctorate in Art Restoration. She brought the museum to life for our group,
told lots of background anecdotes, and was warm and energetic. She knew
the subject inside and out. My teenage son (who had announced that morning
that he was sick of museums and hated art), was completely entranced and
thought it was the best tour he's ever been on.
Maureen Crawford <email>
San Diego, CA USA Tue 07/15/2003
Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Germany Tour
When in Rothenburg, don't miss the wonderful "Night Watchman" tour. The
guide, dressed in medieval garb, is thoroughly interesting and entertaining.
I wish I could import this guide to speak to students who are learning about
the middle ages! One hour, walking. My teenage son said it was one of the
two best tours we took all month. You just show up in the town square at
8 p.m. and pay (4 euros) after it's over, no reservation needed.
Maureen Crawford <email>
San Diego, CA USA Tue 07/15/2003
Stonhenge tour
If you want to sit among and touch the monoliths of Stonehenge, check out
Prestige Tours in London. We found out about this great tour of Bath, Lacock
(a small town unchanged since the 18th century), and Stonehenge from our
concierge at the hotel. Stonehenge is roped off to the general public, but
this tour allows you to walk among the stones, touch them, pose for picutres
with them, etc. The tour starts off in London where you board an air-conditioned
bus to Bath. We had several hours to explore the Roman baths (admission
included in tour price) and the town. Then we drove to Lacock for dinner
in the oldest restaurant in Britain (established in 1361). We arrived at
Stonehenge just before sunset and watched the sun set among the stones.
It was incredible! All for 56 GBP - a price we found very reasonable. The
only thing not included was our meal in Lacock, which cost 10 GBP (beers
were about 2 GBP). I highly recommend this tour!!
Jennifer <email>
North Wales, PA USA Fri 07/11/2003
Segway tours in Paris
Just before writing this I saw another comment just below about the new
Segway Tours in Paris - funny. Mike's Bike Tours has branched into the tours
on Segway market in addition to their regular bicycle tours. We went to
their office on the recommendation of a friend, but instead of taking the
recommended bike tour (Versailles) we opted to try the Segways - AND THEY
WERE SO MUCH FUN! If you ever want to know what it is like to be a movie
star take this tour. Everyone took pictures of us and pointed at us. Since
they're still too expensive to purchase on my own I figured this was my
only chance. And what a great place to do it too - Paris!
Conner E <email>
Bismark, SD USA Mon 07/07/2003
Three fun tours
1. Pascal's "Acco-Dispo" tour company in Amboise. When my boyfriend and I got off the train at the
wrong town, I frantically called Pascal and asked if he could pick us up
at the train station in Amboise, and he did. Turned out we were the only
ones on the tour, but it was still great - three chateaux in about four
hours (Fougieres-sur-Bievre, Cheverny and Chambord) plus running commentary
and info about the things we passed on the road.
Sarah <email>
Los Angeles, CA USA Sun 06/29/2003
German Castle Tours
We, too, highly recommend Eur Aide's Two Castles Tour out of Munich to Neuschwanstein
and Wieskirke. It's only on Wednesdays at 7:45 a.m. from the Eur Aide office
near track 5, the leftmost track as you face all the tracks from the station,
of Munich's main train station. The guide Alan is wonderful, the route is
intelligently planned to avoid crowds, they pick good drivers, and if everybody
in the group gets back to bus reasonably on time all day, they throw in
unadvertised bonus visits to other Bavarian highlights. Their tour also
gets you to Weiskirke, which is difficult to reach without a car otherwise.
Oh, at Neuschwanstein also consider, as Rick says, taking the bus to the
suspension bridge above the castle and walking downhill. Those buses cost
around 2 euros each way and leave from quite near where the Eur Aide bus
drops you off. On the other hand, it's an uphill walk to get to the bus
stop after seeing the castle, so you could either walk or catch the horsecarts.
The carts do, however, wait until they're full to go, and this may take
awhile.
Mike McGuire <email>
San Leandro, CA USA Fri 06/20/2003
Findhorn Sacred Journeys
We're just returned from Findhorn Sacred Journey's Sacred Ireland tour (our
second tour with this company and tour guide Peter Vallance, the first being
their Spirit of Caledonia tour of Scotland) and we were once again delighted
and thoroughly impressed. These tours mix history, archeology, myth, legend
and a sense of the sacred in the land. We visited both the large and well
known (Newgrange, Clonmacnoise) sites as well as more secluded places that
offered time to quietly enjoy the atmosphere of an ancient passage tomb
or stone circle. Travellers enjoy small group sizes, a mix of group and
personal time, interesting and enjoyable accomodation (near Dingle we stayed
at an organic farm and B&B called The Phoenix) and lots of little extras
(like learning to make Saint Brighid's Crosses beside a well dedicated to
her in Kildare). There is a bit of hiking involved to many of the sites
so I would caution any serious coach potatoes but you don't need to be a
serious hiker. I especially appreciated the tour's emphasis on travel as
pilgrimage and the need to experience the land spiritually, not merely in
a passing superficial way. There is no particular spiritual path being evoked,
simply whatever calling the traveller already understands. For more information,
see their website www.findhornsacredjourneys.com
Vanessa
Halifax, NS Canada Thu 06/19/2003
Umbria Tours
My husband and I found Anne Robichaud on your website and contracted with
her for 2 days while we were in Umbria. She helped arrange our lodging
while there, and took us on an IC tour of Assisi and wine/olive oil tasting
in Spello which was wonderful. That evening we were lucky enough to go
to the Maggiolotta (end of May) Festival which was a progressive dinner
through the town with our group of 8 being the only non-locals.
The second day, we were scheduled for a private tour of Gubbio, where my grandparents had come from. We had the address of my mother's cousin, and Anne was tenacious in saying that we HAD to find them---not only did we find them, we stayed for lunch and they took us to see the house where my grandmother had been born. Anne acted as our interpreter (my cousins speak NO English and we spoke piccolo Italiano) and guided us through the town with my new found cousins! It was a day we will never forget and now we will be going back next year for the annual Festa di Ceri in May.
During our two days with Anne,
she became our family in Italy, helping us to find what we needed (food,
lodging, cousins) and was generous with her time and her knowledge. Every
minute spent with her was one of learning, and wonder! I highly recommend
Anne and Umbria --- it is truly a beautiful place and we will return.
When we returned to the states I e-mailed Anne and she wrote back to say
that she had called my cousins to tell them that we had gotten home safely
and that we had so enjoyed our stay with them. Now, that's Family!
Diane Phillips <email>
San Diego, CA USA Thu 06/12/2003
Sevilla, Spain private tour with Dan OBeirne
My husband and I read about Dan O'Beirne in Sevilla (www.MagicalSpain.com
phone +34 615 29 17 36) in Ricks excellent 2003 Spain Guide Book. We did
a day trip to Cordoba & wanting to hear more medieval legends & understand
how Spaniards live did his Hidden Sevilla walking tour + a little bit of
Spain's Jewish history & Inquisition. Dan was very booked but due to a cancellation
we were ableto reserve and had a really memorable & educational time finishing
at a Dan's favorite restaurant where he introduced us to the owner and helped
us with menus and later booked hotels for us in Ronda & Granada which were
excellent!
Matty & Susan Harrison
NYC, NY USA Fri 06/06/2003
Paris Private Guide
In his PARIS 2003 book, Rick recommends tour guide Arnaud Servignat for
anyone wishing a private guide in Paris. I must comment on how incredibly
helpful he was to us while we were in Paris. He saved us not once but
twice. The first time was when he picked us up at our hotel for our tour
of Malmaison in his own private car because the transit workers were on
strike that day. He certainly didn't have to do that, and he saved our
outing from disaster. Two days later, we scheduled with him to take us
out to tour Fontainebleau...and when we arrived, the Chateau workers had
spontaneously decided to join the transit workers on strike, and the Chateau
was closed.
So Arnaud took us instead to
visit the nearby Chateau Vaux-le-Vicomte (which is a privately owned Chateau,
with no public workers, so it was open when Fontainbleau was not). Arnaud
gave us a wonderful tour of that beautiful Chateau and he knew all about
it. I was just amazed he could give us such a detailed tour of a Chateau
he hadn't even known we were going to be visiting. I can't say enough
how we appreciated him saving our time in Paris like he did. We had only
four days in Paris, and if it hadn't been for Arnaud, two of them would
have been wrecked. He was also very nice and friendly and gave me a great
tip concerning which company to take a dinner cruise on the Seine with.
We took his advice, and it was the best night on our whole trip. He also
was very courteous about answering all my beforehand email questions.
His email address is in Rick's Paris 2003 book on page 27. It is arnotour@noos.fr
Judith Anderson <email>
Tempe, AZ USA Tue 06/03/2003
Easy on your feet in Paris and Amsterdam
The "L'Open" hop on/hop off bus tours in Paris are a great bargain (especially
when the metros are on strike!) for 26 euros, you can hop on and off for
2 days. It is a great alternative to city tours like CityRama and for those
who have difficulty walking the metros, it offers a better choice. My 73
year old mother could not have seen nearly as much otherwise on a recent
trip that I took her on. The Lindbergh Bus Tour co. in Amsterdam is another
great way to get an overview of the country but there is little time for
eating or souvenir shopping so don't waste your valuable time in the shops
while the "clock is ticking"! Both of these have web sites. (*The L'Open
tour is a better deal than the Rouge Cars bus tours, I think.)
Gail <email>
Almere, NL Wed 05/28/2003
Seeing Scotland
If you want to experience the countryside of Scotland, check out Go Blue
Bananas! It's a tour group located in Edinburgh Scotland. It specializes
in small tour groups for the 18-30 set. They provide transportation and
a native tour guide. Prepare to do some hiking back into the hills, stay
at hostels at night (they make the reservations and you pay when you get
there), and buy your own food (though sometimes everyone chips in for a
couple "home cooked" meals). Even though you have to provide your own food
and money for lodging, you will get to see countryside tourists never get
to see and meet interesting people for not much more than bus/train passes
Shea <email>
Portland, OR USA Fri 04/18/2003
Great Paris guide
I used to think I would not want or need a personal guide for Paris. But
as the world became more unsettled, I remembered reading a recommendation
here. I thought a fellow American to show us around Paris could help ease
our fears. We contacted Michael Osman by email and he replied with his phone
number. I called him to ask a few questions and he put me at ease right
away about our trip. We made plans to meet in Paris for a day of touring.
He is an artist so we used his knowledge and insight to help us make more
sense of the art in the Louvre and the d'Orsay. It was quite a full day
but Michael's energy rubbed off on us; his enthusiasm was wonderful. We
decided to use his services for another day. We would have hired him a third
day but he was already booked. Michael Osman can be reached by e-mail at
parisfind@aol.com. He also has a web page: www.geocities.com/parisfinder.
He is more than worth the small price that we paid. We got so much more
out of Paris than we thought we would. In general, we also found the French
to be very polite and nice.
Tina <email>
NYC, NY USA Sun 04/13/2003
Outstanding, short tour of Florence
For an incredibly entertaining, off-beat, educational tour of Florence's
art, history and architectural interests, please consult Walking Tours of
Florence, which can be found in Piazza San Stefano, between Ponte Vecchio
adn the Ufizzi, near the Arno. Rhea, our guide, was the highlight of our
10-day Rome-Florence-Venice trip. Questions were always encouraged (and
often complimented with "Good question!" which doesn't hurt) so that all
group members' inquiries actually enhanced the dimensions of the tour. A
few days later, the Uffizi Gallery tour with Rose was just as illustrative,
yet efficient, fun and educational. You can find them at www.artviva.com.
They're worth twice the price they're asking. (Besides, who can argue with
Rick Steves, Michael Palin and Frommers for endorsements?).
Sarah H. <email>
Farmington, MO USA Sun 03/23/2003
Barcelona Tours
My friend and I just got back from Barcelona and found a wonderful guide.
She was from the states so language was no problem. Knew places to see,
eat, and shop!! She also drove us two hours away to see Salvadore Dali museum
because I was so interested. I highly recommend her. She can be contacted
at Debiness@aol.com or has a website at www.castelldefels.com/toursbydebbie/
Linda Austin <email>
Marietta, GA USA Tue 02/04/2003