Rick Steves' Tours are Family Friendly
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| Kids define high cuisine their own way. |
More and more Americans are taking their kids on their European adventures. But did you know that our tours are great for families? Check out the comments below from some of our tour alums about family travel on a Rick Steves tour. Check out more uncensored feedback here.
Seeing the true awe and excitement in my 12-year-old son's eyes when he saw the Swiss Alps close up for the first time as we rode up the gondola in Gimmewald.
— Jan in San Diego, CA
Best of Europe June 26, 2003
This tour exceeded our expectations in every way! My husband and I went on this tour with three teenagers. All five of us had the trip of a lifetime. Before the tour, I thought the cost was a bit high. After the tour, I wondered HOW you could have done it for that amount of money! I believe that your comments about the local guides, and accomplishing in three weeks on the tour what would take four weeks on your own, are absolutely true. We would not have had the quality experiences we did had we done this on our own. We learned so much, and had an absolutely amazing time. We also enjoyed our fellow tour mates tremendously. Thanks to you and to guides Matt and Ragan for this life altering experience
— Leslie in Olalla, WA
Best of Europe June 26, 2003
Our group was comprised of people ages 8 to 76, and everyone got along well and seemed to have a good time. We made many new friends. For a first visit to a new country where one doesn't know the language, ETBD is a great way to go. We plan to take other ETBD tours in the future.
— Gail in Mesa, AZ
Best of Germany, Austria and Switzerland June 11, 2003
On our tour we had a family with teenagers and a family with three children, ages 5-12 or so. I was concerned when I read the original roster, that this could be a problem. Luckily, it turned out to be no problem at all because the children were extremely well behaved and polite. Also, the parents of the younger family had spent a lot of time and effort to provide activities to keep their children occupied on the long bus rides. I'm not sure how you check on this in advance when you're selling the tours, but it sure could've been difficult had these families NOT been so terrific. We were so lucky and happy to have these families. Whatever you did in the case of encouraging this family to go on the tour — please keep doing it with each family that wants to sign up. These families seemed unusual. Maybe there are more of them, and if so — this is a great tour operation for them.
— Dee Snyder in San Diego, CA
Best of Germany, Austria and Switzerland June 11, 2003
The trip was loaded with "wow" moments. One was taking the wooded trail from our lodging in Pinswang, Austria, to Neuschwanstein Castle in Germany; the scenery was beautiful, and it was a traveler's dream to emerge from the forest to see the castle reflected in the lake as we arrived. The Schilthorn was breathtaking (in more ways than one — I'm terrified of heights, and I overcame those feelings!) — I'm so glad that we chose to go there by gondola, and then we stopped at each town on the way back — beautiful, welcoming towns; we arrived at the base using the postal bus — that was a fun experience, too, as we saw the driver making deliveries and pickups from a really modern bus; maybe this is an idea our country should try! The group picnic at nightfall at the base of the Eiffel Tower was a great way to wind down and say our good-byes. I would recommend the Nightwatchman's Tour in Rothenburg to everyone — we learned, and we just had a lot of fun — I never thought of the night watchman being third from the bottom on the social scale, after the henchman and the gravedigger! In St Mark's Square in Venice, the music made me want to dance all over, and it was great fun taking pictures of my daughter with pigeons flying to her to eat. The group gondola ride in Venice was picturesque, and the musicians made it a romantic event — one does not need a spouse or significant other to feel that. I would never have imagined ME flying down a mountainside in a luge; what a kick.
— Carolyn in Kirkland, WA
Europe BBB/Bus Plus, Jul 19, 2003
Walking down a little scenic path in the Cotswolds with my daughter — so peaceful and picturesque!
— Lynnette in Vista, CA
Britain, Jun 28, 2003
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