A Hopeful Holiday Season
Dear Traveler,
This year has been a true exercise in patience — patience for postponed travels, for staying at home to help beat the pandemic, and for seeing a tough election through. But with vaccines on the horizon and new leadership (that respects science) for our country, I'm hopeful that we're finally heading down the path toward normalcy — and that we'll be touring in late 2021.
We have our tours booked, our guides on deck, and are taking wish-list names, so those interested will be the first to know when we're confident that the time is right to fire up our tour program. (Signing up to be a "wish-list traveler" is easy — just check out our tours, find the tour and departure dates you prefer, then select "Notify Me.")
In the meantime, we're directing our travelers to the creative work of our many guides — who are so passionate about teaching and sharing their cultures. Each week, we'll be sharing our "marketplace favorites" on the Rick Steves Guides' Marketplace. This week's picks include baking Norwegian Christmas cookies, a holiday walk through Siena, and a virtual pilgrimage from France's Loire Valley to breathtaking Mont St-Michel. You won't want to miss out on all the fun.
You'll find more travel inspiration in this month's Tour News, which highlights the many joys of visiting Scotland: Read our interview with Scottish tour guide Anne Doig, experience the dramatic scenery of the Isle of Skye's Trotternish Peninsula, take a day-by-day journey through our bonnie Best of Scotland tour, and much more.
Until we can embark on European travels, we all need to do our part by being patient and diligent so that together, as a society, we can get through this pandemic. Our reward? The chance to once again explore our world and find the joy that awaits those who travel.
From my family to yours, have a safe, smart, and happy holiday season,
Rick
