Rick StevesReviews of ricksteves.com

Husband, adult son and I experienced the trip of a lifetime with our guide Mine through Turkey at the end of October. Every moment was better than expected. Mine brought Türkiye to life for us with her life experience as well as her educational background (two Masters degrees!). Our days were full and carefully calculated to bring us the best experience. We would leave early some days to beat the tourist rush. She offered many recommendations for restaurants and shops and was accurate in her assessments. Traveling with a group was new for us and turned out to really enhance the experience. We formed friendships that will continue when we get home. Mine encouraged our togetherness by asking everyone to get a ‘buddy’, spend a few minutes to get to know them, and connecting with them whenever the group moved together. That way we could move quickly from site to site. We saw so much, learned so much. Mine would outline the history, share interesting anecdotes, and then give us free time to explore the wonders of Turkey. We shared new foods, new cultural experiences, new understanding of religions. A couple of bus rides were long (5-6hrs) but we stopped every 2 hours at truck stops (not at all like those in US) and Mine made the trip go fast by sharing her personal experiences and even teaching us the alphabet and basic phrases. We learned soo much. The small boutique like hotels were marvelous: prime locations, clean and better than adequate, lovely attributes like gardens or swimming pool or even staying in rooms carved out of the stone of Cappadocia! Optional side trips like flying in a balloon in Cappadocia (highly recommended) or Turkish bath ( also highly recommended). In fact we decided all of the optional opportunities were well worth it. Such an incredibly rich experience. The Rick Steve’s method cannot be beat. There were only a few like us that had had never experienced his trips. But we are true converts and this will not be our last. Especially if Mine is guiding, I would follow her anywhere.

I have been on 6 Rick Steves tours (2 in Italy, 2 in Spain, Greece and Turkey) and all were fabulous. Rick focuses on staying in the heart of the city, near the sights, usually in smaller, locally owned hotels. His guides are top notch and really set the tone for the trip. His choice of sights and activities are superb. Contrary to another review, Rick Steves always recommends traveling light and carrying your luggage on the plane. The reviewer who claims the Rick Steves guide books led them to pack so much clothing that they needed three big suitcases is very confused.

We just enjoyed our fourth Rick Steves Tour, Paris and the Heart of France 11 day tour. It exceeded our expectations. Paris was gorgeous and Normandy knocked our socks off. Our tour coordinator was fun and knew her stuff. She was an American who had lived in France for over thirty years. The highlight of our adventure was spending the night on beautiful Mont St-Michel. Rick Steve's organization has a goal to teach participants to be independent travellers. This includes free time to explore the cities on his trips. We are looking forward to our fifth Rick Steves trip this Fall.

I like that Rick Steves has created a community for his wonderful tour guides who are passionate about what they do, work hard and are well-compensated. The tours are really reasonably priced. They don't mark up their single supplements like so many other companies do. There are always unique experiences that you just can't get on your own. For me the only flaw is that the tour schedules are quite packed, there are a lot of guided tours and meals included. Personally I would prefer a little more freedom as well as my own time to explore.

I’ve been on 5 Rick Steves tours so far and all of them have been fantastic. The guides are all personable and knowledgeable. The itineraries have been well-organized and well-planned. I wasn’t always comfortable with some of the small family run hotels we stayed but they’ve all been interesting and definitely not cookie cutter. The groups have been less than 30 people so there’s plenty of space to spread in the full size coach bus we ride in. Plus Rick Steves himself is honest and ethical. His is one of the few tour companies fully refunding for his cancelled tours during this pandemic and not just giving credit for future travel. I’ll definitely travel again on any Rick Steves tour in the future.

I have gone on two tours with Rick Steves and both have been excellent, well-run tours. The accommodations did tend to vary from city to city, but overall his emphasize on family-run hotels with free breakfasts works well. I learned so much on my tours and made friends with great people.