Preparing to Depart:
Preparing for an overseas adventure can be stressful. Thankfully, we didn't have to do it all on our own. The Rick Steves’ company offers an abundance of travel resources, and the website is super informative.
www.ricksteves.com/travel-tips/trip-planning
www.ricksteves.com/travel-tips/trip-planning
1) Travel Tips
The travel website at ricksteves.com, is just chock full of good tips and helpful suggestions. We enjoyed reading up on what the experts thought worthy of consideration. Dan's parents took advantage of the offered videos, and both the in-person and online classes and travel assistants. We didn't have time for much of that, but we did peruse the website and read through the questions and answers of other travelers. We watched a few Rick Steves' programs that were shot in the locations we were going to visit. I liked the online forum where I could learn what other people wish they knew before they had experienced the same trips. From information on money handing, and the amount of cash to bring along, to technology tips and suggested apps for city and museum tours, to laundry detergent options and the best way to do laundry on the go, I appreciated the resources. |
And we did purchase some handy travel items (or received them as gifts for Christmas), like this easily packable Rick Steves' stretchy, Velcro, laundry rope. This sucker came in handy in hotel rooms all across Europe. Special thanks also goes out to the unseasonably, ridiculously hot weather which also did its best to dry out our clothes in a very abbreviated time frame.
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2) Packing lists
I found the packing lists (and the Rick Steves book that was included in the package) to be the most helpful resources. We printed out the packing lists and used them as a starting point for determining our final clothing line-ups. I also enjoyed reading about what NOT to bring and why (we totally violated a few of the “rules” - like, we brought jeans, we did not regret it). We customized our own lists and, added a few extras, like tiny rechargeable fans and spray bottles, since we would be travelling during a heat wave in the middle of summer. We also waited until we got to Europe and bought insulated, reusable water bottles on the trip so that our water would be ice-cold all day long and we could keep the water bottles as souvenirs when we got home. Also- while our suitcases were mostly full, our backpacks weren't. That left everyone some room for souvenirs, including a few sweatshirts. (Did we feel foolish purchasing sweatshirts in 103 degree heat in Italy? We did. But we sure enjoyed them in Dublin, in the rain, on our way back to Seattle (where we ran into... what else? more rain...)). |
The timing on our trip may not have been ideal, because of the anticipated temperatures but, it is my opinion that ANY time you get to go to Europe is a GREAT time to go! And, just to be difficult, in addition to the blazing heat, we were adding cold weather at both ends of our trip (because we added Edinburgh to the start and Dublin to the end). That meant we needed a range of clothing - we went with layers and took a few less long-sleeved items... (and... spoiler alert:
We loved the whole thing - weather and all.) |
3) Insurance - do you need it?
This is such a case specific determination that the answer is going to be different for everyone. The Rick Steves website poses a lot of good questions to consider along with recommendations for a few reputable companies (which is helpful, since it's hard to know which company to go with).
Some of us bought insurance and some of us did not. And all of us were comfortable with our decision because of the Rick Steves' policy on refunding unused portions of the trip in the event of a positive covid test. If the unfortunate were to happen, the company would refund every unused day (pro rata price), which would be more than enough to cover costs for us to isolate and meet back up with our families at a later date. We were very thankful that we didn't need that option, but there was a family on our tour who did. Those three individuals, while very disappointed with missing the rest of the tour, were also well taken care of by the company and by the immensely helpful and capable tour guides.
This is such a case specific determination that the answer is going to be different for everyone. The Rick Steves website poses a lot of good questions to consider along with recommendations for a few reputable companies (which is helpful, since it's hard to know which company to go with).
Some of us bought insurance and some of us did not. And all of us were comfortable with our decision because of the Rick Steves' policy on refunding unused portions of the trip in the event of a positive covid test. If the unfortunate were to happen, the company would refund every unused day (pro rata price), which would be more than enough to cover costs for us to isolate and meet back up with our families at a later date. We were very thankful that we didn't need that option, but there was a family on our tour who did. Those three individuals, while very disappointed with missing the rest of the tour, were also well taken care of by the company and by the immensely helpful and capable tour guides.
4) Communication
Communication from the Rick Steves company is fantastic. They kept us up to date on the current state of affairs in the countries to which we were expecting to travel. They also provided helpful information leading up to the trip and made all of the necessary document exchanges easy and straightforward. The tone and thoroughness of the communication we received really bolstered confidence in the company and its ability to adapt to changing circumstances and to safely shepherd our group along the way. We were very impressed.
Communication from the Rick Steves company is fantastic. They kept us up to date on the current state of affairs in the countries to which we were expecting to travel. They also provided helpful information leading up to the trip and made all of the necessary document exchanges easy and straightforward. The tone and thoroughness of the communication we received really bolstered confidence in the company and its ability to adapt to changing circumstances and to safely shepherd our group along the way. We were very impressed.
Everyone who signed up received a "Rick Steves "Best of Europe" book, with information on all of the cities that we would be visiting (tips, tricks, suggested sights, trip planning tools, itineraries, etc.). Since each family received multiple copies, we cut a few up so that we could take the chapters specific to our tour along with us on the trip (and Darlene (grandma) made it into a project with the girls so they'd have their own travel folder with all of the important details (like our hotels, and itineraries for each day) - amazing!
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We were going to be traveling at the end of the pandemic, when countries were making frequent rule changes (Do we need to test for flights? To get into each country? To return home?) and Rick Steves kept us apprised of all of it. As it turned out, just before we left (a few weeks out) the rules changed and we didn't need to test to get into each country, and we wouldn't need a negative test to leave Europe either. But we did need masks on the planes and on our bus, a negative Covid test to start the tour, and proof of vaccination.
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5) The Rick Steves Company.
From voluntarily paying their employees who couldn't work during the pandemic, to proactively paying to offset the carbon footprint created by their tour groups, to the choices made to frequent local businesses and smaller companies/hotels with their travel dollars, I was impressed by the Rick Steves company's character and impact. Even with Dan's parents gifting us the price of the Rick Steves portion of the trip, the expense of this vacation is going to be significant for us and we felt good about the company that we were doing business with.
For example, see: www.ricksteves.com/about-us/climate-smart (Rick Steves Climate-Smart Commitment)
From voluntarily paying their employees who couldn't work during the pandemic, to proactively paying to offset the carbon footprint created by their tour groups, to the choices made to frequent local businesses and smaller companies/hotels with their travel dollars, I was impressed by the Rick Steves company's character and impact. Even with Dan's parents gifting us the price of the Rick Steves portion of the trip, the expense of this vacation is going to be significant for us and we felt good about the company that we were doing business with.
For example, see: www.ricksteves.com/about-us/climate-smart (Rick Steves Climate-Smart Commitment)