Rick Steves Reviews 21

Rick Steves recommended Overlord tours for tours in Normandy, this was our experience
My brother and sister in-law, my wife and i booked Overlord tours for a 4-day private tour, just the four of us. Having to say Overlord tours was the best thing we ever did, the 4 days were amazing, the vehicle was new clean, our tour guide was Jean, he was like a professor, what a wealth of knowledge about everything in Normandy, (this is the guy to get). Jean went beyond being a guide for us, what a pleasure, we went places i feel most people never get to see, we customized our day and went off the beaten path, to some it up you will love overlord tours for your adventures in Normandy and if you are lucky enough to get Jean as your guide thumps up, wish i could give it more then 5 stars, (side note you can take a nap in between going to locations, it was the best) thank you again Jean for such a great trip. see you again.

We toured Portugal by car in mid-April 2026, following Rick Steves’ itinerary for a 2-week trip. Algarve, Evora, Nazare/Alcobaca, Coimbra, Douro Valley and Porto. It was an enjoyable trip in all ways. We used Rick’s walking tours in each destination, stayed in several of his recommended hotels, enjoyed his restaurant suggestions, and side-trip ideas. Driving was easy and pleasurable with short distances most days. Excellent roads; Googlemaps worked perfectly. This was our umpteenth trip with Rick Steves. His books and videos are a treasure. They have greatly enhanced our many European travel experiences.

We are currently touring Turkey and the sights, people & food are absolutely amazing! Our guide, Taylan, is knowledgeable and friendly and seems to know everyone! I highly recommend this tour to anyone who is curious about the people and culture, this has been the experience of a lifetime for me!

We had purchased two of the Convertible Carry-On baggage units for a trip to Europe way back around the turn of the millennium. We liked them so much I purchased a new unit in the fall of 2024. During a recent trip I noticed a slight separation of a seam and notified the company. WITHIN THE SAME DAY, the customer service team notified me that they would be sending out a new unit. What great service!!!
Thanks so much!
Keep up the good work!

This was our 2nd RS tour, we had done all our own planning using his guide books prior to 2024. We loved our RS tour of Scandinavia so much that we booked a 7-day best of Ireland this year. We were not disappointed, the guide was as good; personable and knowledgeable; the sights were amazing, all the hotels were great; and the local cultural activities numerous and informative.

This is specifically about my experience with the Rick Steves luggage warranty. I bought a bag decades ago that finally wore out, and I bought a new one. In the meantime, the bags purchased for three other family members are still going strong. My replacement bag was smaller, and perhaps not as well made because it tore and the handle got wonky quickly. I contacted customer service and they asked for my receipt and photos of the damage, which I sent. Soon they delivered a brand new bag which shows no signs of wearing out so far (and I’m a heavy user). It was all done by email and I didn’t pay any postage or have to ship the defective bag back. They completely honored the warranty. I wish I hadn’t tossed my first bag - I didn’t even think about the warranty since I’d had it for decades, but I believe it would have been honored too. We also have the lightweight backpacks and they are amazing. They pack down small and give us all the room we need for tours. We’d buy again.

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 was led to believe this was an ethical company. I have done a few trips with Road Scholar, Globus and On the Go tours. All were excellent. I signed up with Rick Steves for a tour of Europe next year (2025). My wife decided that she just was not able to do such a long tour. I cancelled and asked for our $800 deposit back. I was informed that refunds are only available in the first 30 days. This is in spite of the fact that the tour was scheduled 10 months from now, plenty of time for them to find replacement participants. They offered me a few other tours, none of them to our liking. So, make sure if you want to cancel you do it in the first 30 days (we waited until about 90 days). I hope they have some fun with my money. I will never book a tour with Rick Steves again.

This guy is the biggest egotist I have ever seen. He literally created an infomercial for his huge ego by being in so many scenes, including him getting a haircut in Spain! Is that the best you can do to educate the viewers about Spain?! He acts like he was elected or appointed to give advice about travel, and I do not consider him an expert whatsoever. He does not show the true representations of the countries based on my vast experiences, only what he and "Hollywood" want you to see so he can "sell" his DVD's and other travel stuff to you. I am not impressed and in talking to other big travelers neither are they. At a travel show people who know him talked about his huge ego and how he is not liked. Few take him seriously. Too bad, because the photography is excellent, that is, the scenes without him sticking his face everywhere. Less is more. Be in less that 2% of the scenes. Re-edit what you did, Rick, and keep this in mind for new episodes if there are any (PBS should drop the show as there are now many better similar programs).

My Way France 13 Day Tour
This was my first RS tour. Overall the tour was good. We had a good group with 20 people. Our guide was very helpful and experienced. The bus was very nice and driver was great. Where the tour fell short for us was the hotels. Our hotels in Paris and Lyon were average at best. In Amboise our hotel was more like a hostel. We actually booked a different hotel at our own cost so we could be comfortable. In Avignon we stayed in a less than average hotel and unfortunately my bed was infested with bed bugs. Our hotels in Nice and Annecy were average. After this experience I will not participate in any Rick Steves tours. The quality control on their hotels does not meet my standards.

We went on RS Best of England tour in June, 2024. I am a RS follower and grateful for his teaching us his travel philosophy in Europe. This is our third RS tours. We ended with a guide that is terrible. He has been guiding for 40 years and only marking time till retirement. He was not a RS caliber tour guide and worst than that, not even a responsible nor helpful tour guide. It was a good thing that most tour members are seasoned travelers. In addition, all except one of the hotels are all substandard. They might have been good choice at one time when RS started this tour itinerary years ago. But they are old now and not very functional. We never felt like they were clean.

Wife and I went on our 1st Rick Steves' tour for 14 days through Scotland. 1st the good aspects: Great local tour guide, pretty well organized, and group size was manageable with about 28 people, most all of them well travelled and likeable. Next, the not so good: Why start the tour in Glasgow and end in Edinburgh when to purchase a round trip airline's ticket from the USA is less expensive if it was a roundtrip from America to Edinburgh and back. Also, the itinerary placed too much emphasis on smaller towns and the countryside. 3 days in Oban, and less time in Glasgow and Edinburgh? Only a few hours spent in the beautiful town of St. Andrews also made no sense. Also, no stop at all in the ancient capital of Perth was curious to us. Next, the not so great hotels: A couple of the hotels in the smaller Highlands' villages were not up to par. The best hotel was in Dunkeld. Steves' Guide to Scotland warns us about the local biting insect called a Midge, but we had not problems with this insect, and even our tour guide said not to worry. The tour itinerary seemed to describe a lot of rigorous walking during the tour, but nothing could be further from the truth. Sure we walked, but one hardly had to be in great shape to handle the walks. Finally, several of the experiences could be enjoyed here in America without having to travel to Scotland to see an exhibition of Raptors, and an exhibition of border collies herding sheep.

I have nothing against Rick Steves tours. They are convenient and, if you've got the money to blow on one, why not?
However, I don't and when I did my research, I found that I could do the same program of 6 nights myself at the same hotel in Rome (and, yes, the exact same experiences) for 1/3 of the price. I even met some of my fellow Americans there on the RS tour in April. They seemed pleased enough but so was I. I had saved myself $2200!

PS. Airfare is NOT INCLUDED in RS tours.

I recently purchased 21" carry-on suitcase from the Rick Steves website. They charged me $14 for shipping. However, it was smaller than I anticipated so I went to UPS to return with the shipping form I received from the RS store. The UPS clerk measured and weighed the box and said the cheapest fee to ship the suitcase back to RS would be $77! That is almost half of what I paid for the suitcase. I called RS customer service and they said there was nothing they could do. Beware to all before you order from RS. They won't have this customer again!

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.

Rick Steves advice is a JOKE!!! We packed our luggage based on his PROFESSIONAL ADVICE. NEVER has anyone ever been soooooo wrong! Rick advised to bring "dress" clothes and/or casual dress clothing. We packed according to what he said and was in all his books on Europe, specifically, Spain, Italy and Austria. That being said, we had 3 suitcases full of clothes we never needed! TRUST OUR REVIEW, TAKE WHAT YOU ARE COMFORTABLE WEARING!!!! Also don't waste your money on his books, they are full of nonsense. His advice cost us untold amounts of money and stress.

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.

Something sinister about Rick. PBS runs his reruns, some up to 20 years old, 5-7 times per day. PBS has decided to provide Rick with an avenue to advertise his “tour guide” business. No one, no one, gets more exposure on PBS than Rick Steves.

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.