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Contact the Tour Department

Phone: 425/608-4217
Email: tour@ricksteves.com
Mailing Address:
Rick Steves ETBD
Attn: Tours
P.O.Box 2009
Edmonds, WA 98020
Street Address:
130 4th Avenue North
Edmonds, WA 98020
Hours: Mon-Sat: 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Closed Sunday

Pre- and Post-Tour Travel

Do you sell airfare, individual train tickets, make hotel reservations?

Since ETBD is not a travel agency, we are unable to do any of the above. We do sell railpasses and include a free Rick Steves Travel Skills DVD and free Europe Planning Map with every order, as well as a generous discount on other travel gear. We also sell guidebooks, have an expert Consulting Department to help with your pre- and post-tour travel plans, and also offer free travel classes every Saturday in our Edmonds Travel Center. Take a look at www.ricksteves.com for more information about all of our travel services.

Can you help me plan my pre or post-tour travel?

Email or phone the Tour Department at tour@ricksteves.com or 425/608-4217 with your questions. The Tour Department is full of Rick Steves tour guides who are very well traveled — you're not reaching a call center — and we can usually answer most of your pre- and post-tour travel questions, but if not, we can help you make an appointment with a Travel Consultant. You can speak with a Travel Consultant either in person at our Travel Center in Edmonds, Washington, or by phone, on extension 298.

Getting to Europe

Remember, it is up to you to reserve and purchase your airline ticket to and from Europe. Please check your written confirmation carefully for the day your tour begins and ends. Don't forget, you must depart for Europe at least one day in advance of the day your tour begins in order to arrive in time for the first tour meeting (on Day 1 between 3 and 5p.m. — see your specific tour itinerary for the start time). Check out flights several months before your departure date — earlier if you want to use frequent flyer miles. Don't delay making an airline reservation because of hotel arrangements — flights fill quickly!

Pre- or Post-Tour Hotels

If you're planning to arrive before the tour begins or stay after the tour ends, you should reserve your extra nights' accommodations a few months in advance. Many of the hotels we use are very popular and hotel bargains are snapped up quickly. We suggest you first try the tour hotels. If they're full, try the alternate hotels suggested or recommendations in your Rick Steves guidebook, which you will receive at least two months before your tour (not applicable on Turkey and Greece tours). If you're not certain how many days you'll stay, guess long — it's easier to cancel a night or two a few weeks in advance than to add on short notice. Many hotels accept reservations by email and, when possible, we will include hotel email addresses in our information. You can also search by hotel name and city on the Internet (try www.google.com); most hotel web sites will have an email link. Calling or faxing are other options for reserving a room (print our sample fax form). Virtually all hotels have English-speaking staff who will take your credit card number as a deposit. Reconfirm a few days in advance and call ahead if you'll be arriving after 4 p.m.

Meeting Your Tour

Your tour packet will include easy-to-follow instructions to help you get to your first tour hotel, as well as the hotel contact information such as phone number, fax and email address. We will explain the best transportation options, from the easiest and most expensive to the cheapest and most complicated. When you arrive at the hotel, a sign in the lobby will tell you where and when (typically 3 or 5 p.m.) we will meet on Day 1.

Tour Hotels

You'll travel as a "temporary European" on a Rick Steves tour, often staying in smaller, family-run hotels in the historic heart of each city, within walking distance of what you came to see. This saves you time and money — and gives you lots of independence. Our hotels are a memorable part of your travel experience. Often quaint (sometimes creaky), and full of personality, they are run by Europeans who are also our friends. "Shared facilities" have all but disappeared from European hotels, so there's about a 98% chance your room will include a private bath, but it is possible on some tours that for a couple of nights your bathroom could be down the hall (note: all of our 7-day city tour hotels include private facilities). However, there will still be stairs — hundreds of them. Some of our hotels don't have elevators...one more reason to pack light and be in good shape. If you're traveling solo, you won't pay the mandatory "single supplement" required by other tour companies. Instead, you'll share a twin-bedded room with another tour member of the same gender (and on rare occasions you may have more than one roommate). Optional, extra-cost single supplements (private single rooms) are available on a limited, space-available basis, for certain tour itineraries including our 7-day city tours, 8-day Paris/London tours, 10-day Venice/Florence/Rome tours and 13-day Turkey tours.

Receiving Messages

You will receive two copies of your tour hotel list about three weeks before your tour (except on city tours, since you stay at only one hotel). Leave a copy with family and friends so they can contact you if necessary. Although the hotels may have fax machines and email, please do not rely on them for receiving personal messages. If family and friends need to reach you, please have them phone. Information about calling internationally can be found in the Introduction and Appendix of any Rick Steves guidebook. For those who have web-based email accounts (such as Yahoo or Hotmail), Internet cafés are another convenient option.