Your trip to Europe comes with high expectations — so it’s important to find a company you can trust. My “Ten Commitments” explain how we do things differently from mainstream travel companies — and how you can count on us to make your trip better than the rest. It's my personal pledge to give you the best tour experience anywhere. Here's how:

1. These are Rick's babies.

I design these tours, I go on them, and I love them all. You may think of me as a guidebook writer, but 2008 marks my 30th year as a tour organizer.

Every tour benefits from my annual guidebook research. When I return home, the first thing I do is sit down with our tour operations staff and share my latest discoveries — from the smartest local guides to the most charming hotels and restaurants.

Since the very beginning, my recipe for great tours has been simple but firm: unsurpassed value; small, flexible groups; guides who are passionate about Europe and teaching (rather than shopping); itineraries that maximize travelers' European thrills per mile, minute and dollar; plenty of exercise, healthy regional meals and restful two-night stays; a guaranteed price the moment you make your deposit; and plenty of flexibility should you unexpectedly need to transfer, cancel or interrupt your trip.

2. The best value in travel.

Value is more important than ever. I define a successful tour as a finely-crafted, maximum-experience trip for the same price a traveler would pay to go independently. What an independent traveler may appear to save in dollars can be quickly drained by time-and-smile-sapping logistics (hotel reservations, transportation hassles, researching sights, and so on) — a very real cost. My goal is for you to end up a good 30% ahead of independent travelers in rewarding-experiences-per-day.

3. More sightseeing and memorable meals included.

Our prices include all group sightseeing, which we list in detail with every tour description. If there's a great sight along your route, believe me, we'll include it! Your travel budget won't be eaten away by the daily, extra-cost "optional excursions" that other companies use to keep their "sticker prices" artificially low.

At the same time, we design in free time to encourage you to make your own discoveries, with the help of your guide's advice — and your (included) Rick Steves guidebook and phrase book.

Experiencing Europe's great cooking is every bit as important as sightseeing, so our tours include half of your dinners. It's a sensible balance that protects your budget, and gives you the freedom to discover plenty of edible delights on your own (which you can enjoy guilt-free, thanks to all the walking we'll do).

4. Great guides.

The quality of your tour guide can make — or break — your travel experience. You want a guide who is 100%-focused on bringing you the best of Europe.

The common way for a tour company to have a low "sticker price" is to pay guides little or nothing, and encourage them to pull in kickbacks and tips as personal income. We pay our guides full salaries (the best in the business) and prohibit them from accepting kickbacks and tips. This means your guide is motivated to give you the best travel experience possible — not to earn extra income through shopping and "optional" excursions.

I am adamant about hiring guides I personally know and trust, and who share my love for Europe and my passion for teaching. They are awesome. I'm sure that's the biggest reason why one out of every three tour members is a repeat customer.

5. 100% small groups.

Our groups are never bigger than 24 to 28 travelers — compared with 40 to 50 for mainstream tour companies. Small groups enable us to stay in memorable, centrally-located, often family-run hotels...and to sightsee and dine where mainstream groups can only dream. Since we use the same 40 to 50-seat buses as the big guys, our tour members enjoy plenty of extra room to stretch out in comfort. "Traveling small" also gives our groups a friendlier, family atmosphere. For us, it's the only way to go.

6. Informal and energetic.

Our tours are not for everyone. If you want to pack heavy, have the porter carry your bags, and be absolutely guaranteed that you'll never have to share a bathroom...we'll refer you to another company's tours! Even if it costs us a few customers, I've learned that having everyone "on the same page" makes for happier tour groups.

Our tours are active — physically and socially. We like to do lots of walking during the day, and then relax at dinner with lively conversations over healthy regional specialties. To help you feel settled for a good night's sleep, most of our stops are for two nights in a row. On a city tour you'll settle into your hotel for an entire week.

To get a real feel for what it's like to travel on one of our tours, be sure to watch our free "Rick Steves Tour Experience" DVD!

7. Centrally-located, family-run hotels.

You'll travel as a "temporary European" on a Rick Steves tour, typically staying in smaller, often 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. In comparison, mainstream tours routinely book their 50-person groups in big, modern hotels near the freeway, and charge extra for a bus ride into town.

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 in 2009 there's about a 98% chance your room will include a private bath. However, there will still be stairs — hundreds of them. Many 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 room with another tour member of the same gender. (If you'd prefer to snore alone, in 2009, we offer a limited number of optional single supplements on each of our tours. For details and single supplement prices review the What's Included web page or call the Tour Department.

8. Guaranteed prices.

Many tour companies (in their very fine print) reserve the right to tack extra fees onto your final payment to cover fuel or foreign currency expenses. We won't do that. While our tour prices may change during the year, the moment you make your deposit on a Rick Steves tour, your personal tour price is locked-in and guaranteed.

9.  Peace of mind.

Committing to a European vacation should be a joy, not a gamble. That's why each of our tours comes with cancellation/interruption coverage and penalty-free transfers:

• Reserve a seat now (locking in your 2009 price), and your deposit is 100% refundable for any reason through 12/31/08. Deposits made after 12/17/08 are fully refundable for two weeks.
• A change in plans? Up to 90 days prior to your tour's departure, you can transfer to any other 2009 tour with seats available — at no charge.
• Once you've paid your final balance, if you or a family member should fall victim to a serious, unforeseeable illness or injury shortly before your tour departs — even if you break a leg while boarding the plane — we'll refund your tour price (minus your $400 deposit, sorry).
• If, for a similar reason, you should need to leave your tour early to fly home, we'll refund you $75 for each day of the tour you missed.
• In the very unlikely event that we cancel a tour for which you are signed up, we'll send you a full refund of all you've paid to us for that tour, or transfer you to another 2009 departure (your choice). 

One more thing. If you're too late to get on your ideal tour, you can get on a wait list with no deposit — and no obligation. There's a very good chance you'll eventually get on that tour, or that we'll schedule a new departure within a few days of it. (For details on everything listed above, please refer to our 2009 Tour Conditions Agreement and 2009 Tour Cancellation/Interruption description.)

10. Rick listens to you.

My favorite bedtime reading is...post-tour evaluations from our tour members. Seriously. I read each one, taking careful notes. To translate your thoughts and my research into action, every winter I spend a week immersed in tour-tuning seminars with my guides (who fly in from both sides of the Atlantic). Your tour in 2009 will benefit from 30 years' worth of great ideas. We can't help ourselves — while other tour companies resist change, we thrive on it!

Got questions? Our Tour Sales staff (a.k.a. Tour Divas) also work as guides on our tours, so they can answer all sorts of questions for you. Just give us a call at (425) 608-4217 between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Pacific Time, Monday through Saturday.