Hi from Rick: Our 2026 Tours Are Here — Connecting People to People
I'm thrilled to announce that, where I work, the most exciting day of the travel year is here: Our 2026 tours have arrived!
We've just opened seats on nearly a thousand 2026 departures for 40 itineraries all over Europe — from Portugal to Poland, from Sicily to Sweden, and from Ireland to Istanbul. That's about 30,000 travelers who will soon be heading to Europe with us. And I like to think of it not just as 30,000 "tour seats," but as 30,000 life-changing experiences.
Yes, literally life-changing: Our travelers go home more at ease with our sometimes troubled world. And that makes this year's tour launch feel especially poignant.
Travel has always been fun: Marveling at ancient wonders, sipping new wines, and pausing for those postcard views will forever be a joy. And our approach to touring — great places, great guides, no grumps — continues to be a winning formula. But there's more: These days, with all the fear and misunderstanding that stirs our international worldview, travel is taking on a greater importance than ever.
If your only exposure to things overseas is news headlines or social media, the world may seem divisive, scary, even intimidating. But after spending a third of my adult life living out of a suitcase, I've learned that fear is for people who don't get out much.
I just returned from Rome and Istanbul — my first of four trips to Europe planned in 2025. With the "America First" posture our country is taking, I was curious how I'd be received. Sure, people I met were curious about what's going on. But the welcome I received was as warm as ever.
Bumping into several Rick Steves tour groups, catching up with great guides hard at work, and scrambling with our TV crew boosted my spirits. The feeling I got was that we're all in the same boat…and when the water's choppy, it's comforting not to be the only sailor. Europeans have gone through (and are going through) much the same political turmoil as we are. Connecting with each other inspires us all to know the world is filled with a mix of endearing people and dicey politics — on both sides of the Atlantic — and together, we'll sail on.
At Rick Steves' Europe, we treasure those people-to-people connections. On this trip alone, I'll never forget the Istanbul waiter who artfully trickled water into my raki to create a cloudy, underwater pillow in my glass; the Turkish fisherman on the bridge who let me cast his line and couldn't stop talking with me via his translator app; the Roman priest who, without words, made sure I had the best angle to appreciate the thousand-year-old mosaic portrait of Mary; or the student who dared me to sit on the Spanish Steps to draw the ire of the policewoman stationed there. (I did, she scolded me, and we both laughed.) None of us actually "talked politics." But those serendipitous interactions humanized nations…and once again sent me home with my most cherished souvenir: a broader perspective.
On our 2026 tours — as always — we'll be seeing the tried-and-true sights and enjoy those gotta-do-'em activities. But we're also recommitting ourselves to creating authentic, engaging experiences that go beyond tired clichés and introduce you to vivid and intimate slices of the cultures you traveled so far to see. Just imagine:
In the hills of Umbria, being poured a glass of wine by a vintner who's holding the bottle just so — to frame her family's name on the bottle, where it's been printed for over a century — you feel the pride and nobility of generations of hard work and tradition.
Shopping at a farmers market in Poland, then taking what you purchased into a local home to learn how to make pierogi by hand, you get more than a cooking lesson — you get happily ambushed by a family affair. The family dog chases a bone just like yours does back home. The kids demonstrate how Polish farts are just as funny as American ones. And you impress all present with the tastiness of your very first handmade pierogi.
On the misty west coast of Ireland, dropping into a pub for a trad music session, you find yourself chatting with the musicians. Buying them a Guinness, striking up a conversation just to enjoy their "gift of gab," you leave past your bedtime, thinking, "Yes, laughter really is the best medicine."
Thinking about unforgettable connections like these — that my staff, guides, and I so joyfully create for those who trust us with their European travel dreams — makes me thankful for the opportunity to help you make those dreams come true. If you'd like to jump on our bus, now's an ideal time to book — while 2025 tours are 95 percent sold out, you now have your choice of 2026 departures. And if you book before July 7, you'll take advantage of our $100-per-seat early-booking discount.
Still trying to pick? To celebrate our tour launch, we're about to host a two-week, virtual Festival of Tours. On Monday, April 21, I'll personally and proudly kick off nine evenings of Zoom sessions (through the grand finale, on May 2) that showcase our European guides and well-traveled staff. This festival is designed to help you choose among our many destinations, while getting to know the people and places that make our tours so special. As always, all festival sessions are free to attend — you just need to register.
If you're pondering where you want to travel in 2026, we'll help you out in this month's Tour News: Jump-start your travel dreaming with a colorful slideshow of our 10 most popular tours, read a few tour-member raves about our top-notch guides, and if you're not sure if a Rick Steves tour is right for you, get a behind-the-scenes look with our Tours 101 video.
Just back from Italy and Turkey, I enjoyed seeing our tour members — who find great joy in reminding me how many Rick Steves tours they've been on — overjoyed not only by places and experiences…but also by the people they got to know. That holds true whether it's your first tour, or your fifteenth.
We'd love to be part of your 2026 travels!
Rick