Travel with Rick Steves

We're exploring both ends of the transportation spectrum on this week's Travel with Rick Steves. Rick learns about the R-V subculture from Chuck Woodbury, who runs an online site for R-V travel. Chuck says that R-V camping has become a popular way to take the great American roadtrip -- even if the roads are overseas. Also, adventure bicyclist Willie Weir tells us about his most recent bike trip through Northern Thailand and Laos. Whether you've got two wheels or more...join us as we explore travel by bike and by R-V...on the next Travel with Rick Steves.

You really haven't seen Italy until you travel south to Naples. It's one of the most intense and chaotic urban scenes in all of Europe. So American-born tour guide Nina Bernardo, who now lives there, joins us to help clear the misconceptions about Napoli. She'll also clue us in to the attractions of the nearby resort areas, such as Sorrento and Capri. We also hear from travelers who found ways to fend off the scam artists that the Naples train station is famous for.

(note: Bastille Day, the major French national holiday, is July 14) When you examine the tensions that sometimes arise between Americans and the French, many of them come from the different ways our two cultures operate. On this week's Travel with Rick Steves, Rick takes a deeper look at the cultural faux pas some travelers experience in France. Our insider's guide to France and its culture comes from two native-born French tour guides, based in opposite corners of the country. That, and your calls about the best, and worst, food you've found in your travels, are coming up on the next Travel with Rick Steves.

Good things often come in small packages. This week on Travel with Rick Steves, we'll investigate two small countries in Europe and Latin America that are often overlooked as destinations in their own right. Belgium has been in the center of much of Europe's action for centuries, and it now hosts the political capital of the European Union. It's a country with a remarkably easy-going flair, and great food. Native son tour guide Ferdi Menghi joins Rick to take listener calls about Belgium. Then, Kurt Kutay (koo-TIE) introduces us to an indigenous tour guide in Belize, for an overview of Belize for adventure travelers. That, and another round of listener's travel haiku, are coming up on the next Travel with Rick Steves.

We're looking at two of America's most popular getaways on this week's Travel with Rick Steves. We'll get the latest on one of the world's hottest destinations -- Las Vegas, Nevada, where high stakes entertainment has replaced the ultra-cheap deals for which the Las Vegas Strip was famous. Rick Garman has a new guidebook to the city, and tells us how to enjoy Vegas without "losing your shirt." Then, we'll cool off in the mountains with an overview of California's Yosemite (yo-SEM-it-tee) National Park with Ann Marie Brown, who knows it inside and out, and what it offers visitors year-round. Lady Luck and Mother Nature are calling us to Las Vegas and Yosemite...on the next Travel with Rick Steves.

(note: June 25 is National Day in Slovenia; and it is also statehood day in Croatia - they each declared independence from Yugoslavia 15 years ago -- in 1991. ) They're celebrating 15 years of independence in Slovenia and Croatia, and we're joining in the party on this week's Travel with Rick Steves. Rick's tour guide friends from Slovenia join us in the studio to take listener calls and fill us in on why their small country has become the place to be for a no-pressure, bargain European escape - at least until they adopt the Euro and prices go up next year. Join us as we get an insider's guide to Slovenia -- a pastoral land with storybook castles, turbo-folk music, and a collection of 'wild and crazy guys,' on the sunny side of the Alps. And we'll also take a detour along the Adriatic coast of Croatia, on this week's Travel with Rick Steves.

Get up close to African wildlife and forge an emotional connection with an ancient indigenous culture as we explore what it takes to go on an eco-friendly safari. A representative of the Maasai (mah-SIGH) people and the head of an adventure travel company join Rick in the studio to take your calls about visiting Maasai country. We're planning for the trip of a lifetime on a safari to East Africa on this week's Travel with Rick Steves.

Adventurous travelers know that Turkey is the welcoming entree to a secularized Muslim society. On this week's Travel with Rick Steves, tour guide Lale Surman Aran (LAH-lay SOOR-man ah-RAHN) joins Rick to help plan listeners' sight seeing itineraries to Turkey's significant ancient sites, by land and by sea... And, travel writer David Stanley reports on what he found on a recent visit to the Persian Gulf region, whose small nations are emerging as important centers for international business, and pleasure, in the middle of the Arab world.

Take a holiday to Mona Lisa's backyard on this week's Travel with Rick Steves. We'll examine the enormous appeal of Italy's Tuscany region, and its quieter neighbor Umbria. Rick chats with Cecelia Bottai (cha-CHEE-lia bo-TYE), a winemaker from Orvieto (or-vee-AY-to), about how visitors can experience authentic local culture in central Italy's hilltowns and estates. We'll also hear another round of listener haiku poems. Grab a glass of Orvieto classico and a seat on the plaza as we talk about Tuscany and Umbria on the next Travel with Rick Steves.

It's been almost 50 years since Arthur Frommer (FROE-mer) first published his groundbreaking travel guidebook "Europe on Five Dollars a Day." In the 1970s, Frommer's books helped instruct a young Rick Steves how to travel light, on a tight budget, and "through the back door" to interact with the people and authentic cultures overseas. Arthur Frommer is Rick's special guest on this week's edition of Travel with Rick Steves, as they reminisce and chat about how much international travel has changed over the past half-century.

Is an organized tour right for you? This week, Rick explores the advantages of, and some potential problems with, "big bus tourism," with industry consultant Rick Hazen. He offers tips on safeguarding against potential rip-offs, and explains how the tour industry works. Find out how bus tours and cruise ship operators make money, and how to get the most out of your vacation budget on a group tour, as we get the inside scoop on tour companies.

This week, Rick discusses the appeal of our neighbors in Mexico, from the frenzy of its must-see capital to the deep blue waters and nightlife around Cancun, and the Mayan artifacts of the Yucatan Peninsula. Plus, we'll take listener calls from people planning trips to Europe...on Travel with Rick Steves.

Rick removes some of the mystery, but not the glamour, of European Royalty with help from guests Roy Nichols and Norway's Princess Martha Louise. Tour guide Roy Nichols gives Rick an overview of the British royal family and discusses why they remain an important instituion to the average Briton. Princess Martha Louise of Norway, who has written a children's book, "Why Kings and Queens Don't Wear Crowns" explains the modern realities of being from a royal family.

Does travel have to be bad for the environment? Does eco-tourism really help the planet -- or just hurt it less? What's an ethical traveler to do? On this week's Travel with Rick Steves we'll discuss the goals and impacts of eco-tourism with Jeff Greenwald of of Ethical Traveler dot org, and ponder the future of some noteworthy "Vanishing Places" on our planet with travel writer Michael Shapiro.

2006 is being celebrated as Mozart's 250th birthday, reminding us that your next destination's music scene can provide a theme (pun intended) for your trip. On this week's Travel with Rick Steves, our guest is Margaret Hemmen, a professional musician who leads music-oriented tours through Europe. Whether your next trip includes visits to concert halls, tossing coins at street musicians, or shopping for that special hand-crafted instrument... this show will have you tapping your toes in anticipation.