Whether it's a quick getaway to find some sunshine this winter or a longer trip over the summer, the new year is a good time to start thinking about travel plans for 2026.
Those of us in the Northwest have an expert right in our own backyard: Edmonds-based travel writer and public television host Rick Steves.
Steves recently joined KNKX’s All Things Considered ahead of his appearance at the Travel & Adventure Show in Seattle.
Interview Highlights
On how travel can broaden perspectives
I love the idea that you can learn more about your home, sometimes, by leaving it and looking at it from a distance. There's so many wonderful things about travel, and I think that's one thing that distinguishes the work that we do, is we encourage people to raise the bar, to get out of their comfort zone, to think about culture shock as not something to avoid, but something to embrace. If you travel and meet people, you come home, I think, much better able to be engaged constructively with the world. The people that are most frightened in our society are the people who have not traveled.
On traveling abroad amid heightened global tension
We've got a bully for a president right now. What does that mean for us if we're traveling? A lot of people are thinking, "Do I really want to go to Europe?" Our friends and our allies have been betrayed by our government. And it's not just our president, I mean, it's half of America that embraces that. A lot of people understandably think it might not be a good time to go to Europe. But I took 30,000 Americans to Europe this year in our tours — 40 different itineraries all over Europe. I've got 150 guides over there that are Europeans. I'm tuned in to what is the feeling about Americans. Nobody reported being received rudely or badly by Europeans.
Think of the fear that is ransacking our community right now. The flip side of fear is understanding. We gain understanding when we travel.Rick Steves
On traveling somewhere new this year
If somebody gave me an all-expenses-paid trip to a luxury resort in the South Pacific, man, I'd love to go there. I mean, I've dreamed about going to the South Pacific. But I would think, "Ten days? I really should go back to Portugal and update the south coast of Portugal [guide], because thousands of people are using that book." It's an interesting "burden" that my success as a travel writer has put on me. I want to dedicate the energy and the time I have to making the book better.
Tips for traveling light
You’ve got to realize the dominant thing in your luggage is clothing. So you take a little and you wash more often. That's kind of the equation. You don't need a lot of that extra stuff that people think they need. I've been bullying people into packing light on my tours for decades. Nobody gets on a Rick Steves' tour with more than a 9x22x14-inch carry on the airplane sized suitcase, you're not allowed. Literally, that is the limit.
