Rick Steves
At a glance:
Rick Steves is a popular public television host, a best-selling guidebook author, and an outspoken activist who encourages Americans to broaden their perspectives through travel. He is the founder and owner of Rick Steves' Europe, a travel business with a tour program that brings more than 30,000 people to Europe annually. Rick lives and works in his hometown of Edmonds, Washington, where his office window overlooks his old junior high school.Rick Steves is a popular public television host, a best-selling guidebook author, and an outspoken activist who encourages Americans to broaden their perspectives through travel. But above all else, Rick considers himself a teacher. He taught his first travel class at his college campus in the mid-1970s — and now, more than 40 years later, he still measures his success not by dollars earned, but by trips impacted.
Widely considered America’s leading authority on European travel, Rick produces a best-selling series of guidebooks and is the author of Travel as a Political Act. He is dedicated to providing all Americans with access to travel information, and has made extensive resources available for free on the Rick Steves’ Europe website, via the Rick Steves Audio Europe™ app, and in Rick Steves Classroom Europe™, a searchable database of short, teachable video clips.
A longtime supporter of public broadcasting, Rick produces and hosts public television and radio shows that air across the nation.
Rick is the founder and owner of Rick Steves’ Europe (RSE), a travel business with more than 100 full-time employees. RSE operates a successful tour program which brings more than 30,000 people to Europe annually. The company contributes annually to a portfolio of climate-smart nonprofits, essentially paying a self-imposed carbon tax.
Rick works closely with several advocacy groups and makes regular financial contributions to more than 170 organizations, including annual contributions to Bread for the World. He is a board member of NORML and has been instrumental in the legalization of marijuana in several states. He has also provided $8 million in funding to build two new neighborhood centers in his community, and has donated a 24-unit apartment building for homeless women and their children to his local YWCA.
Rick spends about four months a year in Europe, researching guidebooks, fine-tuning his tour program, filming his TV show, and making new discoveries for travelers. To recharge, he plays piano, relaxes at his family cabin in the Cascade mountains, and spends time with his son Andy and daughter Jackie. He lives and works in his hometown of Edmonds, Washington, where his office window overlooks his old junior high school.
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European Travel Skills with Rick Steves (lecture, 120 minutes)
Join guidebook author and TV host Rick Steves as he shares the latest in smart European travel. In this entertaining, information-packed slideshow lecture, Rick will teach you the secrets of safe, smart, inexpensive travel — low on stress and high on fun. You’ll learn how to travel smoothly and affordably by planning an efficient itinerary, eating and sleeping well, avoiding crowds, packing smartly, and more.
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Travel as a Political Act with Rick Steves (lecture or conversation, 60-90 minutes)
Guidebook author and TV host Rick Steves believes there’s more to travel than good food and fun in the sun. By venturing out of their comfort zone, travelers can gain an empathy for the other 96 percent of humanity and a better understanding of the interconnectedness of today’s world. In this provocative slideshow lecture, Rick draws from lessons learned while exploring Europe, Central America, Asia, and the Middle East to illustrate how, when Americans “travel as a political act,” they come home with the greatest of all souvenirs: a broader perspective. -
Travel as a Spiritual Act with Rick Steves (lecture or conversation, 60-90 minutes)
In this provocative slideshow lecture, guidebook author and TV host Rick Steves will share how a lifetime of travels has mixed with his faith, shaped his politics, and broadened his perspective. Drawing from lessons learned while exploring Europe, Central America, Asia, and the Middle East, he will demonstrate how travel expands our worldview and challenges truths we have been raised to think are self-evident and God-given. Exploring the concept of “travel as a spiritual act,” Rick will reflect on the road as church, how his social activism has grown from his travels, and how travel can be a transformative experience for all Americans. -
Hunger and Hope: Lessons from Guatemala and Ethiopia with Rick Steves (lecture, 90-120 minutes)
Join Rick Steves for a look behind the scenes of his public television special about hunger, hope, and the impact of smart development aid in the Global South. Rick will share lessons learned while traveling with his crew in Guatemala and Ethiopia — how globalization, technological innovations, the empowerment of women, and climate-smart agriculture are coming together to counter what he calls “The Three Cs” (conflict, corruption, and climate change), and are helping the world’s 800 million poorest people climb out of extreme poverty.
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The Holy Land: Travels in Israel and Palestine with Rick Steves (lecture, 90-120 minutes)
In this travel talk, guidebook author and TV host Rick Steves will take us to Israel and Palestine — sharing the beauty of the Holy Land, his impressions of the lives of ordinary citizens who live there, and the legacies of the region’s long history of conflicts. Against this backdrop, Rick will reflect on the power of thoughtful travel and show how keeping an open mind helps you gain empathy for a wide range of people and perspectives — and, in short, helps you learn
