Take Wolfgang and Ulrike Berlitz from Gröbenzell, near Munich, for example (top photo): The sprightly 82-year-old previously worked as a graduate civil engineer. Their highlights, he reports, definitely included the early-morning balloon ride over the fairytale cliffs of Cappadocia. “As the sun rose, it was simply wonderful!”, he recalls. Or the magical ruins of the ancient Greek city of Pergamum on the Turkish Aegean coast – in touch with great history!

Something that has always impressed him on RSD tours is the “perfect organisation” – especially and also when unplanned events occur. “In Cyprus, travelling through the Five Fingers Mountains, the brakes on our coach failed. But in just a short space of time, a replacement coach was provided!” The couple also couldn’t praise the dedicated tour manager’s “excellent” command of German, the standard of the hotel or the quality of the food enough. “There are often a lot of tourists out on the tourist trail at the same time. But you really wouldn’t notice it!” By this, Mr Berlitz means that the timing between RSD coaches is carefully coordinated. The tour groups set out on staggered itineraries and are distributed to various hotels when required in the evening.

The fact that RSD tours are organised ideally during shoulder seasons is something that Mr and Mrs Berlitz also think is wonderful. After all, “Popular destinations, such as Dubrovnik’s historic old town, are nowhere near as crowded as they are during the school holidays! And in Cyprus, we were able to enjoy a very pleasant swim in the Mediterranean, even in mid-November!”

This year, the pair wanted to travel to the Baltic with RSD. However their preferred dates were already fully booked. So instead, they’re off to Morocco in November – with an extra extension in Marrakech in a 4-star dream hotel. “It means we’ll be able to splash about and relax in the hotel’s big pool too”, says Wolfgang Berlitz. And he adds: “Egypt with RSD too – now that would also be a great trip!”

First-class assistance

Ursela Käthe Lemmler particularly enjoys remembering the fascinating Northern Lights during her RSD cruise around the North Cape on a Hurtigruten expedition vessel. “The entire team on board the MS Nordnorge was outstanding”, she enthuses. The tea break with locals in the cave dwellings of Cappadocia was also unforgettable. Or the goats climbing the branches of the argan trees during a tour of Morocco.

68-year-old Ursela lives with her husband Klaus-Dieter in Königs Wusterhausen, near Berlin. The pair also appreciate the unfailingly “truly perfect organisation” of RSD tours. Mrs Lemmler recalls: “When my husband slipped in the harbour fortress in Kyrenia, fell headlong and lay there having difficulty breathing, the tour manager immediately took care of him. A doctor came to the hotel and, to be on the safe side, sent him up to the hospital for an X-day. That’s what I call first-class assistance!”

Hotels and excursions? “Always fantastic”, says Ursela Käthe Lemmler. The group experience too – for her and her husband, it is always “an enriching experience”. “We also really like the fact that the travel dates are during the shoulder season”, say says. For one, it means that the value for money is “even better”. And also, “Summer is garden season for us. So we don’t want to be off travelling!” At the start of 2019, the couple went on a trip to the Baltic with RSD. And for 2020, the Lemmlers have already booked Crete – again with RSD.

Fantastic excursions

Herbert Alheid likes RSD tours not just for the fact that they offer him all manner of unique experiences, but also because they’re “great value for money”. Take the visit to the restored famous Old Bridge in Mostar, in Bosnia Herzegovina. The visit took place in a mild, calm winter. “I much prefer to wander around in that climate than jostling with lots of people in searing summer temperatures!”, says the 69-year-old former teacher from Wolfhagen, near Kassel. For Herbert and his Malaysian wife Sundaramal, another important characteristic is that “RSD always offers excursions that can be booked as well. But we’re never made to feel like we have to!” The Alheids’ approach to holidays is this: “We sometimes like to do things off our own bat. That’s why we don’t tag along to every excursion, but instead head off on our own.” Their overall assessment of RSD: “Very happy indeed!” And their top tip for travellers? “Always read the descriptions of the RSD tours carefully. Then everyone know what’s happening. The services and all the extras are listed there too.” At the end of May, the Alheids were in India. And the next RSD adventure on their wish list is Morocco.

Shoulder season – only advantages!

Even the handling of the tour booking via the RSD hotline is always a pleasant experience for Jörg Anton Scheuring. The 75-year-old lives to the north of Nuremberg in Heinersreuth, having previously worked as a graduate mechanical engineer for the TÜV Süd organisation. So when it comes to checking and organising, he’s quite the expert. “If my preferred date is fully booked at RSD, then I’m immediately offered attractive substitute dates. The travel documents are then sent out to me quickly. It all works beautifully well, and I really like it!” His assessment of RSD tour descriptions: “The fact that the groups sometimes go to a jewellery or leather store is expressly written in there. Nobody should be complaining about it afterwards!”

He also has fond memories of his RSD trips to South Africa. “On a cloudless day, we were standing at the top of Table Mountain in 30-degree temperatures. The view over Cape Town was absolutely spectacular!” Or the evening meal in the Dubai desert – at the end of a fantastic day including a Jeep safari through the stunning dune landscapes. Or the thundering waterfalls of the Krka National Park in Croatia – in gorgeous sunshine in November.

Most of all, the travel time. For Mr Scheuring, holidays during the shoulder season offer only advantages: “The cities, especially in the south of Europe, are much quieter then. I can take photographs and look at everything in peace!” But South Africa in October? Scheuring: “It’s spring there then! So it’s ideal!”

When it comes to itineraries, tour management and hotels, the former TÜV inspector has only praise: “So far, I’ve always been lucky with the groups too. We got along well, and often we would enjoy a glass or two of something together in the evening.” In any event, RSD will remain his travel partner of choice for the future, and what’s more, “I’ve been telling my friends and acquaintances all about RSD!”

For Jörg Anton Scheuring, the next exciting RSD travel destinations will be Cyprus or Crete. For him, a wonderful addition to RSD’s future portfolio would be Canada.

Perfectly happy

And then there’s the lovely Heinz Roland Häbler. A former headmaster, he is 66 years of age and lives in Eibau, near Görlitz. He travels with his wife Karin. He remembers the RSD trip to South Africa very well (bottom photo). And their trip to Crete last October, which included the legendary royal palace of Knossos. And the visit to the little village of Matala – which was very well known during the 1960s as a hippie paradise. “It really was a different world then”, says Mr Häbler, smiling.

Canada would be an exciting new RSD destination for these RSD holidaymakers too. And of course it would have to include the Niagara Falls! And what about the West Coast of America? When asked about his overall impression of travelling with RSD, Heinz Roland Häbler has a plain-speaking answer straight away: “We were perfectly happy with all of our six trips. The organisation was always outstanding, with superb assistance and very professional as well as helpful tour managers. The travel destinations and sight-seeing were always incredibly interesting!”