Bob and Ruth's Travel Tours - Has anyone tried it?

[Victoria Prad]

My eight (8) year old daughter was just diagnosed with Celiac about six months ago. We are wanting to take a family vacation to europe this summer but are very nervous to travel given our new adventure of navigating the restaurant scene without knowing the language.  While we prefer NOT to go the tour-guide route, we are considering Bob and Ruth's Gluten Free Travel Tour for a hassle-free experience.  Unfortunately, there are no customer reviews on their website or anywhere online.  Odd. Has anyone ever travelled with Bob and Ruth?  If so, how was the experience?  And/or do you have any other recommendations of gluten-free tours? Thank you.

[GFinDC]

Hi Victoria,

I've never done any gluten-free tours myself.  But it seems like several people have said good things about gluten-free eating in Italy.  I seem to remember some people saying certain cruise lines were good for gluten-free eating too.

I think in general the European countries are thought to be somewhat ahead of the USA in gluten-free eating awareness.  It took the USA several years to get a gluten-free labeling rule in place after European countries had it.

[GF-Cheetah Cub]

I think since your daughter was just diagnosed, everything seemed kind of overwhelming at first.   But you can still travel.   Some countries are easier than others.   Europe can be easier, as they generally have good gluten-free awareness.

My family traveled to Europe for a whole month in the Summer of 2015.   My younger daughter has celiac disease.   We traveled from city to city all on our own.   You just have to do some research and planning in advance on restaurants on each city in addition to your regular travel related planning.  

Northern European countries have good gluten-free options.   McDonald's in Copenhagen, Stockholm, and Vienna has gluten-free hamburgers!  My daughter LOVED it.  We went to McDonald's for lunch on her 12th birthday in Copenhagen.

We also ate well in Amsterdam.   We sometimes had to eat at the same restaurant every night.   In Krakow, Poland, and Prague, we had dinners at the same restaurants 3 nights straight. 

Greece was easy for gluten free.   Their food tend to be naturally gluten-free.  

 

[Jmg]

There's apps for travelling with celiac which will help in some countries. A bit of pre trip research should throw up some options in cities, maybe small towns may be a little trickier. Most supermarkets in Western Europe should have an option. 

If you're travelling you could print out / save on your phone some of these in case you need to explain the condition to a non English speaker: Open Original Shared Link Hope it goes well

Wish I'd known about the gluten-free burgers in Copenhagen when I was there!

[cyclinglady]

10 hours ago, gluten-free-Cheetah Cub said:

I think since your daughter was just diagnosed, everything seemed kind of overwhelming at first.   But you can still travel.   Some countries are easier than others.   Europe can be easier, as they generally have good gluten-free awareness.

My family traveled to Europe for a whole month in the Summer of 2015.   My younger daughter has celiac disease.   We traveled from city to city all on our own.   You just have to do some research and planning in advance on restaurants on each city in addition to your regular travel related planning.  

Northern European countries have good gluten-free options.   McDonald's in Copenhagen, Stockholm, and Vienna has gluten-free hamburgers!  My daughter LOVED it.  We went to McDonald's for lunch on her 12th birthday in Copenhagen.

We also ate well in Amsterdam.   We sometimes had to eat at the same restaurant every night.   In Krakow, Poland, and Prague, we had dinners at the same restaurants 3 nights straight. 

Greece was easy for gluten free.   Their food tend to be naturally gluten-free.  

 

That wouldn't have been Pod Baranem in Krakow, would it?  We ate there three days in a row!  They have an extensive gluten-free menu, plus have received many positive reviews from other celiacs.  

[GF-Cheetah Cub]

Cyclinglady,

YES!, it was the Pod Baranem in Krakow.  We ate there 3 nights straight.   We loved this place.   I also bought their gluten free bread and a side of butter to go when we left every night, and made breakfast for my daughter the next day.

[cyclinglady]

24 minutes ago, gluten-free-Cheetah Cub said:

Cyclinglady,

YES!, it was the Pod Baranem in Krakow.  We ate there 3 nights straight.   We loved this place.   I also bought their gluten free bread and a side of butter to go when we left every night, and made breakfast for my daughter the next day.

We were in Poland with my entire family (parents, siblings, spouses and grandkids) this past summer.  We actually visited with family in Tarnow.  But while in Krakow, hubby and I ate at Pod Baranem on our own.   We sent our gluten-eating kid with the rest of the family to dine at other restaurants on the square.  On the last night, we took her with us.  We ordered gluten-free for all three of us.  An enourmous amount of food.  Our goal was to try everything.  She said that it was the BEST Polish food (outside of family home cooking) that she had ever had.  She plans to go back and stay above the restaurant and only eat there.  We plan on going back and staying for a month or longer when she is off to university.  Rent a car, stay at the family farm as a home base (it is still in the family and unoccupied except for parties and weekend get-a-ways) and see the rest of Eastern Europe.  

Outside of Krakow, we mostly ate carefully off breakfast buffets (hard boiled eggs, yogurt, etc.).  We dined at markets (always a nice park bench to sit on).  Those gluten-free restaurant cards?  We used them in the market because unlike other countries (e.g. Italy), many foods did not have The Sans Gluten marked and we can not read Polish (or speak it -- just Dad).  The shop ladies were so helpful.  The older ladies read the card and helped us make our selections.  Young people speak English well as older people had to learn Russian as a second language.  

Poland is lovely.  We were some 20 years earlier (my parents go back more often).  Back then, it seemed grey (for lack of a better description).  Now, it is colorful.   What has not changed are the people - welcoming and so hospitable.  

[cyclinglady]

Victoria,

I have not gone in these tours, but would love to try them.  Why?  Very little thinking or planning required.  Ah, you could really relax!  Maybe when our daughter is out of high school.  Our next few summers are AP classes, band and sport camps! We'll be lucky to camp at the beach on a weekend.  

Oh, never count on the airlines to provide gluten free even if you call, email, etc. in advance.  Bring food with you as a back up.  

[lpellegr]

Last year I took a Bob and Ruth tour of Scotland, Ireland, and Iceland.  Bob and Ruth are a couple who go along, and Bob arranges ahead of time for meals to be gluten-free, then rechecks with the restaurant staff before every meal, which sometimes leads to some last-minute changes.  It was fun - we had an itinerary and tour guides and most meals were included, although because the restaurants didn't know what we had previously been served by other restaurants, we sometimes had similar meals.  I enjoyed it, although Ruth has some difficulty getting around and as they are aging they may not be able to do this for much longer.  The hotels were all very nice, we had some special private tours away from the crowds, and I enjoyed being able to eat safely.  I would do it again, depending on price and destination.  I'm going to try Italy on my own this year, which they say is easy for celiacs.

[TexasJen]

I was diagnosed last year and was bemoaning my condition to an Irish friend who just moved to the US 3 years ago. She said much of her family has Celiac and it is quite common in Ireland. She said that it is so common there that many restaurants have a whole separate celiac menu and a separate kitchen in which to cook it.  While I have not been there personally, I was given a bit of hope that I could travel there safely with celiac.....

[Gemini]

On 2/5/2017 at 8:34 PM, TexasJen said:

I was diagnosed last year and was bemoaning my condition to an Irish friend who just moved to the US 3 years ago. She said much of her family has Celiac and it is quite common in Ireland. She said that it is so common there that many restaurants have a whole separate celiac menu and a separate kitchen in which to cook it.  While I have not been there personally, I was given a bit of hope that I could travel there safely with celiac.....

Ireland is the easiest country in Europe, that I have traveled to,  for obtaining a gluten free meal. Not one person I did my Celiac spiel to gave me the hairy eyeball look.  In every single place I ate, they asked me if I wanted "Celiac bread" with my meal...which is a very cute way of asking if you want delicious, large, hot rolls.  While I was in the country, I never had one problem finding delicious food anywhere I went...including the little breakfast places where cc might be a no go here in the States.  In the lovely Irish way they have, they assured me that my breakfast would not be cc'd and they were right.  I ate eggs, these really good hash brown potatoes with bacon and they always have smoked salmon. They treat you with respect and do not act like you are a pain in the ass because you want a very gluten free meal.  Do not wait........plan a trip there now!