For more information on Rick Steves' Travel Store, choose one of these topics, or simply scroll down the page.

How to Order

Merchandise

You can browse our selection of travel bags, books, videos and DVDs, and other travel gear with the links in the left hand column of this page. Or start off by visiting our Travel Store Home Page. Click a product for more information. If you would like to order it, click the "Add to Cart" button at the bottom of each page. For some items, such as travel bags, you must choose a color before clicking the "Add to Cart" button. You can also adjust the number of each item you would like to order before placing it in your shopping cart.

When you're finished shopping, simply proceed to the checkout. The instructions will walk you through each step to enter your shipping and credit card information.

Railpasses

You can now order railpasses online at our Guide to European Railpasses. You can also print out our handy order form and fax or mail it to us. Sorry, we do not take orders by telephone.

Payment Methods

We accept Visa, Mastercard and American Express payments online. For your security, we do not save any relevant credit card information on our server. For more information on the safety of online ordering, please see our Security and Privacy policies.

International Orders: If your credit card is issued by a non-US bank it may not be recognized by our credit card verification system and you will need to select the mail/fax option in the checkout/payment screen.

If you prefer to pay by check or money order, you can still use the online order form. Once you have entered your information, an order form will be generated for you to print and mail to us along with your payment.

Gift Cards for Merchandise

Gift Cards can be purchased in any amount between $5.00 and $500.00 and redeemed for merchandise only (excludes tours and railpasses). Gift Cards are available for purchase and redemption online at travelstore.ricksteves.com or at the Rick Steves' Travel Center located in Edmonds, WA. For more information on Gift Cards, visit our Gift Card Frequently Asked Questions.

Gift Certificates for Tours

Gift Certificates can be issued for any dollar amount and redeemed for a Rick Steves tour.

Gift Certificates are available by phone or mail, and can be purchased with a check or credit card (Visa, Mastercard or American Express). They can also be purchased in-person at our Edmonds Travel Center.

At this time, redemption of the certificate can be done only in our Travel Center or via mail or fax (not online, sorry).

To use the certificate, your recipient can print an order from our website and mail it with the certificate, or fax the order to us with the certificate number.

To purchase a gift certificate with a credit card: Call Customer Service 425-608-4220 during regular business hours Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

To purchase a gift certificate by mail: We'll need your name, address, phone number, email address, and either a check or a credit card number with expiration date. Please tell us whether to mail the certificate to you or the recipient (if the recipient, please include the person's name and address).

Mail your request to:
Rick Steves’ ETBD
PO Box 2009
Edmonds, WA 98020

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Shipping

Methods and Rates:

For foreign, Canadian and express orders, use the tables below to calculate your shipping charge.

• We ship UPS (United Parcel Service) to all US and Canada street addresses (*see below for Canadian exceptions). Delivery to business addresses is preferred but not required.

• We ship via Mail (US Postal Service) to all US and Canadian Post Office boxes, Military APO/FPO, Foreign Service and Hawaii and Alaska Basic Delivery orders.

• Outside the US and Canada, USPS Mail – see chart below for overseas charges.

"Business Days" for delivery are non-holiday weekdays (Monday - Friday).

SEE DETAILS OF ARRIVAL BELOW

• Basic delivery (USA): You should receive your merchandise within 10 business days of the date we receive your order. NOTE: Timely final delivery of items received at APO/FPO addresses is beyond our control.

• Rush delivery (USA): You should receive your merchandise within 5 business days of the date we receive your order. PO Boxes are OK. Hawaii and Alaska will ship UPS to street addresses.
  Sorry, no Rush orders to Canada, Military or Foreign Services as timely delivery of items via USPS is beyond our control.

• Express delivery (USA): No 21-inch Roll-Aboard or Avanti Rolling Totes - use Rush! Street addresses only. No Express orders to PO Boxes, Military, Foreign Services or Canada. You should receive your merchandise within 2 business days of the date we receive your order.

• WSST Sales tax of 8.9% will be charged on the total of the order plus shipping fees on any merchandise order shipped to an address in Washington State.

• Canada delivery: We ship all Canadian orders via UPS for all street addresses. You should receive your merchandise within 15 business days of the date we receive your order, barring any unexpected customs delays.
  * Exceptions: US Postal Service will be used for all PO Boxes as well as the Yukon Territories, Northern Territories, and Nunavut.

• Canada TAXES & DUTY: For shipments via UPS, our website will automatically calculate and charge for GST/HST and customs duty and forward those payments to the appropriate agencies. This will appear as a separate line on your receipt. There are no extra payments due on arrival. For the USPS (mail) orders listed above, you will pay those taxes and duties at the Post Office when you pickup the package.

• Delivery to addresses outside the USA & Canada: Barring customs delays (over which we have no control!) you should receive your merchandise within 15 days of the date we receive your order via USPS (Mail).

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Track Your Order

Once your order has been shipped, we will e-mail you a shipping confirmation. If it has been shipped via UPS, we will include a tracking number. To track the status of your order, please visit our Tracking page. If you have questions about shipping, please e-mail our Customer Service Department at customerservice@ricksteves.com or phone 425-608-4200.

Customer Service

Frequently Asked Questions

How long will it take for my order to arrive if I order today?
More details about shipping can be found above. If you choose "basic delivery" your order is guaranteed to arrive within 10 business days. A "rush delivery" order is guaranteed to arrive within 5 business days. As soon as your order is shipped, we'll send you an e-mail containing your UPS tracking number so you can look up when the delivery date will be.

How can I place an order with Rick Steves without putting my credit card on the Web?
Simply go through the normal process of placing an order online. When you come to the Checkout Payment info page you'll see two choices: “Secure Online Payment” and “Mail Fax". Click on Mail Fax, then click on Place Order. It will take you to a page to confirm the information. Click on "Printable Order Form". It will pop up with all the fax or mailing information. Print the form and fax or mail the order to us.

Why is my cart empty at check out when I put items in it?
You need to “enable cookies" on your computer. Instructions can be found here.

What is a promotion code?
Rick Steves offers promotion codes to our railpass customers (and others from time to time). It can be used for a discount on one subsequent merchandise order. Whenever we offer a free item with a minimum purchase, you do not need a promotion code to qualify.

What is the CVV2 code your order asks for?
The code is an additional security check for credit card transactions. For Visa or MasterCard cards, you can find this code on the back of your credit card and appears as the last 3 numbers after your account number. For American Express cards, the code is on the front of the card and appears above and to the right of the imprinted card number.

I made a mistake on my order that I just placed online, what can I do?
E-mail customerservice@ricksteves.com and tell us what you'd like to change. We'll reply to your email on the next business day during regular business hours, and make any changes you request. It’s never too late…unless it’s already gone out the door!

My order didn’t confirm, what can I do?
During our regular business hours (9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Pacific Time) you can e-mail customerservice@ricksteves.com or call Customer Service at 425/608-4220 and they can verify if your order went through. If it didn’t, we can take your credit card info over the phone and process the order manually. After hours, e-mail us and we'll respond the following business day. Your other choice would be to place another order, and then call or e-mail us to cancel any duplicate order placed.

Does your Convertible Carry-On have wheels?
No. "Convertible" means it can be used as a backpack or a suitcase. Only our 21" Roll-Aboard has wheels.

Does your 21" Roll-Aboard turn into a backpack?
No. Rolling bags that convert to backpacks add weight, reduce capacity, and cost more. We don't think they are a good value.

Are Rick Steves bags waterproof?
Bags made of thicker "denier" material (our Convertible Carry-on, Roll-Aboard, Veloce, Appenzell and Avanti bags), are reasonably water resistant. Our lower-cost Civita products, made of lighter fabric and with exposed zippers, are likely to leak during a steady rain. It's a good idea to have a plastic bag handy as a liner in case you're caught in a storm with one of these bags. Once wet, however, they dry quickly. Waterproofing treatment products are sold at outdoor and sporting goods stores, but they may change the appearance of the fabric (and they cannot stop water from entering through zippers). To protect the contents of any travel bag against rain, the best solution is to travel with a light plastic rain poncho — or duck indoors!

Questions About Our Products

If you have questions about our products, please e-mail our Customer Service Department. You can also phone us. For questions about products, please dial 425-771-8303 ext 298. If you have questions about an order you have placed, dial 425-608-4200. The Customer Service Department is open Monday-Friday 9am-5pm

Guarantee of Quality

Every Rick Steves travel product comes with our guarantee that it will be free from material and manufacturing defects for the life of the product. If a defect appears, we will either repair or replace the product (at our option) free of charge. This guarantee does not cover damage caused by an airline or other common carrier. Nor does it cover wear and tear to components and materials which may occur over time with use of the product.

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Returning Merchandise

If you've been sent a product in damaged condition, or one with a manufacturer's defect, please contact our Customer Service Department (e-mail customerservice@ricksteves.com, phone 425-608-4200) for shipping arrangements and a return authorization (RA) number.

If you are unsatisfied with your purchase for any other reason, you may return it in new condition within sixty days for a refund or exchange. (Sorry, no refund for shipping fee.) Please follow these instructions:

1. With the returned item, please enclose the original dated invoice / receipt (or a copy) and a note explaining the reason for the return.

2. Please include your credit card account number and expiration date. (If your original order was paid by credit card, we must credit any refunds to that account.)

3. When returning items for any reason, we suggest using a trackable service such as UPS (United Parcel Service) or "US Mail Insured" for items valued at $25 or more. Please write, "ATTN: Customer Service" on the package.

Address for shipping to us via UPS: Rick Steves' Europe Through the Back Door, 130 Fourth Ave N, Edmonds, WA 98020-2009

Address for shipping to us via US Mail: Rick Steves' Europe Through the Back Door, PO Box 2009, Edmonds, WA 98020-2009

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Secure Ordering and Privacy

Here at Rick Steves' Europe Through the Back Door, we take security seriously. While you visit our secure Travel Store, our Security Pledge protects you so that you can shop freely.

The Rick Steves Travel Store Security Pledge.*

We will endeavor to make your transactions at www.ricksteves.com secure and safe. If any unauthorized, fraudulent charges are made to your credit card as a result of shopping at our Travel Store - you pay nothing. We mean it!

We protect the transfer of sensitive information between your browser and our secure server using Secure Sockets Layer (SSL). SSL is compatible with Netscape, Internet Explorer, and AOL's browser technologies, creating an encrypted data transfer. To learn more about SSL technology visit www.verisign.com.

We also use firewall technology to secure your data once it is stored on our servers. Extra sensitive information, such as a credit card number, is stored using database encryption, so that even most internal users cannot access the data. Finally, as an extra security measure, we don't even transfer your credit card information from the Travel Store to our order processing system. Only the bank authorization number is used, providing an extra level of protection.

Still not comfortable using your credit card online? Not a problem. Just fill up your shopping cart online and while proceeding through the checkout choose "Mail or Fax" on the payment information page. This will create a printable copy of your order that you can then send via fax or drop in the mail. Don' t forget to write your credit card number on your fax or on your mailed order if you don't enclose a check.

*The fine print - Security Pledge details The Fair Credit Billing Act provides that your bank cannot hold you liable for more than $50 of fraudulent charges. If unauthorized use of your card resulted through no fault of your own from a purchase made at our online Travel Store, and if your bank holds you liable for any of this amount, Rick Steves' Europe Through the Back Door, Inc. will cover the entire liability, up to the full $50. In the event of unauthorized use of your card, for this security guarantee to be valid, you must notify your credit card provider in accordance with its established reporting rules and procedures under your cardholder agreement.

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Privacy Policy

All of us at Rick Steves' Europe Through the Back Door, Inc. respect your privacy. We will never share your name, address, e-mail address or purchase information with any third party, ever. Period.

When you place an order with us, we collect basic information including your name, address, e-mail address and phone number. We use this information to confirm your order and to respond to any questions you may have.

We also provide security to protect the loss, misuse and alteration of the customer data that we collect. When you shop at the Rick Steves' Travel Store your information is protected by a state-of-the-art firewall and the use of SSL encryption of your credit card information. See our Security Statement for more details.

We track "passive” information on customers’ browsing behavior at www.ricksteves.com, but never on an individual level. We analyze this information strictly in aggregate terms to ensure our site is structured in a user-friendly way for our customers.

As thanks for placing an order with us, we will send you a free quarterly 64-page newsletter, and a monthly e-mail dispatch from Rick Steves. If for any reason you do not wish to receive this information, please reply to any of our e-mails and type "unsubscribe" in the subject line.

Acceptance of cookies is not a requirement to browse the content of www.ricksteves.com, but our Travel Store requires the acceptance of cookies to keep track of the items in your shopping cart and to complete an order (if items will not stay in your cart, see "How to Enable Cookies"). We never use cookies to store sensitive customer information such as names, addresses, passwords or credit card numbers. If you would like to place an order, but cannot (or choose not to) allow cookies, you may request a newsletter and mail-in order form by contacting customerservice@ricksteves.com.

If you have further questions about our Privacy Pledge or have other comments, please do not hesitate to email us at customerservice@ricksteves.com.

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Contact Technical Support

If you have other questions about our website, please e-mail our Tech Support department at support@ricksteves.com.

Terms and Conditions

The Rick Steves' website and online Rick Steves' Travel Store at www.ricksteves.com are owned and operated by Rick Steves' Europe Through the Back Door, Inc. If you use our website to gather travel information, correspond with us, or make purchases, you accept these Terms and Conditions. Please read them carefully.

Copyright and Trademarks
All content included on this site, such as text, images, graphics, logos, video clips, digital downloads and software, is the property of Rick Steves' Europe Through the Back Door, Inc. and protected by United States and international copyright laws. "Rick Steves' Europe Through the Back Door," "Europe Through the Back Door," "www.ricksteves.com," and "Rick Steves" are trademarks of Rick Steves' Europe Through the Back Door, Inc. and may not be used in connection with any travel-related information, products, or services that are not owned by Rick Steves' Europe Through the Back Door, Inc.

License and Site Access
Rick Steves' Europe Through the Back Door, Inc. grants you a limited license to access and make personal use of this site and not to download or modify it, or any portion of it, except with express written consent of Rick Steves' Europe Through the Back Door, Inc. The downloading of streaming video clips is permissible for personal use only.

This license does not include any commercial or derivative use of this site or its contents. This site or any portion of this site may not be reproduced, duplicated, copied, sold, resold, visited, or otherwise exploited for any commercial purpose without express written consent of Rick Steves' Europe Through the Back Door, Inc.

As a visitor to www.ricksteves.com you are granted a limited and revocable right to create a link to our site so long as the link does not portray our site, our products or services in a misleading, derogatory, or otherwise offensive matter. You may not use any content, logo or graphic from our site as a part of the link without express written permission. Any unauthorized use terminates any license or permission granted by Rick Steves' Europe Through the Back Door, Inc.

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Eurail Passes
Eurail services provided at this site may be used only to make reservations or purchases for you or for another person for whom you are legally authorized to act.

Transportation providers may have separate terms and conditions that apply to your travel purchase of travel-related services. You agree to abide by the terms and conditions of purchase imposed by them, including, but not related to, payment of all amounts due when due and compliance with all rules and restrictions regarding availability of fares, products, or services. You shall be completely responsible for all charges, fees, duties, taxes, and assessments arising out of the use of this Web site.

Rick Steves' Europe Through the Back Door, Inc. does not assume any liability for any injury, damage, loss, or delay due to any act or omission of any transportation provider.

Rick Steves' Europe Through the Back Door, Inc. makes no promises or guarantees as to the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of any delay or other travel information on this site, and Rick Steves' Europe Through the Back Door, Inc. expressly disclaims liability for any errors and omissions.

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Transactions
You agree to accept responsibility for all activities that occur in your name and/or with your credit card. If you are under 18, you may enter into transactions only with the consent of a parent or guardian. Rick Steves' Europe Through the Back Door, Inc. reserves the right to refuse service, terminate accounts, remove or edit content, or cancel orders.

Prices for Eurail travel are based on available sources. Actual currency and currency exchange rates may vary.

E-Mail
When you place an order through the Rick Steves Travel Store, send an e-mail message to any address @ricksteves.com, or otherwise give us your e-mail address, you consent to receive future e-mail messages from us. You agree that all agreements, notices, disclosures and other communications that we provide to you electronically satisfy any legal requirement that such communications be in writing. Rick Steves' Europe Through the Back Door, Inc. will never share your e-mail address with anyone else. For more on this, see our Privacy Pledge.

Content Submitted by You
If you post or submit content to our "Graffiti Wall" or elsewhere at www.ricksteves.com you grant Rick Steves' Europe Through the Back Door, Inc. a nonexclusive, royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable right to publish, distribute and display such content throughout the world in any media. You grant Rick Steves' Europe Through the Back Door, Inc. the right to use the name that you submit in connection with such content. You represent and warrant that you own or otherwise control all of the rights to the content that you post; that the content is accurate; that use of the content you supply does not violate this policy and will not cause injury. For additional specifics, see our "Graffiti Wall" guidelines.

Rick Steves' Europe Through the Back Door, Inc. has the right but not the obligation to monitor and edit or remove any activity or content on our website. Rick Steves' Europe Through the Back Door, Inc. takes no responsibility and assumes no liability for any content posted by you or any third party.

Risk of Loss
All items purchased from Rick Steves' Europe Through the Back Door, Inc. are made pursuant to a shipment contract. This means that the ownership of your purchases and the risk of loss are entirely yours once we pass the items on to the carrier.

Product Descriptions
We try to be as accurate as possible. However, Rick Steves' Europe Through the Back Door, Inc. does not warrant that product descriptions or other content of this site is accurate, complete, reliable, current, or error-free. If a product offered by us is not as described, your sole remedy is to return it in unused condition for a refund, exchange or credit.

Disclaimer of Warranties and Limitation of Liability
TO THE FULL EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, RICK STEVES' EUROPE THRU THE BACK DOOR DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. WE DO NOT WARRANT THAT THIS SITE, ITS SERVERS, OR E-MAIL SENT FROM OUR LOCATIONS ARE FREE OF VIRUSES OR OTHER HARMFUL COMPONENTS. WE WILL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES OF ANY KIND ARISING FROM THE USE OF THIS SITE, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTIAL, PUNITIVE, AND CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES.

SOME STATE LAWS DO NOT ALLOW LIMITATIONS ON IMPLIED WARRANTIES OR THE EXCLUSION OR LIMITATION OF CERTAIN DAMAGES. IF THESE LAWS APPLY TO YOU, SOME OR ALL OF THE ABOVE DISCLAIMERS, EXCLUSIONS, OR LIMITATIONS MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU, AND YOU MIGHT HAVE ADDITIONAL RIGHTS.

Rick Steves' Europe Through the Back Door, Inc. will, honor its return policy on merchandise purchased from it on this site, and it will honor individual product warranties that accompany merchandise purchased from this site.

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Applicable Law
By visiting www.ricksteves.com and the Rick Steves Travel Store, you agree that the laws of the state of Washington, without regard to principles of conflict of laws, will govern these Terms and Conditions and any dispute that might arise between you and Rick Steves' Europe Through the Back Door, Inc.

Disputes
Any dispute relating in any way to your visit to www.ricksteves.com or to products you purchase through the Rick Steves Travel Store shall be submitted to confidential arbitration by a single arbitrator in King County in the state of Washington. The parties first agree to try in good faith to settle the dispute by mediation administered by American Arbitration Association, Washington Arbitration and Mediation Services or Judicial Arbitration and Mediation Services. If mediation is unsuccessful, arbitration under this agreement shall be conducted under the commercial arbitration rules of the American Arbitration Association. The initial administrative fees associated with mediation or arbitration shall be shared equally by the parties, subject to reallocation of fees and costs, if any, as determined by the arbitrator. The arbitrator's award shall be binding and may be entered as a judgment in any court of competent jurisdiction. To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, no arbitration under this Agreement shall be joined to an arbitration involving any other party subject to this Agreement, whether through class arbitration proceedings or otherwise.

An important exception: if you violate or threaten to violate Rick Steves' intellectual property rights, Rick Steves' Europe Through the Back Door, Inc. may seek injunctive or other appropriate relief in any state or federal court in the state of Washington, and you consent to exclusive jurisdiction and venue in such courts.

Policies and Changes
Please review our other policies, such as our Privacy Pledge, posted on this site. These policies also govern your visit to ricksteves.com. We reserve the right to make changes to our site, policies, and these Terms and Conditions at any time. If any of these conditions shall be deemed invalid, void, or for any reason unenforceable, that condition shall be deemed "severable" and shall not affect the validity and enforceability of any remaining condition.

Our Address
Rick Steves' Europe Through the Back Door, Inc.
130 Fourth Avenue North
P.O. Box 2009
Edmonds, WA 98020
www.ricksteves.com