We are new to this forum and would like input from others who have taken the Rick Steves - Best of Venice, Florence and Rome 10 Day tour i.e. hotels and the tour in general.
Thanks for your help!
Leslie
Posted by
NorthCarolina
933 posts
you'll have better responses if you post this in the ITALY section = you have it posted in the REVIEWs section, which is a place for you to GIVE us a REVIEW. RePost in the Italy section.
We did this tour and LOVED it. No way could we have learned and seen so much on our own. Let me know if you have specific questions. One hotel didn't have an elevator and we were on the 5th floor - NOT fun with luggage!!
Posted by
Seattle
199 posts
Check out the reviews tour members have provided for the fantastic and ever-popular VFR here on the RSE site. While it has been many years (and RSTs) since I took this tour, it was my first introduction to Italy and I had a great time. Group tours are not everyone's cup of tea, what with the financial outlay, set schedule and brisk pacing. RS tours are experience-focused and very local-centric, meaning the local guides who will lead you are residents of the environs you are visiting and exploring. The 3-night per city timing of VFR is not as rushed as other tours offered here but still means only 2 full days in each amazing-in-their-own-rights Italian city. Good advice for tour members to heed if at all possible is to plan on arriving early by minimum 1 or 2 nights in Venice before the start and add minimum 1 or 2 nights after when in Rome. This tour uses a full-size tour bus as your transfer transportation between cities (you have to take a water bus to get to the bus station as you leave Venice) and the coach will be new, clean and comfortable and the bus driver will participate in group meals and generally be another excellent ambassador of enriching travel experiences. Hotels used in my experience have been at minimum perfectly located and totally charming notwithstanding the phone booth- (remember those?) sized showers, oddly placed outlets and undersized/under performing ac units. Pack smart and pack light and wherever you may go, have a great time!
Posted by
Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, USA
13934 posts
There is also a scrapbook section where travelers submit photos and commentary of their travels hoping to win. It’s a bit hard to find unless you know it’s there, so here’s a link. Looks like a bunch from 2018! The deadline for 2019 is the end of Feb so none from this tour from last year yet.
https://www.ricksteves.com/tours/scrapbooks
I’ve not done this particular tour but I have covered all 3 cities on other Rick Steves tours. The excellent guides are what keep me coming back! I learn so much!
I agree with Theresa’s recommendation to come a day or 2 early and stay an extra few if you can.