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10 day Venice Florence Rome thoughts

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My husband and I are thinking about taking the 10 day RS tour to Venice Florence and Rome this fall and adding days in Amalfi Coast. If you have taken this tour or one similar here are my concerns that hopefully you can help with.

You have walking tours most mornings and the afternoons free, but that puts other tours (Colosseum, Vatican, Doge Palace etc.) in the afternoon when you are perhaps tired from the walking tours which they keep mentioning are 2- 6/8 miles. I wish some of those must-see places were still included in the trip and not on our own.

Everywhere you read how crowded those three cities are. Will we be overwhelmed and wish we had more smaller cities in the mix?

As first time overseas travelers, by the end of the trip will we be ready to tackle the Amalfi coast on our own? Should we perhaps look for a difference trip that also includes Amalfi and Pompeii?

Just trying to figure out if this is the best trip for us. Did you enjoy the hotel choices? I feel safe choosing a RS tour and I can tell by the travel blogs many many people have loved this tour. Thanks for any thoughts you might have on the pace of the trip, getting tickets for free time etc.

Wish we felt confident enough to do it on our own with all RS’s wonderful resources, but I don’t think we do.

Posted by
9102 posts

No experience with the RS tours but do know they are very fast paced.
Amalfi Coast is best left for a future trip IMO (AC area is also very crowded and a time consuming hassle to get to).

If you have extra days add a few at start for Venice and at end for Rome.

Posted by
557 posts

We haven't taken this tour (have taken several other RS tours) but have traveled independently to all three of these cities. Please know that the walking you do is not all at once - that is the cumulative estimate for a whole day. If you are in reasonable shape and prepared for the weather, you will manage the crowds and have a great experience. Re the hotels, I have at a minimum liked all the choices in each city, and often LOVED them for location/style/coziness/uniqueness.

My advice:
- as a first time overseas traveler, prepare well and you will be fine. Read the guidebook, talk to everyone you can who's gone those places and get their advice. You'll quickly gain confidence once there.

  • rather than going to the Amalfi coast, consider going to Venice early and/or staying in Rome afterwards. In Venice you'll get time to recover from jet lag, and with your preparation, you can venture out to a sight or two you won't visit on the tour. In Rome, there is so much to do, including the places not included on the tour, and by then you'll have your travel confidence up.

  • These are indeed three bustling cities. if you are still considering which tour to take, consider one that combines cities and small towns. I loved the long Ireland tour, and the South England tour. (Others will chime in with their faves.)

Posted by
497 posts

You may want to check out the tour scrapbooks that previous tour attendees created. These can help you get a sense of what the tour is all about. Type in scrapbook in the search and that should get you to the page.

We’ve done other RS tours. There is walking but it’s not over the top. Most of the walking we did was on our own exploring where we were. Depending on your personal energy levels, booking an afternoon tour should be fine.

We haven’t been to the Amalfi coast, but after a tour we are ready to go home. However, we arrive early and do our thing before the tour begins.

Posted by
9508 posts

Hi Janice, have you looked at the 17-day Best of Italy tour? That one will give you the combo of large cities plus some of the other sized cities, including staying at an agriturismo. Instead of needing extra places to add to the top 3 VFR, this can be a complete trip with just a couple of days to arrive early & acclimate to the time zone.

My husband & I did that tour way back in 2006 and after returning to Italy 10 times, I still recommend that one as the perfect tour to get a great feel of Italy with its variety.

Posted by
6939 posts

Gads, it took us years before we tackled the Amalfi Coast, and the transportation/ infrastructure challenges. Wait until you're more experienced.

We did VFR tour around 2017, so obviously some things are different. We were absolutely exhausted after this tour, and had no energy for an additional adventure at the end. The RS tour guides are excellent, but working with the Italian variables present challenges. Because the museums get very crowded by mid-morning, the guides had us out of the hotels early, and into the museums as they opened. Then we usually were free. Half of the days had organized dinners, which usually started àfter 7:00pm, and lasted until about 10:00pm, in the Italian leisure-paced mode. We had problems when the late dinners backed up against the early starts; we just couldnt get to sleep after the late dinners. Now many folks may be different and can adjust to such a schedule.
(We went on the Swiss trip a few years later, and dinners were much faster and the mornings didn't start so early, as we weren't rushing to get into museums.) Again, my info is old.
Florence and Rome will be very crowded. Venice has its "hot spots" but it's easy to get away from crowds and wander in quiet, charming areas.
I like the idea presented above by Jean to instead try the RS Best of Italy, which is a mix of large and small areas, and might be a better immersion for first time travelers.
The RS tours are high quality and have excellent tour and local guides. The hotels are usually fine, but may not be the high points of the tours. The hotels will be in great locations, however.
Wishing you a grand adventure and safe travels.

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