Any RS Tours not inc Venice?

Hi kmmealey and welcome to the forum!

I don't see any RS tours that encompass an itinerary such as this.

What you see in the "Our Tours" section of the RS website for Italy is what's available; if what's there doesn't fit your needs, then you'd need to go the indy, tour-less route according to your own customized itinerary (many who contribute to these forums do just that) or look for another company which may provide what you're looking for.

Some RS tour fans string together 2 different tours to fulfill their particular travel bug, or travel on their own after a tour has wrapped up or before a tour begins. Either may be an option for you?

Heart of Italy tour gives you Rome, Volterra, Cinque Terre and Florence. Your could follow it up with travel on your own to Naples and Amalfi coast. Or you could stay in Florence at the end of the tour, take day trips to see more of Tuscany. No one RS tour will take you through your list. Two weeks isn't much time in Italy, so it'll be best if you decide North or South for this trip. I'm curious why don't you want to include Venice?
https://www.ricksteves.com/tours/italy/heart-italy
The other option is to plan your own trip to see only what you want to see.

Two weeks isn't much time in Italy, so it'll be best if you decide
North or South for this trip

Horsewoofie makes a very good point! Trying to cover the amount of ground you're proposing to in two weeks would end up being too rushed for many (most?) of us. Heck, it would likely be too rushed Rick as well, which could be a reason why you're not seeing a tour that encompasses north, middle and south in 13-14 days. Even the longest of his Italian tours - 17 days - doesn't travel further south than Rome.

And I'm curious about Venice as well. ??????

Are there any RS day or multi-day (3?) tours of cities, such as Rome?

I just reread your post. Are you thinking that Rick Steves tours are day tours or focused short multi-day tours? The answer is no to both. For city tours you can look at Context Travel and Takes Walks. I have not used either.
https://www.contexttravel.com/
https://www.takewalks.com/

Your list will give you a very fast paced trip, not counting flights in and out plus jetlag. Remember that everytime you move from one location to another you lose at least half a day. Trains are the easiest way to get around Italy. You do not want to drive in cities or the Amalfi Coast.

Come back and let us know what you are looking to do. My next question is have you visited Italy or Europe before? I'm sure all the experienced travelers here have ideas to help you.

Thanks for the responses!

For those who asked, yes we have traveled in Europe; Ireland and through Germany (driving) - central & southern Germany, avoiding big cities, except Munich (where we parked the car for duration & caught our flight to US) Stayed with relatives for a few amazing days & stayed in military resort in Garmisch/Bavaria region as a base for another few days. Wonderful adventures.

We're not tied into 14 day period, that's a ball park figure. My husband is a home body so we will for sure be in Italy 14-18 days. Probably in Europe longer. We're going to try to fly Space A (Space Available) military flight to Naple/Signonella or Germany (whatever we can get is what we will take) & make our way to and throughout Italy. Space A is mission driven so we will take whatever flight gets us to Europe. Venice holds no interest for us & adds too many days. Primary areas we'd like to visit: Lakes area, Florence/Tuscany and Rome. Anything else is a bonus.

If we hop a flight to Germany (Ramstein), I think we'd then travel to Switzerland & maybe take the train into Italy. Just lots of ideas for now. The main thing I will need help with is guides in Florence & Rome - don't want to waste time in lines. We prefer off-the-beaten path in general. This will probably be our only trip to Italy so...

Hi, welcome to the forum!

The RS 17-day Best of Italy will give you several of those locations. And, yes, I’m aware that it has two nights in Venice. But, that doesn’t equal two days in Venice. It’s a day driving from the Dolomites down to Venice and onto the islands and having the evening there. Then the next day is one full day in Venice. So essentially it’s taking one day out of the many others that you would really enjoy!

My husband & I did that tour in 2006, and I smiled when I read your post because initially Venice was that place in the itinerary list that we didn’t care about seeing. We even briefly looked at other options for that time. Well, it ended up being our absolute favorite! Having a tour guide to show us the history, the background, the real culture made all of the difference. After lots of travel, it is still one of our favorites to return for 2-3 days.

Since the tour ends in Rome, it’s very easy to take the train to the Amalfi area. Last year I took it to Salerno and stayed a few nights (go see Paestum!) and then took the ferry over to stay at Amalfi for three nights. You can get around the Amalfi Coast by ferry, bus or a private driver. Then I flew home from Rome. Have a great time!

As I understand it, an issue with Space Available is that you need to be flexible on which days you actually get on a plane, as a retiree has the lowest priority as to who gets on the plane. Europe has been very crowded even in shoulder seasons, since COVID. Are you really willing to not have lodging booked before you arrive in Europe? Many folks here have reported a scarcity of last- minute booking availability, and major price increases.
Just curious how risk-adverse you are .
Good luck!