Has anyone done back to back Rick Steve’s tours, what were they, how long was each, and did you feel it was too much?
We’re planning to do Best of Southern Italy in 13 Days (starts in Rome, ends in Naples), and now considering adding My Way Italy in 13 days to the front end (starts in Venice, ends in Rome). Flying from California and want to maximize the trip. Went to Venice and Florence in 2009 and don’t mind the repeat visit. I planned those myself using Rick Steve’s book. Now want the convenience of hotels/transport provided by My Way; then fully let go of the planning in the Best of South Italy tour.
But worried that we might be jamming too much into one trip. Any thoughts appreciated.
Posted by
Sapulpa, OK, USA
6574 posts
We've done back-to-back RS tours several times, and have always enjoyed it. We may have overstretched this year though; we have 10 days between the two tours, which we're spending in Venice and Rome, and then we're staying on another 10 days afterward!
Our two tours this year are Loire to the South of France, and Best of South Italy.
Posted by
Edmonds, WA 🌨 ☂
12006 posts
How many days between the end of the first and start of the second tour?
I do not see any problem of it being 'too much', especially where being part of a tour will provide 'guardrails' and move you from place to place efficiently
Posted by
Temple,Tx
418 posts
We took the Best of Paris tour which ended on a Saturday morning and the Eastern France tour which started the next day (Sunday afternoon.). We enjoyed both of them. We spent a week in London and Normandy before our Paris tour. We were gone 4 weeks in total and we felt like it was just right.
Posted by
Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, USA
14901 posts
I, too, have done several back to backs.
Best of London + Best of Wales (both Road Scholar tours)
21day Best of Europe + Best of Paris + Village Italy
Best of England + Paris and the Heart of France
Germany, Austria, Switzerland + Road Scholar hiking tour in England
Best of Southern England + Best of Scotland
The combo I liked least were the last two in UK. To me they felt too similar (castle ruins which I did not think I’d get sick of but did, similar food ). So, for myself, I’ve decided that back to backs work best with a combo of cultures. YMMV as several others have enjoyed similar cultures.
However…I love maximizing my time in Europe. I didn’t feel like any combos were too much including the 3 back to backs where I was gone about 8 weeks. I like that you’ve got a combo of guided vs more free time!
Posted by
Used to be Steilacoom, now it’s Las Vegas
2311 posts
We’re doing back-to-back, RS Sicily and then My Way Italy mid-April to mid-May. It looks like a definite “go” for the Sicily tour and fingers are crossed for the My Way as our date is showing “seats available”. We felt those 2 were a good combination as we can set our own pace for the My Way tour. I don’t think your over-extending at all. For us, the hardest part is the jet lag rather than the tour. We did the Best of Southern Italy in 2019 and the great memories kept us going through the pandemic. That was probably the first time we were not ready to come home. Our first RS tour hit Rome, Florence and the Cinque Terra and will duplicate on the My Way, but we’re happy to see things we missed. I envy you all the time in Rome, plus you’ll get to stay in 2 different parts of the city.
Posted by
OP
California
2 posts
Thank you, everyone, for your very helpful and prompt responses! Very much appreciated. I bit the bullet and reserved My Way Italy and Best of South Italy (filing up fast) with one day in between so we're only paying extra for one night. The last day of My Way ends Friday morning and first day of South Italy starts Saturday afternoon. We'll have a total of 5 nights in Rome which does not sound so hurried. I'll keep in mind the other back to back trips which you all have taken for future travels. Thanks again!