We are adding 2 nights for arrival (1 night in Milan and 1 night extra in Varenna) and 2 nights extra
for departure in Rome. Any advantage to weekdays vs weekends in Milan and Rome? We are going to book the tour hotels for our extra nights.
Posted by
Tresana, Highlands Ranch, CO, USA
23650 posts
Well, generally -- very generally -- the weekends will be more crowded simply because locals have free weekends and they like to visit their sites also. Throw in a festival or some other special event and it is a whole new ball game. So we tend to use weekends for low key stuff -- like doing laundry. But sometimes Sunday am can be great because many of the locals are going to church but by early PM, they are all in the restaurants or on the street.
Posted by
Edmonds, WA 🌨 ☂
12021 posts
Looking at the tour schedule and what you want to do I would select a tour that starts on a Sunday and ends on a Tuesday.
Posted by
OP
Arizona
11 posts
Thanks Joe and Frank...we are going to book Sep 27–Oct 13 (Su–Tu) for our 2020 tour...save $400 and get some quieter times and bundle up in the Dolomites if necessary!
Posted by
Placentia, CA
1078 posts
We booked a night in Milan and a night in Varenna before our tour and I was so glad we did. There were a couple of people who were late to our 5:00 pm welcome party because they were trying to track down their luggage that didn’t arrive at the airport. I wish we would have booked two extra days in Rome as well. I had been Rome prior so I decided against it. If you have any questions about the tour, you can send me a personal message. It definitely was the best vacation we had been on.
I put together two, 10 minute videos on YouTube with pictures of our tour. We also went mid September and had only two days with rain and it was only partial days of rain. I highly recommend that you get a pass for the boats in the Cinque Terre. The view of the towns from the water was spectacular. We would get off the boat and hike to the top of the cliffs above the town to get great views of the towns from above. It was the best of both. I also recommend eating lunch or dinner at “The Golden View” restaurant in Florence.
If you watch the videos, turn up the volume so you can hear the music. It will put you in the mood.
Posted by
OP
Arizona
11 posts
Yoesemite1, thanks so much for your very kind and thorough response. We will definitely take you up on your offer of further help as we develop our tour. Your videos are awesome!
Posted by
OP
Arizona
11 posts
We have added 2 nights in Milan and 1 night in Varenna at the RS hotel before the tour starts and added 3 nights in Rome at the RS hotel where our tour ends.