We are scheduled for a RS's 17 day best of italy tour in May.
Do we use the same bus the entire trip?
Can we leave a bag on the bus overnight while we are in the hotel?
Can we leave a bag in the bus during the day while we are out with the tour group?
Any experience or info appreciated.
I’ve not taken Best of Italy but on other RS tours in Italy and elsewhere this was no problem. Since it’s a long tour you may have a substitute bus/driver for one day BUT your regular driver snd bus will catch up when they’ve done a complete rest period as required by law. This happened on the 21 day Best of Europe when the driver and bus had a requisite 24 or 48 hour stop.
The driver usually has an area of the bus bay he uses for “deep storage” which are items you don’t want to bring in each night. Some use a large cardboard container.
I recommend for your nights in Venice you do leave your suitcase on board and just take in an easily carried day pack. Much easier than trundling a roller bag up and over all those stepped bridges!
And yes, of course you can leave stuff aboard while sightseeing for the day.
Have a wonderful time!!
In general yes. You have the same bus for the entire trip. On the best of Switzerland one day the driver did go home for the night. I believe the guide advised us to grab all our stuff.
Almost always the bus driver has deep storage. This is for stuff you will not need for an extended period or until the end of the tour. Deep storage is underneath the bus in the luggage hold. One driver had a plywood crate built for deep storage.
There is an overhead shelf on the bus for storage during the day. There’s generally enough room that everyone that wants one can get their own seat. So the seat next to you can be used as a place to leave reading materials jacket etc.
You can ask your guide at the orientation meeting if you will have the same bus for the entire tour.
Have a great trip. Be careful RS tours are addictive!
Be careful RS tours are addictive!
lol, oh so true 🙂 going on my third in a few days, with a long list of future planned tours
Thanks for the info!!
We did this tour - our favorite!
For Venice, some people took a daypack/small backpack and left their suitcase in the deep storage of the bus. During stops along the way, the driver is either staying with the bus or locks it briefly. You could leave a small bag on your bus seat. We usually had a small daypack for misc. and our guidebook. When we stopped along the way, I just took my lightweight crossbody purse with me (also with some extra TP in case any toilets missing it!)
I added a large & small hand-painted ceramic pitcher to the deep storage midway through the trip. They’re on my kitchen counter display - reminder of a wonderful trip! Have a great time!
Just make sure to take it when the bus drops you off at your last destination. We were on the Alpine My-Way tour, and the escort reiterated the bus would be making a quick stop to drop us off in Chamonix, France and then heading off to Belgium so be sure to take everything off the bus. The one person we all would have put our money on, jumped off the bus, got her suitcase, and scurried off to the hotel. When everything was unloaded and the bus was driving off, she had items sitting on the sidewalk. Another tour member picked them up and brought them to the hotel, but the owner hadn't even missed them.
