First time Italy tour need confirmation of my flight

Yes you will arrive on 9/7 at 6:10 pm

If you wanted some time in Venice before the tour you should plan to arrive on 9/6
Since you’ll arrive at 6:10 PM you won’t be at your hotel til maybe 8 pm
Not much time for anything other than dinner and to bed

Thank you Gburg, PA!
Truth be told, we're a couple of retirement age chicks and all we want will be getting to and finding our hotel, a nice nearby dinner and wine. Followed by a hot shower and early bed. The tour starts late in the afternoon on the 7th, so we'll have all day on the 7th to wander and get lost on that beautiful island.
My anxiety thanks you for your fast reply.

Hopefully your tour starts on the afternoon of the 8th!

I agree with Christine. You need to arrive on Sept 6. My hubby and I arrived in the evening before a tour started the next afternoon. We were so wiped out from the travel that neither one of us woke up until almost noon on the day the tour started. By the time we took a quick shower and grabbed a quick bite to eat it was almost time to meet the RS guide. We really didn't get enough extra time in the beginning to do extra looking around. From then on if we're meeting a tour we arrive at least two days before so that we have one or more full days before meeting the RS tour. We have now taken 7 RS tours.

Have a Great Trip! and please come back and let us know what you have decided to do

Mimi

The OP has already purchased the tickets. Telling OP to do something different at this point may be a bit unkind.

You will do fine with arriving the night before. Not only will you have the time the next morning and early afternoon, but the tour itself will give you free time opportunities in Venice. Don't worry about this!

The OP has booked her flight and is just making sure she has the flight itinerary correct.
Enjoy your tour, dhoppe55!

I think some of the confusion - my confusion anyway - is the difference of the dates in the original question post and than different dates in a reply to g berg a little later on.

The original post reads:

Tour starts in Venice on 9/8/23 we want to be in Venice the day before on 9/7 to rest and catch our breath before the tour starts.
I have booked airfare as follows:
9/6 @ 10:05 pm depart Chicago. 2 hr 10 min layover in Lisbon. Arrive in Venice @ 6:10pm
Total trip time 13 hrs 5 mins.

The follow up dates in the reply reads:

Truth be told, we're a couple of retirement age chicks and all we want will be getting to and finding our hotel, a nice nearby dinner and wine. Followed by a hot shower and early bed. The tour starts late in the afternoon on the 7th, so we'll have all day on the 7th to wander and get lost on that beautiful island.

So taken literally the original question says that they are leaving Chicago at 10:05pm on Wednesday 6th of September via Lisbon and arriving in Venice at 6:10p. With a 2 hour layover, yes evening flights from the Midwest arrive in Europe the next day, so it makes sense that yes the arrival in Venice will be the same day as Lisbon, so arriving in Venice on Thursday early evening the 7th. That makes joining the tour on Friday the 8th will be comfortable. I think that reassurance on that point is what dhoppe55 was after.

Where my confusion comes is the answer later on, quoted above. I think that that must have been a typo. Wanting to get in, go to bed and relax the day of the start of the tour is not a bad idea, and usually the tours meet in the late afternoon of the first day. But it will be the 8th not the 7th.

I don't see dhoppe55's tour starting on the 8th in the list of tours so I think it is probably full, and the 10 day VFR Venice Florence Rome tours seem to always start of Fridays. So I think everything is fine.

Since there is a minor confusion about the dates it might be a good idea to be sure that the day of arrival hotel - the 7th - is in fact the date that was reserved.

I think that straightens it out. I hope so.

Wow! Thank all you who responded to my newbie question.
I confirmed again the tour starts in Venice on Fri 9/8/23 late afternoon and ends in Rome on Sun 9/17/23 after breakfast. So my sister and I will arrive in Venice on 9/7 and have all day n the 8th to ourselves. Thank you all again for your responses!

Here's the next stage of the same tour:
When the RSE tour ends in Rome on 9/17 after breakfast we will hi speed train it to Naples. I've reserved an Air BNB and paid half down. We'll hang out in Naples, sight see, maybe take a day trip ferry over to Ischia or Capri. Then hi speed train it back to fly out of Rome at 12:05pm on 9/20/23.

Open to all suggestions.

Then hi speed train it back to fly out of Rome at 12:05pm on 9/20/23.

Hopefully this means you will train back to Rome on the 19th for your flight on the 20th.

If you mean taking the train on the 20th, you would likely need to get up at 5AM to get a 630 train to be to FCO by 9AM. Not the kind of high stress travel I would choose to do. Your trip, your choice.

Then hi speed train it back to fly out of Rome at 12:05pm on 9/20/23.

You need to be IN Rome the night before this flight.

ETA- you haven't indicated whether your flights can be changed. Many airlines have dropped change fees (United for sure but I suspect you are flying TAP?)

If you CAN change I would add a night at start and try to depart from Naples.

Please explain why we need to stay in Rome the nite before our flight the next day at noon? I’m not doubting your advice, just need to explain this change to my sister travel mate.

Please explain why we need to stay in Rome the nite before our flight the next day at noon? I’m not doubting your advice, just need to explain this change to my sister travel mate.

You need to be prepared for contingencies. It's cutting it too close to travel the same day you fly out. You need to be at the airport at least two hours before the flight, preferably three hours before. That means you need to be at the airport ~9:00 am. With breakfast, checkout and travel to the airport, if you stay in Rome your day should start at 6:30.

Please explain why we need to stay in Rome the nite before our flight the next day at noon? I’m not doubting your advice, just need to explain this change to my sister travel mate.

working backwards:

flight at noon.

check in at 9.

Roma Termini to FCO at rush hour Leonardo Express takes 32 minutes, every 15 minutes, allow 1 hour, 8am.

No idea how long a taxi at rush hour might take.

half an hour to find and board Leonardo Express 7:30

6:07 ItaloTreno gets in at 7:35.

At Naples Centrale before 6.

Does that work for you? What if there is any problem? It might work if everything goes like clockwork.

Too risky for me.

A trans-Atlantic flight is expensive.
Trains/buses can have delays.
I would not be able to sleep knowing every step in the morning had to be perfect or I might miss my flight.

Stay at an airport hotel the night before for reasons described above. Some people like to stay in Rome, but I don’t that last night. I hate the hassle of fighting rush hour traffic, possible accidents and possible strikes.

You definitely need to stay in Rome the night before your flight.
Strikes, traffic jams, train delays, power cut, alarm clock not going off, weather, etc. may cause you to miss your flight home if you try and get back from Naples the morning of your flight.
Italy is bigger than you think in terms of getting from place to place.

This will give you from the afternoon of the 17th until the late afternoon of the 19th in Naples.
Only one full day really.
Perhaps just spend it in Naples, as a trip to an island is a whole day affair.
There's so much to see in Naples itself!

To all those who answered my ‘splain it to me’. Thank you so much I’m checking out places to stay in Rome the night before our flight home.
Thank you again.

Have you considered just staying in Rome after the tour?
Tour only gives 3 nights or 2 full days, that’s very very short for Rome
So much more to see

You could easily fill those extra days in Rome or could add an easy day trip to Orvieto ( for example)

I agree with ChristineH-why not just stay in Rome after the tour? Easier planning for sure and gives you more time to be somewhere rather than spending it on hi-speed trains. That way, you can save Naples for your next trip!

Hi dhoppe,

If you decide to stay near the airport here is the spot my husband and I selected. We will be taking the train from Salerno the night before our flight, and they have a free shuttle to the airport. You reserve your spot on the shuttle when you check in. This is not fancy but it will do for one night. Have a wonderful trip!

Roma Fiumicino Aeroporto Fiera 1
B&B Hotel - Roma Fiumicino Aeroporto Fiera 1 - Via Giulio Romano, 79 - 00054 - Fiumicino - Italy
Phone: +39 06 65003457