From Marco Polo Airport to Padua

Since you are taking Rick's tour, call his fantastic support staff.

Ann When you get your final information from RS Tours (about 2 months before your tour) it will have instructions on how to make that trip. Or it might also come with the first and last hotel information sheet. At least that is how it has worked in the past for me. By the way the Village Italy tour is a great tour. We did this tour in 2005. We took a bus from Marco Polo to the Mesta train station. Then bought a train ticket to Padua and took a taxi to the hotel. We had run into another couple on the same tour so we shared the taxi. Taxi is the easiest because of jet lag. Was not in the mood to figure out the bus system. Here is a thought on your flights. I think it is easier to make your connection in the US. And if possible find a direct non-stop flight from US to Venice. It gets you into Venice earlier. It works for me from the Midwest. However I don't have any other choice as there are no non stop options to Europe from K.C.. Just a thought and an opinion and maybe something to consider. Also if you are departing from Milan right after the tour look for a direct flight to somewhere in the US. These flights will depart around mid day. If you make a connection in Europe and then back to the US your flight from Milan will depart very early making your departure from the Hotel very early (4 AM?) It is already going to be a long travel day. Getting a good night's sleep is a nice way to start a long day. IMO. Robert

We will be taking the same tour in Sept. We will be departing from Seattle also. I am now focussing in on flights to get us to the continent (Frank, Cope, Paris, or whatever) so that our connecting flight is shorter and, hopefully, cheaper. PM me if you want more info.

Ann, the bus is easy to find and worked fine for me (and I don't do well on buses, and had also just flown in from the west coast--without sleep). I was able to buy the bus ticket right after exiting the baggage/security area. I went to the wrong desk first, and they were very helpful in getting me to the right place. My plane arrived around 6:30 pm and seem to recall getting to my hotel in Padua before 9.

Thank you all for your replies. I really appreciate and value your input. We don't travel to Europe frequently and it's helpful to hear fellow travelers' experiences. I'll continue to look into getting optimal flight connections from Seattle and the tour information when it arrives. Thanks everybody. Ann