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Heart of Italy plus

I am planning to do the Heart of Italy 9 day tour. I would like to see Lake Como and Venice as well.
Could you please suggest how to add on Venice and Lake Como after finishing in Florence?

Posted by
32171 posts

nm,

That's very easily done! At the conclusion of the tour, take the high speed train to Venice (about 2 hours). After touring Venice, take the high speed train to Milan (about 2.5 hours) and then transfer to the local train to Varenna (about 1 hour - DON'T forget to validate your ticket prior to boarding on the day of travel). It sounds like a lot, but it's actually very easy.

Using open-jaw flights would be the most efficient method. Book your inbound flight to Rome / FCO and your outbound flight from Milan / MXP. I'd also suggest arriving a couple of days prior to the start of the tour, as that will compensate for any unexpected delays and also allow some time to get over jet lag. You will of course have to pay for the pre-tour hotel nights on your own.

Posted by
7175 posts

Good job Ken. You forgot to offer your services as a post tour guide (expenses paid of course).

Posted by
2 posts

Many thanks for your reply. Sounds like a good plan. Everyone says train travel is easy. I hope it will be less daunting after doing the tour.

Posted by
11613 posts

During your tour you will have plenty of opportunities to talk to your guide and fellow tourists about your post-tour plans.

RoninRome.com and seat61.com have lots of info on how to use trains.

Posted by
7175 posts

The automatic ticket machines for the trains in Italy are perhaps the most user friendly I have ever come across.