If anyone has taken this particular hotel, I'd like to know:
1) The hotels...did they all have private bathrooms or did you have to share?
2)Are the times on the bus accurate or were they longer or shorter?
3) How early did you start on most days?
Thanks.
Frannie, I would suggest that you contact the RS tour office with your question. They can tell you the specifics for this tour.
Of the 3 RS tours that I have taken in the past 5 years, all rooms have had ensuite bathrooms. The hours on the bus have been reasonaby accurate. The time that we left each day varied but was typically shortly after breakfast (anywhere from around 8am to 9:30am).
Frannie, I have not taken the 17 day Italy tour (I'm doing Venice/Florence/Rome in June though!) but I have been on 3 other RS tours. All had rooms with private baths. I have to say that all the hotels were than expected.
I meant to say "better than expected!".
Frannie,
My experience is similar to what Angela described. I haven't taken the Italy 17-day tour, but have taken three other RS tours (and have another one booked for this year).
To answer your questions....
1) RS Tours have been using more "upscale" Hotels over the past few years, so the possibility of a "shared bathroom" is quite remote (but it could happen in rare circumstances).
2) The Bus times have been fairly accurate in my experience. There are scheduled stops at fairly frequent intervals, both to allow the passengers to get some refreshments or use the WC, but probably more importantly to allow the Drivers to have their mandatory break. European regulations with Drivers are VERY STRICT, and the Buses have automated Meters installed. Drivers who operate longer than the allowed period can expect STRICT fines!
3) So far I've found the RS tours have been somewhat "relaxed" with their starting times. Most times breakfast is from 7:00 - 8:30 or so and the Bus departs at about 9:00. HOWEVER, that depends on the tour and the Itinerary at that time, so it's a good idea to allow for some variation in that.
As someone else suggested, contact the RS tour department as they'll be able to provide the best information.
The Italy 17-day tour is one of the most popular. Have fun!!!
I did this tour in 2006. No shared bathrooms, but we had a small tour group (22) and I don't think we were pushing the limits in any of the hotels we stayed in. It's possible you'll have to share, but it's most likely in the smaller towns, if it occurs at all. You'll get a hotel list a month before you leave, you can guess from their website how likely you'll have to share before you leave.
As prior posters said, the total bus times are all pretty accurate, but they're not done all at once. There are stops at least every 2 to 2.5 hours for restroom breaks. Sometimes you stop in a town and have a 2-3 hour break before re-boarding and heading to your final destination. If you hit traffic (read: Rome), it will be longer and there's nothing you can do about it.
The early days depended on where you were and what you were doing. I had a couple of days where the first "shift" of breakfast was at 7:30 a.m. (bfast room was too small to accommodate the entire group, so we volunteered for early/late breakfast). Most days it was 8:00 a.m. or so for breakfast.
You can read unbiased tour reviews on this site - click "Tours" above and look for "tour member feedback." It was by far one of the best trips I have ever taken.
