Rick Steves 17 day tour of Italy

Hi Kathryn, you will love this tour! We took it in 2006, and I have been back 7 times to Italy - wonderful!

Once you are with the tour, you do not have any transportation costs until you finish the last morning. So you will pay for your trains from Malpensa, Milan’s airport, to Varenna at Lake Como. It’s a train from Malpensa to Milano Centrale station, and a transfer connection up to Varenna.

At the end of the tour, you will need to pay for a taxi to the airport in Rome. Sometimes there’s someone else from the tour leaving about the same time, and you can share a taxi.

Otherwise, some of the options during the tour include taking a gondola ride as a group. It’s a fun experience and costs about $100 per gondola (you split the cost between the 5 people).

Looking through the itinerary again. We paid to take a ferry from Varenna over to Bellagio to explore it (Lake Como). I did take a boat ride between the Cinque Terre villages, so I paid to ride it. My husband was hiking between the villages, and we just met up at one of the last ones and had lunch together. Otherwise, almost everything is walking distance, or they provide the metro ticket, etc.

Italian breakfasts provided at hotels are usually a lot more than an espresso & a pastry. Expect some nice deli type meats & cheeses and fresh fruit. Some will also have yogurt and hard-boiled eggs. Orange or apple juice is sometimes offered, also. It’s all buffet style, and you are given a small plate to select your own.

The food in Italy is wonderful! Lots to enjoy! You will have half of your lunches and dinners on your own cost. There are a lot of restaurants with outdoor tables, so you can walk by and check out what looks good to you. I like to have something small early afternoon, or sometimes I skip it and just have a gelato since I had a nice breakfast. Dinner is served at 7pm and usually much later.

I also bring about six individual packs of nuts. If I’m getting over jet lag, or I am having too much fun and don’t want to stop for lunch, the handful of nuts has enough protein to keep me going until the next meal. I usually have the last pack on the plane on the way home.

Perhaps you aren't aware of the What's Included part of the tour page?
https://www.ricksteves.com/tours/italy/best-italy

I haven't taken that Italian tour, but have taken 2 others. The hotel breakfasts generally weren't as varied as other countries, and if there were eggs they were usually of the do-it-yourself soft boiled variety. Yogurt and cheese were generally available.

I just did Best of Italy in October. Here is a link to my Trip Report.

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/best-of-italy-sept-30-october-16-2022

In answer to your questions:

• Transportation was provided for. In Varenna we were given a pass for the ferry that goes to the different towns on Lake Como. In Castelrotto our bus was able to take is up to Compatsch for hiking. This access is restricted during busy months but I think the tour guide takes you up there and pays for transport if needed. In Venice our guide arranged for private water taxis from the bus parking lot to the dock near the hotel and back. If you wanted to go out to the islands you’d have to buy a vaporetto pass. In Rome we were given Metro tickets. Transport to the airport is on you but the guide will group people who are leaving at the same time and arrange taxis or vans which you then pay for.

• yes, every site listed on the itinerary has the entry covered. I did extra museums in Venice and Rome that I paid for on my own.

• Most of the hotels had bigger breakfasts. Food was fine. There was some tour member discussion that there was never a choice given on main dishes.

• I arrived several days ahead into Milan and 2 days ahead to Varenna. I stayed an extra day in Rome to visit 2 sites that were important to me, the Domus Aurea and the Borghese Gallery.

• This was RS tour #12. I felt I needed data for my phone to help navigate Milan, Verona, Venice, Siena and Rome in my free time. I used CityMapper app except for Verona where it was not available so used googlemaps. I also recommend you add hills and/ or steps in to your fitness routine. Siena is very hilly! Read your RS guidebook and plan for your free time. I also recommend a powerbank for your phone. I started running out if juice in Venice so I quick screenshot the route back to the hotel in case it totally pooped out, lol.

• Don’t expect WIFI on the bus. Some could get on, some could not.

• I always take a waterproof rain layer with a hood.

• Plan to take in a small personal item with just the basics for 2 nights to Venice and leave your suitcase on the bus. It’s a pain to get it on and off a crowded vaporetto and there may be bridges between the dock and your hotel. The bridges are steps not ramps.

Have fun!!

Thanks all for the comments. Yes, I’m aware of what is included, but like to hear about the extras like paying to get to Venice Islands, boat off fCinque Terra…I’ve taken a tour before and they did help group people going to the airport. Nice to know this will likely happen again. I thought the ferry at Lake Como was included. Surprised that someone paid for this. Maybe you went early before the tour.

How was the Hotel in Lake Como- Hotel Royale? I will arrive a day early and I’m debating on a stay extending Hotel Royale a day VS a room in Como since the ferry ride there is an hour. Thoughts?

I appreciate the idea of bringing nuts! Excellent! I do this hiking and why not on this tour. (How about finding toilets? Any helpful advice?) Leaving the luggage in the bus and taking something small to the hotel in Venice. Of course! Thanks!

Already climbing five flights of stairs at work for practice… Looking forward to sienna.

yes, I’d like to see certain galleries in Rome and other areas -( personally I’d rather skip the Colosseum and see art instead) Good reminder.
Are there specific art gallery districts in any of these areas - more contemporary art…? Hoping to see some of the glasswork in Venice. I’m familiar with glassblowing so maybe not a visit to Murano. Interesting, funky unique shops are a must. Heard about an old apothecary in Florence…

Pam, what do you mean that there was never a choice with dinner? I will need to watch this because I reported about certain food intolerances. Too much of something like tomatoes will mean trouble the next day…. I’ll double check what I wrote, thank you.

Not sure anyone is still reading… Did you find that you needed your phone or could avoid using it? Did the tour send texts, walking tours, etc, that required a phone?

Debating on different scenarios :

*setting my phone to airplane mode and only using it for photos depending on wifi if any is even available!

*Using no phone whatsoever and a separate camera.

*Getting ATT $10 daily for International daily plan. Maybe shutting it off/airplane mode on days not used to save $ if this is an option.

Thoughts?