RS 10 day italy tour

I have just returned from RS Heart of Italy, which includes Florence and Rome, but not Venice. I flew into Venice and home from Rome like you propose - as a multi city or "open jaw" itinerary. The tour stayed in the Hotel California in Florence, about midway between the Duomo and the Accademia. Great hotel, great location. In Rome the tour stayed in Casa San Guiseppe in the Trastevere area. Hotel was ok, neighbourhood was cool, but I thought the location was a bit out of the way for the Rome itinerary. I booked a hotel on my own for Venice - Hotel Tivoli near the San Toma vaporetto stop. It was clean, quiet and well located. Price was right at 45 Euros for a single, included an abundant breakfast. I had only 24 hours in Venice, on my own, suffering from jet lag and a torrential downpour. I just wandered and enjoyed getting lost. San Marco square was deserted because of the rain, walked right into the Basillica. Enjoy your trip, the RS Tour was GREAT! PM me if you have further tour related questions.

You want to book what is commonly called, open jaw ticket. You do it by using the multi-city option on travel sites. Sometimes open jaw can be cheaper. Two years ago it was $200 cheaper to fly to Rome and home from Zurich than a RT to Rome. I recently priced some tickets for friends who didn't understand how to do open jaw. In this case it was London and Paris. The open jaw ticket was actually $10 cheaper that RT to London.

We were in the Hotel Sonya in Rome last month when a RS tour was ending and another starting at that hotel. Everyone we spoke with were very sad that the tour was ending. I understand he uses several hotels in Rome so your group might not stay at the Sonya.

You might also consider flying into Milan a couple of days early, do your jet lag adjustment on your time, and then taking the train to Venice. The saving of flying into Milan might off set the price of the train ticket.

I took the RS venice tour when it was a 6-day one. We stayed at the Belle Arti hotel in Dorsodoro area. It was nice. Good location. The pub crawl was very enjoyable. All of Venice is a breathtaking sight. I particularly liked the tour of the interior of the Doge's palace, interior of St. Marks, hanging in St. Mark's square in evening listening to the bands playing, beautiful shops, nightime gondola ride with singing gondoliers (yes, sort of corny but still unbelievable), and just walking around the city. It's kind of a pity that RS no longer has 6-day Venice tour -- would take it again!

As others have said, the tours move around. I did the Rome city tour and the Florence city tour, and we stayed in Hotel Alimandi near the Vatican for the first, and Hotel Torre Guelfa near the Ponte Vecchio for the second. I thought Alimandi was great, was less impressed with the Florence hotel, although it was fine. So there are 2 more possible options.

Ann, my husband and I went on this tour in May and absolutely loved it. We booked through Orbitz using the multi-city option. We went from Boston to Venice then from Rome to Boston.
We stayed at Hotel Mercurio in Venice, Hotel Torre Guelfa in Florence, and Hotel Sonya in Rome. They were all comfortable with pleasant staff, and the view from the top of Hotel Torre Guelfa was incredible.
We didn't do a pub crawl in Venice; instead we walked around a lot just to take in the city, stopping for gelato or other treats as often as possible.
I strongly recommend signing up for this tour. The whole trip really was wonderful:the sights, the food, our tour guide. I can't say enough positive things. I hope this helped!

ann,

The Hotels used by RS tours tend to vary a bit from tour to another, probably due to "availability". The Hotels used by one 10-day Italy tour may or may not be the same as the previous tour(s). In my experience, I've found that the Hotels are usually not finalized until a month or two prior to the tour. I'd suggest sending a note to the RS tour department, as they would be able to provide more specific information.

"What sights did you see in Venice on your own that you enjoyed".

I enjoyed all the sights in Venice, both the somewhat famous sights (Doge's Palace) and the less spectacular sights (Harry's American Bar where the Bellini was invented - those are really good BTW, but the cost was about €15 each). To find sights that might appeal to your interests, you might check your local Library for a copy of the RS Italy Guidebook. I wouldn't bother buying the book, as you'll be receiving a copy with your tour package. The various sights in Venice are well described, so that would give you a good idea of what's available.

Cheers!