RS 17 Day Best of Italy Tour WiFi on Bus and at Hotel

I've taken eight tours and have never had Wi-Fi on any of the buses, including the tour last fall. I'm not sure that would be desirable on a tour bus, as it would be a "distraction" when the guide is trying to provide information on destinations, rest stops, when the group has to be back at the bus or whatever. Some of that information is crucial, and if tour members are not paying attention it could disrupt the tour.

If the firms such as Heidebloem and others that provide the Buses for RS tours decide to add Wi-Fi to their fleet, there will be a cost for. Guess who's going to be ultimately paying for that (and I doubt it will be RS tours).

The hotels are a different story. Every hotel that I've stayed at both on tours and on my own over the last few years has had Wi-Fi. In many cases this is included with the cost of the room, but a few hotels still charge for it. Ironically the smaller, basic hotels provide it for no cost while the more pricey hotels charge for it - go figure! In most cases in Italy, you'll have to get a Password from the front desk to get access to Wi-Fi. In some cases this is changed daily.

Yes, the Wi-Fi is able to send and receive E-mails, browse the web or whatever.

My experience echoes Ken's. I've done 5 RS tours including Heart of Italy and Village Italy and there was no WIFI on the bus. All hotels had free wifi altho in some places (I'm thinking specifically of the Best of Europe and Ireland tours) wifi did not reach all the rooms so you could only get service in the lobby area of the hotel. I also recall 2 hotels in Italy that limited the amount of free wifi time.

Half a dozen RS tours and no WIFI at all. Truth be told I think that's great -- I'm on vacation from "The World" including the wired one.

The 17-day Best of Italy tour dates are divided between two bus companies, one which has Wi-Fi onboard and one which does not. I rode with Altarini last year, the one that has Wi-Fi, and found the service adequate for email, but it also could get cut off going through tunnels and such, so I could not always pull it up right at the moment I wanted to. FYI, tour members are asked not to make phone calls or Skype calls onboard the bus. Most hotels will have free Wi-Fi, but occasionally paid.

Thank you Laura for your response. Did you go on the Best of Italy tour? If so, how did you like it? My wife and I are booked of the tour for Sept 11. We can hardly wait.

Of course liked it. Laura is staff member.