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RS Tour Venice, Florence, Rome in 10 Days

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Hello,
Has anyone taken a recent RS Tour to Venice, Florence, Rome in 10days trip? I’ve started to fill in the “designated free” time with sites not covered on the tour along with an afternoon trip to Pisa while in Florence.
I have a few questions for those who have taken a recent tour:

Venice – Will we be given a Vaporetto 48/72 hr pass or is that something I need to purchase on my own? That will help me gauge what I need to purchase when I get to Venice prior to the tour starting. The tour includes a boat trip to the Lagoon, is that a one-time round trip boat ticket given to us? How about a trip to the Lido? Is this something I should try to fit in? Has anyone seen an opera at the Teatro La Fenice? How about a recommended a site to buy advance tickets for Doge’s Palace which I believe isn’t covered on the tour.

Florence – Will we be given a Firenze Card/Pass for access to the museums we will cover on the tour? Anyone take a bus or train in the afternoon to Pisa? I’ve already looked at the train schedule so it appears doable.

Rome – Will we be given a Roma Pass? Or a combo ticket for the Colosseum, Forum? Do the passes/tickets for St. Peter's and the Vatican Museum cover anything else and is it only good for one entry or all day?

My first RS Tour was Paris in 7days last summer and I had family members who took the tour previously so I was equipped with the information of what was “included” such as the metro/buss pass and the museum pass so it made planning to see museums not covered on the tour and a side trip to Disney Paris that much more easier.
Thanks!

Posted by
1054 posts

Venice - your first 2 questions you may want to ask the Rick Steves staff. They'll be able to answer those. For the Doge's Palace -http://palazzoducale.visitmuve.it/en/pianifica-la-tua-visita/tickets/

Florence - Same thing about the card, ask the RS staff. The train would be your best bet. Since you are day tripping and won't have your luggage to store don't get off at Pisa Centrale. You can use the Pisa Rossore stop which is closer to the Leaning Tower. You can see on google maps where both stations are. Use that stop when searching on TrenItalia. Most trains that stop at Centrale also stop at Rossore.

Rome - same thing ask the RS staff.

Posted by
16899 posts

No passes are included on this tour. Your guide will have reserved group tickets for the included museum entries and they don't cover anything else. With those items already paid for, the Firenze Card and Roma Pass won't be good deals for you (and they aren't in a lot of other cases, too). Do reserve ahead for Rome's Borghese Gallery, if you want to see it, because they require reservations and limit the number of visitors. Most other museums in these cities don't have long ticket lines or reservation requirements, so you can pay as you go. I have seen long ticket lines at Florence's Palazzo Vecchio.

In Venice, the lagoon excursion is by private boat and your guide will also handle the transport for when the group leaves town. If you think you'll do several vaporetto rides on your own, then you would buy that pass separately upon arrival, and the same if you wanted to see several museums in Venice. The cheapest combo ticket covers just the Doges' Palace and Correr Museum, but they offer many other permutations. We don't consider the Lido a priority for your first visit and I still haven't been after many visits.

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