Suggestions for post-tour days

Do you mean that you're departing Thursday but you have not purchased an airplane ticket to fly back to the US and so you can fly home from anywhere at all?

If so, what city are you flying home to? Maybe it would be fun to choose a city that has a nonstop for you and you can spend a few days there. For example, I use Seatac and have no nonstop options for Italy. So sometimes I stop in Paris for a few days, since I can use Paris as my nonstop flight from the US.

You have plenty of Italy-based options - heading down south towards the Amalfi Coast etc. but it would help to know your actual flight needs.

Stay in Rome is my sugestion. There is so much to do and see. Start looking through your RS Rome guidebook and you will quickly find many other sights of interest in and very close to Rome. More than enough to fill your 4 days. Your tour guide will have shown you and the rest of the tour members the basics of Rome and how to use the public transportation system. After that you are set to explore Rome at an easy pace. I have been to Rome 8 times and still have many new sights to see. (Remember Rick's saying....you will return.)

Since this is your first trip to Europe, I would recommend heading to another country when you've finished your RS trip. Are there any other cities that you have wanted to visit?

Paris (could pair this with a 1-Day trip to Normandy Beach, if interested)
Vienna (could pair this with Salzburg if you don't want to be at just one location) Fly into Salzburg for two days; take 2 1/2 train to Vienna.

Southern France or Spain

I would check out where you could go for a minimum of hassle - good train connections or flights.

I second the suggestion to stay in Rome. You can spend more time visiting the sites and even take a day trip to Ostia Antica or Pompeii. There is also the region of Umbria just north of Rome, it's a really lovely area with lots of hill towns (pretty similar to Tuscany).

I would stay in Italy, perhaps an extra night in Roma, then perhaps a couple of nights in a smaller town - Orvieto, for example.

Valerie--Yes, you are correct. We have not booked our flight tickets home. I never thought about leaving Italy for our last four days. There are no direct flights to our city from Italy, so flying out of another country is something to consider. A little mind blowing, since I am about to burst just thinking about getting to go to Italy, let alone adding in another country.

Prior to posting the question, I was leaning towards staying in Rome with maybe a day trip to Orvieto. I was kind of feeling like I was wasting an opportunity to see another part of Italy, but I think I need to remember the comment about knowing I will be back and not try to cram too much in.

Thanks to all for the feedback.

So what's the US airport you fly to?

Columbus, OH

Stay in Roma, there are no no-stops to Columbus from anywhere in Europe.

Hi gaclic1997. I second Jean's idea. Since you will have gotten a good taste of Italy on your tour, why not experience another country / culture of Europe for very little cost? For instance, you can fly on EasyJet from Rome to Paris for about $100 each including paying for luggage. You could have three full days in Paris (or Amsterdam, or London, or ..?) before you fly home on Thursday. Enjoy your trip!

gacllc,
I tend to agree with Zoe and add a few thoughts of my own. We did the VFR Tour last spring. After the hectic pace of the tour think about spending at least a couple of your days in unwind mode.

Take the train to Orvieto and spend 2 nights there and return to Rome for 2 nights. Fly out of Rome..

Or.....Take the train to Assisi and spend 2 nights there and 2 nights in Rome to wrap up the vacation. Fly out of Rome.

We chose 2 nights in Assisi. Fantastic place.
Enjoy the tour.
Gene

Ummm...details matter.

I was unfamiliar with the "VFR" nomenclature - I guess that's Venice/Florence/Rome. Got it. Your tour starts in Venice, I think, and ends in Rome - that's important.

AFAIK there are no non-stops from Columbus to anywhere in Europe, so you will be making a connection somewhere in the US before crossing the Atlantic. You could get a non-stop to Venice from a few US hubs (Atlanta, New York, maybe Philadelphia), but you may find prices are higher for those flights. You'll need to explore those options and weigh them against adding a connection in Europe on your in-bound flight - a connection would give you a chance to see someplace else (as suggested above) but also complicates things (potential long-layovers and/or missed connections). Note that would be on your flight to Europe, not going home. Your tour ends in Rome (I think), where you can get a non-stop flight back to the US (with one connection in the US) but adding another connection in Europe may get you a cheaper flight. Multiple things to weigh.

Trip is in October. Early or late October might matter. By late October, some places in Northern Europe are going to have some weather considerations. Not prohibitive, but probably at least somewhat cooler, wetter and darker (earlier) than what you'll get in Italy.

Your tour looks very short to me (too short, actually) - and only includes the "big three" in northern Italy. Of course, there's lots more of Italy to see. You did mention "our last four days" - which implies a fixed return date - is that really a fixed date? I understand that everyone has constraints, but to me it's not wise to fly half-way around the world and just be there for a short time (unless you can get away with doing that often - most of us can't). So a trip to Italy (or anywhere in Europe) that's just 10 days (or in your case, maybe 14 days) seems too short to me. I guarantee that after 14 days in Italy you will wish you had a few more days there. If you can add another few days (either at the start or end) then I'd recommend doing so.

That said, assuming you are looking for a way to spend your extra (post-trip) "four days), if it were me, I'd consider adding a side-trip to the Amalfi coast: Take the train from Rome to Naples, switch to the Circumvesuviano (commuter train, looks scary with graffiti but is perfectly safe), base yourself in Sorrento, do day trips to Pompei, Capri, and the Amalfi Coast. It should still be fairly warm and sunny down there, and there are few places in the world as scenic and charming (nothing anywhere like the road along the Amalfi Coast). And by October, the worst of the crowds will have dissipated. That would be a wonderful addition to your trip to the big 3 cities in the north. Plenty of other great places to tack-on, too, though.

Hope some of the above is useful. Good luck!

Thanks for the great feedback; I really appreciate it. I have given it some thought, and although adding in a second country sounds amazing, it is overwhelming to me as a first-timer to Europe.

I definitely agree that more time would be better and would love to be able to do that; unfortunately I don't have that option with my job. Looking forward to doing that in a couple years when we retire. :-)

I think we are going to go with the stay-in-Rome option with two days in Orvieto or Assisi.

Grazie!

And Zoe, thank you for the Columbus airport info. That is very helpful to know for now and the future.

You are welcome. There is a non-stop from Roma FCO to Detroit DTW (Delta), but it's not scheduled every day. Sometimes I find it for my dates, but not every trip.