To Do List ?'s & Misc. ??'s

How much time do you have before and after the tour?
Milan is near the Lakes, so you would fly into Milan but you can choose either place to stay.

I would like to get there 3 days early. If I stay in Milan, of course I will have to make hotel accommodations. Also, I will have to know what train to take to get to the hotel that is what I am a little nervous about. Others have said that Milan has much to see and do.
What do you think?

Welcome debmonaghan. An RS tour is a great choice for your first time in Europe. Yes, jet lag can be a problem so its good to arrive early. I would suggest going directly to Varenna (on Lake Como) rather than spending time in Milan. Milan is a big city, and can be intimidating if your just getting oriented. And your flight to Milan will likely arrive in the morning, before hotel check-in time, so you can't relax and you'd have to deal with your luggage. There will be instructions with your tour documents, but basically, you can take a train or bus from the airport (Milan Malpensa) about an hour to the main train station in Milan Centrale. Make sure you wait to get off at Milano Centrale as it may stop at other stations in Milan. There, you can buy a ticket to Varrena-Esino, about an hour. Read the info on this carefully in the RS guidebook. Don't be afraid to ask other people for help as its a busy train station. Don't worry so much about thieves, just follow the RS advice about protecting your valuables with a money belt and be wary of folks offering to help.

If it were me, I'd consider staying a couple of extra days at the end to do your extra stuff. While there is free time on most days, its a pretty busy itinerary and you might need more time for laundry, relaxing, souvenir shopping or seeing more things right where you are. You might find some other people on the tour who are interested in the same things after the tour I cant speak to what help the guides are willing to provide. Generally they've been good with recommendations but not doing extra work. Hotel front desk folks might be more able to help.

You might ask for help thru the RS tour dept
Were you hoping to do these additional activities during the actual tour or are you extending your time afterwards?

As far as keeping track of your luggage, it’s not difficult just be aware at all times and wear a money belt- that goes for any travel anywhere.
Lake Como (proper spelling is important when you are looking up trains etc) is a short train ride from Milano Centrale, staying in Milan on arrival then heading to tour first stop OR going to Como first is up to you, either works.
In your case hiring a driver to take you from Malpensa to Varenna might be money well spent=peace of mind

If you don’t already have RS Italy guide book , do get that- full of all the info you’ll need

. . . and don't be confused by the names. The tour starts in Varenna, a small town on Lake Como, but there is also a town named Como on Lake Como, so you dont ask for tickets to Como or you'll be in the wrong place.

Hi Deb, our first time in Italy was taking this RS tour, and it’s our favorite! There are so many wonderful destinations on this tour!

When we arrived at Malpensa, Milan’s airport, we took the train from the airport to Milano Centrale and then switched to a train to Verona for three days. We loved our time in Verona, and it’s a tourist-friendly city meaning it’s a great place to get over jet lag and people are used to having American tourists. Then we took the train back to Milano Centrale and switched to the train to Varenna on Lake Como.

Your tour will end in Rome. On a different independent trip, we took a cooking class in Rome with Chef Andrea - excellent class! His class is CookingClassesinRome.

You will have a wine tour at a vineyard in the Tuscany/Umbria portion of your trip.

I’ve only had cheese tours in Switzerland and in Parma, Italy. Your tour won’t be going through Parma, so I can’t help you with that one.

Regarding the trains, they are really an easy way to travel in Europe! We have always taken the trains, and I’ve done solo trips in Europe just using trains.

You won’t want to buy your train ticket ahead of time because you won’t know exactly what time you will exit through the airport. To make it less intimidating, have a piece of paper with this written on it to hand to the train cashier at the station:
Da: “Malpensa Aeroporto” A: “Verona”. ( fill in your destination)
“1 Passeggeri”, “Andata”

The Italian website for trains is www.Trenitalia.com . You could also use www.Rome2rio.com to just get familiar with options such as a bus, train, or walking amount of time between any two locations. But check Trenitalia for the final actual train times.

If you decide to stay in Milan on your pre-tour days you can easily take a train to Parma for a cheese factory tour. If you're not planning post-tour days in Rome, you could take a cooking class in Milan, there are several.

So, in your place I would stay in Milan for those first days, take a cooking class and on one of the days take a cheese factory tour in Parma, then train to Varenna to meet the tour.

In the RS Guide, Rick recommends a cooking class in Varenna. The chef comes down into Varenna to pick up the participants in his van. His restaurant is high up in the hills with a great view outside. It takes a large part of the day, and is great fun. We were lucky, as the day ended up being stormy and rainy, and we were safe inside!
Safe travels!

If you don't have the RS guidebooks, Europe Through the Back Door or on Italy yet, you can find lots of useful information for this first trip to Europe and for Italy right here in the Rick Steves website. I must say, visiting Italy is a great way to start your European adventures.

To learn about traveling in Europe go to Travel Tips. There you will find sections on Trip Planning, Transportation, Packing Light, Money, Phones & Technology, Theft & Scams, Sleeping
& Eating, Health & Hygiene and Sightseeing & Activities.

As for the trains, you can learn a lot about them from the Man in Seat 61's specific information on Italy.

You will have a steep learning curve, but you have lots of time to go up it and come down the other side. You already have an advantage because you have some awareness of what you don't know. Click on the links to get started.

As for Milan vs. Lake Como, either option is great. I've walked around the top of the cathedral in Milan and taken the ferry from Varenna around Lake Como twice. You can't go wrong with either.

Agree with Stan about going straight to Lake Como. It's a wounderful place to recover from jet lag, get introduced Italy, and become familar with the train system. The train system is really not that hard, and the experience will stand you in good stead if you wish to do short days trips on your own before of after the tour.

All,

Thank you for responding to my email. You have given me lots and lots of good tips and insight. I do have the RS book and will read thru it. Also, I will check with RS regarding "things I would like to do".

I do want to mention that in my original email I made a mistake in the spelling it is Lake Como. I sent this email on my break and did not have time to check it for errors. I try to get things done in a short amount of time on my breaks.

Again, thank you for understanding.