Train travel before and after RS Tour

Did you price the multicity ticket option of flying into Venice and out of Rome? Not to be confused with 2 one way tickets. The difference between multicity and return is usually minimal.

I believe the Village Italy tour starts in Padua. Since I do not see any direct flights from Denver to Rome, might as well make it a multicity trip. You could do into Venice and out Milan, or if you do want to Rome, you could fly into Venice and out of Rome. You end in Orte-Miasino and it is a few train connections to get you to Rome.

Cheapest r/t to Rome I see is Icelandair and Aer Lingus for a bit more than $1000. For $1100, you could get an afternoon and evening in Dublin before connecting to Venice in the following morning on Aer Lingus.

Ciao Jean! Your idea sounds perfect to me. I'm going on the Village Italy tour September 2-15. As much as I prefer an open jaw ticket, I saved $500 flying roundtrip Phoenix/Rome, Rome/Phoenix. As soon as I land in Rome, I'm taking ItaloTreno to Venice. I'm spending five nights in Venice pre-tour. Then taking an early train to Padua the day the tour starts. Afterwards, I'm going to Florence for four nights then back to Rome for five nights, taking ItaloTreno to both. I've been told that the tour guide will help coordinate shared taxis to airports and train stations after the tour.

I don't speak Italian either beyond my 15 polite words, but anticipate no problems. Flights and hotels are already booked. My independent travel and tour free time itineraries are almost complete. I'm just impatiently waiting to book timed entries, then pack and travel.

If you'll be in Venice on September 1, be sure to watch the Historic Regatta.
Buon Viaggio!

I think you could easily do this but I'd only do it if you wanted to spend extra time places and not because you thought it would save you money.

You may have an extra night in Rome on the way in and then at least one on the way outbound.

Going from Orta San Giulio to Milan to Rome is going to be a long day. I'd probably want 2 nights in Rome at the end to make sure I had flex time in case of any transportation strikes or delays or more if you want to see Rome.

I'd suggest you price the open jaw tickets in to Venice and out of Milan or if you don't particularly want to spend time in Rome, look at in/out of Milan.

I've done this tour and I thought Padua was worth an extra night and also recommend 1 or 2 nights in Milan at the end. I spend an extra night in Orta San Giulio and would not recommend that. We'd done everything we wanted to do there by noon and could easily have gotten to Milan on the day the tour ends.

Sure, it's a good idea if it saves money. But be sure you consider the complete cost.

If you fly into Rome you'll probably want to purchase walk-up tickets to Venice because there is uncertainty in when the plane lands and going thru passport control, then catching the Leonardo train to Roma Termini where you'll get a train to Venice. You could purchase train tix in advance and pad them by a few hours, but I'd rather spend a little more and take the next train than sit in the Roma Termini station for a few hours (and not a lot of seating to be had, actually).

On the return you'll want to be in Rome the nite before your flight unless it's a late afternoon flight. If I had a noon flight, for example, it would be risky to count on a train getting me to the airport by 9am. So add on a nite stay in Rome to the cost, although it can be argued that a nite in Rome is well worth it.

I'll just add that I enjoy the Milan airport (Malpensa) much more than Rome's.

John has a good point - Be sure that you’re actually saving a “considerable” amount of money. By the time you add in train fares and extra hotel nights, it may not be worth it. Also, do you really want to add a train journey right away after arriving from a long international flight?

I took the Village Italy tour last year. Wonderful tour! I flew into Venice and spent a couple nights there and an extra night in Padua. I flew home from Milan and enjoyed a couple days there. The RS guide helped organize transport from Lake Orta to Milan’s airport and train stations.

Of course, if you want to spend some time in Rome anyway, then your plan to take a train to or from the other cities is fine. Maybe look at multi-city airfares such as into Venice, out of Rome, or into Rome and out of Milan. (Use multi-city, NOT two one ways).

Don’t worry about not knowing Italian. Lots of people will try to be helpful even if their English is limited. Younger people have almost always studied English. And Google Translate is your friend!

First question, do you want to go to Rome, see it and stay there? Or is that route just driven by the price of flights? If you haven’t been to Italy, yet, my recommendation is to ease into Rome by going to other places in Italy, first. So, I would place it at the end of your trip.

Venice is the easiest airport to fly into for your B&B and then to take the train to Padova. For train tickets, download the Trenitalia app - very easy to use. Use Italian names for cities and train stations. Venice is Venezia S. Lucia. Padua is Padova. It’s a 30-minute train ride. (And Rome is Roma, Florence is Firenze, Milan is Milano.)

Add to your cost consideration two train tickets at day-of-travel from Roma Termini to Venezia S. Lucia. I see over €100 each for the 4-hour option. You don’t want to consider the 8-hour option - ugh! Also, think about what that extra half day in Venice you gain (flying into Venice) is worth to you.

We are taking the Village Italy tour in May. We plan to fly into Venice and out of Milan. We have been to Italy before but want to spend four nights in Venice and two in Padova before the tour starts. One of the days in Padua will be a cooking class. We planned the time before the tour because we think by the time the tour is over we might be tired. We were in Italy five years ago and did a lot of driving but this time are going to let someone else do the driving. If you have not been to Rome I would definitely spend some time there but not to save money on airfare. Don't worry at all about not speaking Italian.

Thanks to everyone for your responses! We were pricing multi-city tickets, and we were planning to spend at least one night in Rome at each end of our trip. But after considering your comments, we will probably fly into Venice and out of Milan. We have visited Rome in the past and it isn't our favorite city by any means.
Horsewoofie, our tour is just one week later than yours and you are much further along in your planning than we are. We'd better get on it!