Venice, Florence, Italy tour

Eugenia, it would help to know if you're interested in visiting other cities in Italy, or other parts in Europe?

If you wish to stay in Italy, I would suggest the Lake Como area. Lots to see and do. Base yourself on the lovely lake and travel around via ferry.

We are taking the RS Venice, Florence, Rome tour, then probably will extend our stay in Rome 2 days. We would like to travel the next 4 days in Italy on our own; thinking about CT, Tuscany, open to ideas.

Eugenia, Which airport do you depart from to home? If leaving from Rome, the Amalfi Coast, using Sorrento as a base would be one great idea. Pompeii, Capri, Positano, Amalfi and the Archeological Museum in Naples are all very worthwhile. Recommend a minimum of 3-4 nights. Very relaxed with breathtaking scenery and lots to do. It really depends on what your interests are. You will have viewed a lot of fine art, history, museums, churches etc. on your RS tour and might prefer to chill out over the rest of your vacation. Alternately, if you are a wine buff, you may want to train up to Orvieto (a fascinating clifftop town) tour there and then rent a car to tour hill towns and vineyards in Umbria and Tuscany. The CT is also a wonderful chioll out spot especially if you like to hike. We have been there in mid Sept. and mid Oct,. and had glorious warm weather, although we arrived in Monterosso in Sept. after a big storm had passed and the ocean was very rough. Lots of choices so you need to decide which sites are of most interest to you. The travel skills that you will learn on your tour will give you the confidence to travel by train and metro but you will need a car for exploring rural Tuscany. Whatever you decide, you can't go wrong, it's Italy! Ciao, Sherry

Eugenia, the Cinque Terre would be a good choice in the fall, as the weather should be fairly decent. There's a direct (no changes) train from Termini to La Spezia, with a travel time of about four hours. It's a very pleasant trip. From La Spezia, you can use the local train to reach whichever of the villages you'll be staying in. ¶ One additional question though - which airport does your flight home depart from?

We do not have flight reservations yet. So we can depart from any of the major cities. Does it cost extra to fly in and out of different cities?

Eugenia, using "open jaw flights" (into one city and home from another) usually does cost a bit extra, but it's often the most efficient travel method. This saves both the time and cost of returning to the arrival city, and also provides a bit more touring time. I use open-jaw flights for EVERY trip, regardless of the cost. ¶ In this case, flying into Venice would be good at the beginning (since that's where your tour starts). For the trip back to the U.S. you could (for example) book a flight out of Milan (of course this will depend on which other locations in Italy you eventually decide to visit). If you visit the C.T., Milan would be a good airport to consider for your outbound flight. Cheers!