Village Italy 2018 tour pre & post hotel question

We were in Padua a year before we did the Village Italy tour and stayed at the Albergo Verdi. I liked the location a little better than that of the Hotel Al Fagiano because it was a little more centrally located, but for one night, it probably makes more sense to stay at the Hotel Al Fagiano instead of moving after your first night.

If you haven't been to Milan before, you might spend your extra nights there.

I took the Village Italy tour this past May. I would recommend staying anywhere but the Al Fagiano. It was the worst hotel on the tour. (My room was horrible. Others didn't mind the hotel.)

If you plan on staying the extra nights in Orta San Giulio, stay at the la Bussola. It is up the hill from the center of town but it is a very nice hotel. I had a room with a balcony overlooking the lake.

If you want to go in Milan, your guide will arrange shared transporation either to the Milan train station or the airport. You could take the car to the train station and go to a hotel from there. There is more to do in Milan than Orta San Giulio but if you wanted a couple of days to relax after the tour, Orta is good and there is a train station nearby.

Took the Village Italy tour with my family in 2015. We stayed 4 nights in Venice before joining the tour in Padua. It's only an easy 30 minute train ride from Venice. Our tour used the same hotel in Padua you will be in and none of us had any issues with it; that involved 4 rooms for the 7 of us. By the way, the tour was wonderful! I'm envious!

I would vote for staying longer in Orta San Giulio, though others on here disagree. I loved it. I stayed at an Agriturismo just down the road from the train station - an easy, flat walk of just under a half mile (700 meters). It was a great place to stay, but an even better place to eat. Thursday - Sunday they offer an amazing eat-what-we-cook-tonight dinner. Several antipasti, several pasta dishes, several meat/fish dishes and divine desserts, and of course great Piedmont wines. All included for one reasonable price. Everything was exquisite, even long after I was full and they kept bringing more food. Don't miss the meal. Breakfasts are amazing too, all made in house. The rooms are modern, clean and very nice, but not fancy.

It was a nice stroll into the main part of town, or a short walk to catch the little tourist tram if you don't want to walk the whole way.

I found plenty to do for three days, including a wonderful hike up into the hills and another great lunch along the way. The Sacro Monte is very relaxing to wander through, and there was an interesting temporary art exhibit in one of the little chapels. The town itself and the island you will have seen, but it's fun to just wander around and relax (and enjoy more good food). I will go back to Orta.

If at all possible, why not stay at the tour hotel both before and after the tour? We've always done that and it really simplifies the logistics and saves all time lost moving from one hotel to another.

I did the tour in 2014 and stayed extra nights ahead in Venice but WISH I had stayed at least one extra night in Padua. I found so much to do there that I didn't get to. I didn't mind the Al Fagiano either - traveled with brother and SIL and they didn't mind either. I just hate to do one-nighters so I almost always stay in the tour hotel the night or 2 before. I loved the Scrovegni Chapel frescoes. If I were to do this trip again, I ~might~ book myself in to the Scrovegni before the tour as well just so I could have 2 passes at it. You are only allowed to stay in there for 15 minutes after you have been in the antechamber for 15 minutes. There is SO much to see in there and really, I am not a big fresco fan!

At the end of the trip, I'm afraid I'm one that didn't find much to do in Orta San Giulio. We did stay an extra night and wished we had spent the morning there doing the Sacra Monte, then headed in to Milan after lunch. It WAS raining heavily when we were there, plus it was the middle of Oct and things were closing up. Excellent gelato at Gelato Artiginale Eliot on the main piazza of Orta San Giulio. Your guide will start working on exit strategies by about day 3 and will group people in taxis and shuttles if you wish. We took a shuttle in to Milan with 2 other tour members, so there were 5 of us and it worked out really well (again because it was pouring rain!).

I would spend the 2 nights in Milan but I know others don't find much there. Two nights just gives you 1 full day. Check on the closing day for The Last Supper fresco by Leonardo da Vinci if you want to see that. Seems like the closure day was why we did not see it on our afternoon in Milan.

Another thing I tried to do on this trip was see all the relics. That might sound ghoulish but really, lots of chapels/cathedrals/basilicas with remains of saints. Start with the Basilica of Saint Anthony in Padua for his jawbone, tongue and vocal cords and move on from there.

I agree with the others that this is a FUN trip! Do work to be in as good a physical shape as you can be. I had just come off some other tours so was good to go as far as walking up and down hills but I noted on several Trip Reports this year people have commented on the strenuous walking.

sally,

If you don't want to take a chance at Hotel al Fagiano, I would highly recommend Hotel al Santo, which is only about a five minute walk from the tour hotel (if my memory is correct) - http://www.alsanto.it/?lang=en . It's not a posh hotel but I found the rooms clean & comfortable, it has an attached restaurant, and the owners are wonderful.

For your two nights after the tour, I would highly recommend Stresa (can you make it three nights?). It's a beautiful city and very easy to get from there to Malpensa.

All of you have been most helpful and I have been busy chasing all suggestions down rabbit holes. Pam; your suggestion of extra day in Padua in order to have additional 15 minutes in Scrovegni Chapel W/ fresco's really resonated with our interests. I am unfamiliar W/ Scrovegni Chapel and probably would not have figured it out W/o your comment. May 2017 we started our RS South of Italy tour in Ghent to see the Adoration of the Magi. Chose Village Italy tour because of lack of major cities so really did not want to end our holiday with Milan but you pricked my conscious with reminder of Da Vinci "Last Supper". We have only been to Milan once on our first trip out of US we landed in Milan and I was unable to get a ticket for Last Supper and La Scala was closed and in midst of multi year total overhaul. Aida is being performed Mrmorial Day weekend and our 2018 tour is over Friday morning in Orta San Giulio!!!

Frank; your comment about la Bussola being nice with views of Lake 'Orta is encouraging.
TC; approves of using same hotels before and after if fortunate enough to squeeze out a few extra days.

Lois's; Albergo Verdi in Padua is already booked for May 11, 2018 because it is a May Friday night and ranked higher than RS Al Fagiano!
Andi; assures me it will be easy to get from Venice where we will fly into and Padua where tour begins.
Nelly; I am most intrigued by your mention of agritourism half mile from Orta train station. Sacro Monte comes highly recommended and I have made a note of it! If we decide to stay in Milan one night I will have to decide if I am willing to do one night in agritourism or prefer two nights at Orta SanGiulio la Bussola.

Ken; I spent time exploring Stresa online and the three islands off Stresa on Lake Maggiore! Very tempting to end a magical two weeks sitting on a ferry rather than the hustle of Milan!! Have not made any decisions about extra two nights at conclusion.
THANK YOU. SALLY in Richmond.

Sally, let me second Ken's suggestion of Al Santo in Padua. We took this tour this past summer, and arrived in Padua three nights early. Al Fagiano was fine, but we preferred Al Santo. The staff was friendlier and more helpful, it was a little cheaper, and we found the location slightly more convenient (although it's only a few blocks from the Al Fagiano.) The breakfasts were good, and we had lunch twice at the hotel's restaurant. Good pizza, good cheap wine. We even went back there after the tour had started for lunch and once for a late night drink.

And there's plenty to do in Padua. We got Padova Cards, and saw many museums in town, as well as a sneak preview of the Scrovegni Chapel.

After the tour we spent four days in Milan, and loved it. Lots of parks, museums, churches, and, of course, the Last Supper.

Village Italy is a wonderful tour; you're in for a treat whatever you decide.