We are taking the Italy villages tour. I am hoping I can carrying a small day bag with my camera-a DSLR with one lens plus a few items such as sunglasses, tissues, etc during the stops and tours. I know we will have time while traveling between cities and was hoping to use that time to journal, download pictures to ipad and use portable charges to recharge phone etc, therefore needing a backpack or something bigger for all that stuff.
My question is, do I need to carry the backpack around all day when we tour or can I just take the smaller day pack and leave the other stuff on the bus?
I guess another question is, will I have time to journal and do other things while on the bus or is there too much to see out the window and I would be missing a lot by multi-tasking? :-)
Any help would be greatly appreciated. I want to find the most efficient way to pack and maneuver through the tour.
Posted by
Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, USA
14815 posts
You absolutely can leave things on the bus during the day. In general I've had drivers ask people not to leave valuables on the bus overnight but you wouldn't do that anyway. The drivers are scrupulous about keeping their bus safe.
I always have a day pack with iPad Mini, guide book, jacket, umbrella, water, etc. The drivers usually have water, sometimes soda, sometimes wine and beer for sale on the bus as well. Water is usually 1E so cheaper than you can buy it anywhere.
My only issue with journaling on the bus is that it can sometime be bumpy so that affects me wanting to do that. They usually have a fold down tray like an airplane but sometimes that makes it worse.
On this trip it seems like the longest bus day was CT to Orta.
Sometimes I've seen that people have had WIFI on the tour buses but I've never experienced that. On my VI tour we did not have WIFI.
Have fun! This is an excellent tour. Lots of interesting activities - well not that I've ever been on a RS tour with "uninteresting" activities, hahaha!
Posted by
Birmingham, AL, USA
226 posts
I would echo the earlier reply. The bus is always secured while the group is out and about. We joined the VI tour a few years ago and thoroughly enjoyed. Also, we carry a small daypack with the day's necessities. You will not need to worry. As far as journaling, I found the ride a little too bumpy and too many curves to have a decent handwriting. Uploading photos to the iPad will likely work well. The scenery will captivate you so you will not be bored. We have North Face backpacks that we use for travel in conjunction with our RS Ravenna bags (not my favorite but it works!) and then use a small soft RS daypack for the day activities. I usually tuck toiletries and other last minute items in the backpack if leaving a town and keep the daypack handy for times off the bus. Have a wonderful trip!!
Posted by
Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, USA
14815 posts
I’ll also add something neither Lynda or I mentioned and that is the driver will probably have a big box in the luggage bay designated as “deep storage” for people’s purchases that don’t need to come off at every stop. I know when we stopped at the pottery place in Deruta there were quite a few purchases!!
Lynda, This is OT but I got a Costco email in the last few days that was advertising Italian liquid hand soap labeled Deruta. The containers are plastic...if they were the Deruta ceramic I’d be all over them!! PS I am not a shopper but I wished I had shopped there, lol!!
Posted by
OP
Rochester, MI
7 posts
Thank you for the quick answers. I can now move on to obsessing about some other detail until we go! We don't leave until September!!! I can't wait!
Posted by
Morrison, CO, USA
893 posts
I don't shop a lot when we go to Europe.. But on the village Italy tour I bought, in Deruta, a Salt and Pepper for me and a medicine jar with lid for my daughter in law who is a pharmacist. I got to pick out the colors and they made them and shipped them to my home.
Don't remember what the shipping cost, but if it had been exorbitant I wouldn't have done it. They were packed very nicely and got home safely after I did.
Usually the only thing I will buy is a plate. When hubby and I have a really nice meal, the two of us, if the plate has a logo on it as many do, I ask the proprietor if they will sell me one. I have never been told no, and usually they are surprised and pleased.
One trattoria in Rome gave it to me! We had been in Rome for 9 days and it was our 3rd evening at this place. The owner knew we were leaving the next day and he had his staff wrap it for me! I have a shelf with my favorites on plate stands and it's a good memory.
Many people on the RS tours take advantage of the "Deep Storage" on the bus. It's handy for them and for the bus driver not to have to unload and load all the time. By the way, the bus drivers are great! Very helpful and fun to get to know. We have had some great conversations with some of them at the group dinners! It's almost like having an assistant guide along, because they can make good recommendations and you can learn a lot by asking about where they live and their families!
Village Italy is a great tour
Have a Great Time!
Mimi
Posted by
Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, USA
14815 posts
Hahaha!! Well, welcome to the forum that can ALWAYS give you ideas on which to obsess in case you can't come up with enough on your own!
I'd start adding some hills or stairs in to your workout routine.
I inadvertently wound up with a "theme" to this tour and it was to see as many relics as possible. It started in Padua when I went to the Basilica of Saint Anthony which was just a block or so away from the tour hotel. It contains the vocal cords, jaw bone and tongue of Saint Anthony so that started me on a hunt for what I could see on other tour stops.
If you don't have your flights yet, I'd try to get to Padua a night or 2 before the tour start. My biggest goof on this trip was not giving myself nights ahead of time in Padua when there is quite a lot to see there.
Posted by
Spokane, WA
477 posts
You will love this tour. I did this tour two years ago and fell in love with Italy. Even though I've done numerous RS tours, this is one that I would do again. In adding to Pam's "theme" idea, my friends and I say that it wouldn't be a RS tour without at least one dead body or body parts. Have a great time.