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Back to back RS Italy tours

Has anyone done the Italy and Southern Italy tours back to back? Wondering if it was fun to be on the move for 30 days or if felt too long/tiring.

Bonus points to anyone who completed the hat trick with Sicily.

Posted by
6598 posts

We haven't done those particular tours back to back, but we have done other back to back combos. Our recommendation would be to schedule them with a break between the two; several days at least.

Posted by
14995 posts

I've done multiple back to back tours and one time even did back to back to back, lol. On that 3 tour trip I also had an extra week in Paris with a friend after the 2nd tour. I was gone almost 8 weeks and was not ready to come home at that point in time!

I have done Best of Italy but have not done best of Southern Italy. I might prefer to do a different country instead of staying within Italy for both tours. I did Best of Southern England and then did a back to back with Best of Scotland. By the time I got to Scotland I was "castle'd" out which shocked me. I had previously done Best of England with Paris and the Best of France which was a wonderful combo as it was different cultures, different food, different history. My 3 Back to backs were 21 day Best of Europe followed by Best of Paris followed by a week with a friend in Paris, then followed by Village Italy. That worked really well as the Best of Europe hit a lot of high spots but moved a lot. Best of Paris was in one hotel for a week. Village Italy was different from the sights we saw on the Best of Europe tour and saw more smaller villages....so a good mix of big cities, small towns, countryside, beaches, mountains.

I agree with Jane, have a few days to decompress from one tour, do your laundry, have a few easy days and then be ready to meet a new group of people and learn a new set of names!

Posted by
269 posts

We did back to back tours of Sicily and South Italy with 3 days in between. There were 2 other couples on the South Italy who had been with us in Sicily! It was fun to know others upon starting the second tour.
I had done this to avoid packing for different climates. There was some overlap of ancient sites but it was a good combination. I would guess Best of Italy with South Italy would have less overlap.
Since retiring we have done back to back tours multiple times with overall travel 5-6 weeks. We have taken 3-8 days in between.

Posted by
1159 posts

Patty, I’m a bit confused. We took the Best of Southern Italy two years ago. I’m not sure what you mean by the Sicily and BOSI tour sites overlapping. We never stepped into Sicily on our tour.

Posted by
8012 posts

Hi Cherry,

I was in Italy for a month last year. I travelled on my own, but I do think you would enjoy the chance to experience a large piece of Italy. And you could learn how much the food changes between regions.

I will throw out the idea since I did it last year. I was in the southern Puglia region and went back up to Rome before heading into other regions. But there was a 5-day gap in the middle where I took the 1-hr flight from Rome to Palermo, Sicily. I loved Palermo and was glad I did it! Something to consider for your middle gap between your two tours. : )

This has the details of what I did in Palermo:
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/italy/my-1-month-independent-trip-to-southern-italy-tribute-to-my-husband

Posted by
8256 posts

Have you been on a Rick Steves tour? Know what to expect for pace and activity level?

The next concern would be your own age/health/mobility level. The tours are fast paced from what I see of the itinerary, no more than 2 nights in any spot, so if you prefer a slower pace, that may be a problem.

But if you are fit, then I hear of lots of people doing the back-to-back route.

I do agree with others, allow yourself some time to relax between tours, maybe someplace just outside Rome, with little or nothing planned.

Posted by
15 posts

Grazie mille for the advice, everyone.

I’ve been on 5 RS tours (Spain & Portugal, Adriatic, Sicily, Greece, and Tallinn/Helsinki/St Petersburg) and I don’t mind a fast-paced itinerary. That said, I’ll look into how the two tours are scheduled and see if I can find a pair that line up with a few days in between. I don’t think one can ever have enough time in Rome.

Posted by
15 posts

@Jean, thank you for linking to your Italy travel notes! Very helpful and interesting especially as a frequent solo traveler myself. I’m sure I’ll be re-reading when it’s time for my next trip.

Posted by
269 posts

Margie—it physically didn’t overlap but the history and ruins seemed to. (Or at least to me it seemed a bit similar.). A plus was that the climate was similar. Also we flew in and out of Rome, adding days here before and after so travel was easier.
Since then we’ve done a few more back to back—Scandinavia and Village Italy and Loire Valley and Switzerland. We had scheduled Ireland with Portugal but Covid intervened in Ireland and prevented us from joining the Portugal tour. In about 6 weeks we leave for Greece and Turkey.