We just signed up for what should be an amazing trip. nWe did the Best of Rome two months ago and loved the entire trip. We plan to fly into Milan two days early so we can see the sights there and get over jet lag before going to Varenna.
I noticed that someone past a couple months back that their stay in the Dolomites was in Bolzano. Everyting I have ever seen listed states that the stay is in the Alpe di Siusi which sounds much better to me. I hope we get to stay there rather than Bolzano!
I noticed this exact same thing and wondered as well! I feel the same as you about Alpe di Siusi.
We are on Best of Italy Sept 4- 20.
Curious to see if you have any replies from recent Best of Italy trips!
I spoke with someone from RS who stated that in September we would most likely stay at Hotel Seelaus in the Alpe di Siusi. The location varies depending on the time of year.
I’m currently on the Best of Italy - we met in Varenna Sept 30 - so your time of year. We stayed in Castelrotto/Kastelruth for our Dolomite nights which were Oct 2/3. The hotel, Hotel Cavallino D'Oro, was really a charmer!
Our bus driver was able to take us all the way up to Compatsch for the hiking day which is not possible some times of the year according to the guide.
I saw where Hotel Seelaus is located and it is a great spot right at Compatsch but I can also see why both nights have dinner provided.
We arrived to Castelrotto on Sunday evening and there was difficulty with finding a place to eat on the arrival night. This was the guide’s first time back to this tour since Covid and unfortunately elected to take us on a short hike before sending us off to find dinner. The hike was nice but unfortunately when we got back to the town center we found few things were open, all were crowded or booked and some tour members didn’t get fed. One of my recommendations on the evaluation will be to do dinner both nights here as well or at least on Sundays for tours arriving that day of the week.
The online itinerary shows dinner both nights in this area but on this tour we were told the first night we’d have one group meal in Castelrotto and the next one in Venice.
This tour is excellent! I’m glad you are going to Milan ahead of time. Make sure you keep an eye on Last Supper tickets. I booked directly with them and booked the English tour thru the official site. It was excellent. I also booked the Fast Pass for the Duomo including the lift to the roof plus entry to the Duomo, excavation area and museum. I also went to the Pinocateca Ambrosiana.
Do you have a hotel picked out for Milan? I stayed at Hotel Gran Duca di York which is quite near the Duomo.
Thanks for the information Pam!
The Hotel Seelaus was absolutely wonderful when we stayed there on our Best of Italy tour. I still recall the divine dinners we were given, especially the mushroom ravioli in a Parmesan “basket”.
We are going on BOI on 10/14. We will be staying in Bolzano during the Dolomite stay. I read on this forum that another tour did this and the individual enjoyed the Bolzano stay. I believe the change for us was due to festivals in October and full hotels. This info is from my email to Rick Steves tours.
We did stay in Bolzano and loved the town. So glad we had the opportunity to see it.
