Best of Venice Florence Rome October 3 2025

Just giving your post a bump back to the first page of the All Topics view! I'm not on your tour but on the many I have taken I'm always shocked when tour members are not aware of the forum!

Have you purchased tickets for extra things like the Doge's Palace and entry to St Marks Basilica in Venice? I loved both of those places when I did the Best of Italy tour!

Have you visited Venice before? Make sure you pack light enough that you can handle your suitcase on/off the vaporetto which you will likely take from your hotel to the bus when you leave for Florence. Also the bridges in Venice are steps not ramps so you have to pick up your suitcase and carry it over if there are bridges between you and the boat dock.

Do download the CityMapper app and mark your hotel location in Venice as your "home" when you get there. I also made an error on one of my RS tours that included Venice and that was that my phone was not holding a charge all day using a mapping program and I did not have a power bank. I definitely needed it in Venice as it seemed to need more "power" trying to get signal in the narrow alleys.

And, do wander. That's my favorite thing to do in Venice. I hope you stop at the winery near Orvieto as I think most of this tour itinerary does. If you do, tell Cecilia Bottai, hello from all the Rick Steves' tour members who have been lucky to stop and learn about wine. I was also lucky enough to have her for a tour guide many years ago.

thanks!! much appreciated!

I am going on this tour as well and so looking forward to it. This will be my first Rick Steves tour, but I have been to Italy before
although not to Venice or Florence. Are you arriving in Venice early? I will be there a day early, and will be staying at the trip
hotel.
Kathy

Hi KatC ! Wonderful and look forward to meeting you! Our plans are not yet finalized but hope to be there soon! Kris/Grace

HI Kris/Grace
Look forward to meeting you as well.

Kathy

Hi- I went last spring- my advice... upon arrival, use the vaporetto to get as close to the hotel as possible. there are soooo many bridges and steps, and many winding streets that you can get lost on.
Definately get tix for St. Mark's the line was very long.
Do not miss going to St. Mark's Square at night to hear the orchestras and see the area lit up at night- unforgettable experience. Just walk around- it's free.
The vineyard near Orvieto was a highlight for me too.
Enjoy!

thanks Pattie

I did this tour 2 years ago. I absolutely loved Venice. If going again, here's something I would do differently. Vaporetto tickets are not part of the tour, and when we arrived we just bought a 1 way ticket to the hotel (those tickets are kind of pricey). However, if I went again, I would pay for a full 2 day ticket and take the vaporettos all over whenever not doing the tour sightseeing. Especially late at night. The hotel we stayed in on the tour (I forget the name) was right by a stop. When we'd walk over in the evening, the vaporettos were not full like they sometimes are in the daytime, and it would have been amazing to just take one around the island at night.