Bus Time

It might help to know which tour you are taking. Different tours might have different times.

I was on 3 R.S. tours. If I remember correctly the earliest departure was at 7 am. Usually it is between 8 and 9.

It is the 13 Day Italy My Way Tour - any tips would be appreciated.

In six tours we might have had one 7:30 departure. But 8 to 9 am is about standard depending on the agenda for the day. TC

I have done Heart of Italy and Village Italy but not Italy My Way. We usually left around 830. In all the RS tours I have done, the earliest day was on the 21 day BOE and on an optional day we left at 715 to catch an early cable car in Switzerland as it was cheaper. I looked at your itinerary (very nice, by the way!) and your longest bus legs are Venice -> Varenna and Varenna -> CT, so I would guess you will be out of the hotel by 8 on those days.

Most of the time I have found in Italy and Europe the hotels are not much for having breakfast open before 7 or 715, which when you have a stomach that wants breakfast at 5AM is late, lol!! The time the hotel can provide breakfast is also key in how early you can leave.

Have a wonderful time! It looks great.

The Italy My Way tour has relatively early departure times in order to maximize time at the next destination. All of my departures last year were at 8, 8:30 , or 9. Since many travelers will make reservations for museums in Florence and Rome, your tour materials indicate the approximate afternoon arrival time into those cities, and with the early departures, we had no trouble meeting those goals.