Heart of Italy Tour

We did this tour several years ago, so I 'm not sure if they are using the same hotels, but.. Hotel Accademia in Florence did not have an elevator. Hotel Pasquale in CT, hotel in Volterra,andHotel Sonya in Rome all had elevators. We were split between two hotels in CT, but they were both good. We had a number of singles on our tour - everyone seemed to mingle and guides are good about looking out for solo travelers. We loved this tour..

Patty

We have taken a number of RS Tours and all of the hotels have been "unique". But, that is part of the beauty of his tours. We have never been put up in what a reasonable person would consider an unacceptable place to stay. If you are comfortable with the fact that they are not standard cookie cutter American hotels and just go with the flow you will be fine. Just pack light so if a place doesn't have stairs and you have to use the stairs you will be able to handle it. TC

I stayed in the same hotels as Patty but they dont always use the same ones. I would follow the advice to pack light and hope for the best. Sometimes the stairs are quicker (thinking of the elevator at Hotel Sonya for example).

I did Heart of Italy with family but I had a single room. I would definitely do this as a single!

For tours in 2015 we will have the hotel list set by the end of January. We could certainly tell you all the specifics then. But in general you will have an elevator in most of these stops but probably not in the CT. Regarding using 2 hotels in the CT we really try not to separate the group and that's the plan in 2015. Occasionally, there is a festival or event that requires us to split the group into 2 hotels. Our groups are a mix of couples, singles, etc. If you have specific questions about this tour I would call or email the tour department. tour@ricksteves.com

Thank you for all the information. I took the "London:" tour in June and LOVED IT!! The hotel was wonderful!! GREAT neighborhood, and an elevator!! I signed up for this one for 2014 and am on a waiting list> Thanks also for the suggestion re contacting the travel office. Gladys

We are leaving for the Heart of Italy tour tomorrow so I will be back in 2 weeks with a full report. For our 2 nights in CT we are in the same hotel.

I suggest taking the RS advice about carrying your bag up several flight of stairs seriously. European hotel elevators can be notoriously small in size, over crowded, and they do break. That said, most RS hotels have descent elevators except for the most charming country hotels.

Back from the Heart of Italy tour -- you're going to have a great time!!

All of the hotels with the exception of the one in the Cinque Terre had elevators but they are all very small. Like two people with bags and your are standing nose to nose small so we took the stairs most of the time. Do pack light and do carry your bag up a flight if stairs to see if it really is light! In Volterra (which is amazing) and in Florence we had to walk a few blocks from the bus to our hotel so the lighter you pack the better!

Feel free to send me a private message if you have any questions but go! You'll have the time if your life!

Gretchen's report is at https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/tours/heart-of-italy-tour-returned-2-weeks-ago

Had awesome journey.