How to decide- first time traveler to Italy

The transportation component of the Heart of Italy tour will add considerable value, I imagine. Using public transportation to travel to small places in rural Tuscany leaves you prey to train and bus schedules, which don't always align with the amount of time a traveler wants to spend in each little burg. By comparison, getting to Venice and traveling around Venice are not challenging.

Hi and welcome to the forum! That is a difficult decision to make. I have taken both tours (many years apart). If I were in your position and had a few extra days for my trip, I would arrive in Rome 2-3 days before the Heart of Italy tour and visit the sites not covered, then stay in Florence 1-3 days extra after the tour ends, and if you have extra time, take the train to Venice for 3 days. Book your flight into Rome and out of Venice. Your flight out of Venice will probably be an early morning flight. Or you can do the reverse, fly into Venice for 3-ish days, take the train down to Rome a few days before the Heart of Italy tour starts and end in Florence with some extra days before you fly home. Venice is my favorite place on the earth but I wouldn't want to miss Tuscany.

I really like Mary's idea. Having the Tuscany travel taken care of for you can make everything much easier. Especially if it's your first time.

I would question Heart of Italy - "Tuscany" is an un-named town, Volterra and Florence, plus countryside you see from the bus. 2 nights in Cinque Terre - may not be the best way to allocate your time on a short trip.

Best of Venice etc. gives you the opportunity to add days to Venice before the tour, and days to Rome at the end - which would give you time to add the Borghese Gallery for your husband. I think more bang for your buck for a first trip abroad.

Plus you avoid DEPARTING from Venice, per the suggestion above, which is consistently discouraged by others here on the forum.

Heart of Italy was my first RS tour and I loved it! I loved getting away from the big cities to Volterra! Although I have not done the VFR tour I have visited all 3 cities on the Best of Italy tour as well as the 21 day Best of Europe. I did this one with my brother, SIL and their 2 young adult children. One of the kiddos had very limited time off so we had to do the shorter number of days. We all had a fabulous time and in fact just yesterday my brother and I were talking about Volterra and the walking tour guide (Annie) we had there.

I like Mary's suggestion if you can take the extra time to go to Venice at the end although flying out of Venice can be a pain coming back to the US. With some airlines you have to fly to a hub like Amsterdam or Paris and then catch the long flight back to the US.

I definitely encourage you to arrive early. There is a lot to do in Rome and not much time on the tour to see things. IF you can add time in Florence at the end, there is of course lots to see there as well. Plus time in Venice. Have we bumped your time up to the 17 day Best of Italy yet, hahaha!!

I agree with the Borghese Gallery for your sculptor husband. The Bernini's there are just amazing.

I vote for the Heart of Italy too. I've done it twice. Arrive early in Rome and the Borghese gallery is a must. Stay a few extra days in Florence. My favorite stop on the tour was Volterra.

We've done them both and I think for your first time in Italy - I'd go with Venice Florence Rome - they are the towns everyone should see. Def fly into Venice and few days early - it is deserving of more time. At the end of the tour, we extended Rome by one day and went to Sorrento for 4 days, then back to Florence where we did some day trips into Tuscany with WalkAboutFlorence.

If you do the Heart of Italy - I'd def fly into Venice 1st and do 3-4 days - it is like no where else in Europe. Then take the train to meet up with your group in Rome. While we liked CT - it was SO VERY CROWDED that we decided we'd never return and we actually liked Sorrento and the Amalfi Coast much better.

Def get the Rick Steves Pocket Guide Book for Venice - it's very helpful with the Vaporetto and private guide recommendations.

We travel to Europe at least once a year and while we love so many places, Italy is probably our favorite.

I would vote for the Best of Venice, Florence & Rome in 10 Days. But, if you are able, I would highly recommend the 17-day Best of Italy to see much more of the differences within Italy. My husband & I did that one and subsequently returned to almost every place on subsequent trips.

Arriving a day or two ahead, go to either Verona or Padova for those days. (My preference is Verona.). It’s very easy to go to either of those by train, and they’re both friendly to tourists. Fly into either Venice or Malpensa (Milan) if you’re okay with a longer train ride.

When you’re in Venice, Suso Gelato is a favorite! Yum!

For your extra days after Rome, you could easily go to Orvieto - another easy 90-minute train ride. Rome is going to be busy with the Jubilee Year, so I wouldn’t stay the extra days in Rome. Another option is the 2-hr fast-train down to Salerno (Amalfi Coast).

I’ve stayed in 39 cities in Italy, and Venice is still an extremely special one! I wouldn’t miss it!

The stakes are low for making a regretful decision here. You can take into consideration the benefit of a tour with more nights per stay being possibly a tad easier to participate in as a first-time international trip. It really helps retention of the experiences you will have, with more time per city. VFR is exclusively city with only 3 stops and HOI has smaller town action for the 2-night each 4 stops itinerary.

I like Mary's plan. We departed out of Venice (my foursome was on different planes w diverse destinations and none of us had problems.

Your husband perhaps already knows about Michelangelo's the Prisoners in the same museum as David. They are a series he left "unfinished " to show the images emerging from the stone, utterly amazing

If you have never been to Italy I would do the Venice. Florence, Rome tour. It was our first RS tour . We are now headed to our 7th. They do pack a lot into those 10 days. The heart of Italy sounds very nice (we have not been on that one) but for the most bang for your buck and seeing the biggest hits of Italy I would do those three first. Especially if seeing famous sculptor's work is a high priority.

One of our favorite memories of our Best of Europe 14 day tour was wandering the back streets of Venice and finding a very tiny apartment/Gallery open showcasing charcoal art. We went in and the woman there was explaining the artist and his work in this very tiny place to my family. We were not sure if this was old or new art. Was the artist dead? And then this larger gentleman came down the tiny stairs wearing a very loud Hawaiian shirt and his hair was disheveled. He sure looked like an artist at work. Not sure if he spoke English but he wanted to make sure we understood he did the art. So he picked up his charcoal and did a quick sketch and gave us that for free. We then bought another for like $20 Euros. I regret not buying more . I have tried to find him on line but alas no luck. It really was a fun evening. Now that can happen any where but Venice really is magical at night when the day trippers go home.

My first tour was Heart of Italy. We selected it because we were worried about the amount of bus time (throw that fear out). Bus time is wonderful down time and a chance to see the unbelievable scenery. As many have said, Volterra was our favorite. We went a day early. Took advantage of offer from the arms hotel to arrange private driver (best € spent on that trip). I booked an English speaking tour at the Borghese for late afternoon. Hotel called us a cab, we wondered the gardens waiting for our timed tour. The English tour was superior to the RS podcast I had listened to before we went. Highly recommend, one of my top tree museums in Europe! Returned to hotel, enjoyed wine and snacks into if RS hotel and had dinner across the street. Had a relaxing day around area before start of tour.
Fell in love with the areas tour system. (Had been to Europe multiple times planning on own with RS books). It is the perfect mix of guided and free time. After Florence, we took high speed train to Venice for 3 nights. Stayed at Hotel Alta (easy walk from without bridges/suitcase issue).
Booked all tickets in advance. Splurged on private water taxi that picked us at hotel, had flight back to US on AA, no problem with Venice airport.
Agree with others, CT is a zoo, but great to see. You do not stay in the heart of CT, so you are seeing it as a “day tripper”. The only thing I would do differently is hire a private guide for first day (or 1/2 day) in Venice. ( I say this after hired a RS guide for a full day in (London). If able ($wise), it gives such a different perspective. I pick up extra days at work to pay for these extra splurges.
Do a search on the forum this is a tough choice for many that has been discussed before.

I can not decide between Venice and the Tuscan hill towns in the Heart of Italy tour.

flip a coin. And I'm serious...

Annie Duke, a champion poker player, in her book "How to Decide" writes

The very thing that slows you down—having multiple options that are very close in quality—is actually a signal that you can go fast, because this tells you that whichever option you choose, you can’t possibly be that wrong, since both options have similar upside and downside potential. If the only choices are between Paris and a trout cannery, no one has a problem.

Close calls for high-impact decisions tend to induce analysis paralysis, but the indecision is, in itself, a signal that you can go fast. Use the Only-Option Test, asking yourself for each option, "If this were the only option I had, would I be happy with it?" If your answer is yes for more than one option, you could flip a coin since you can't be that wrong whichever option you pick.

Come back and tell us what you decided. : ). The great thing is that are no bad choices between your options.