It's official!

Have a wonderful trip! I haven’t done it, but have read many positive comments about that tour on this forum.

You will be surprised how quickly it will be that the calendar is showing Oct 7

......but you will have some wonderful memories

Your going to have the trip of a lifetime! Most importantly, pack light and learn your tour mates names as quickly as you can, they will become good friends for years to come.

Nivea, the time will fly by. In about two weeks you're going to panic because you don't have enough time before the trip!

This is a wonderful tour; you're going to have a great time.

Happy travels!

Woohoo!!

If you don't already have plans for this weekend, I'd suggest you do a trial pack including your toiletries and your personal item for the plane. It's never too early, hahaha!

I'd also give a thought to Venice. Well, not just the wonder of a city built on canals but on what you're going to take in to town. The bus will park at Tronchetto, the bus parking lot and then you'll take a vaporetto in to town. It's a hassle to manage a suitcase on this and over the bridges to get to your hotel so I recommend just taking enough for your 2 nights in a day pack/tote bag and leaving your suitcase safely on the bus. I wear clothes for several days in a row, so I started with clean pants/shirt on the transit day from Reutte to Venice, then just took one clean shirt with me. That worked for me but it might not work for you!

I did reconfigure things my last night in Reutte and used one of my packing cubes for my items I was taking in to Venice, then re-sorted things once we got to Florence.

Ditto for going in to Monterosso. The bus will park at Levanto where you'll take a train to Monterosso where you'll walk to your hotel.

Not sure about Switzerland for you. On my tour I stayed in Stechelberg so the bus drove to the hotel. I have stayed in Muerren on another tour and took my suitcase with me altho it was a bit of a pain with off and on the gondola, then the walk thru town to the hotel.

If you haven't thrown stairs in to your workouts, give a thought to adding in some over the next few weeks. To me Rome was a killer with hills/stairs.

Have a fabulous time! When I think back on all my RS tours, this is my favorite! So much to see....just absolutely thrilling.

Fun! We've had Matt as guide on two previous tours and he's one of our favorites. He's the most easy going guide and yet keeps everything running smoothly.

The 21 Day Best of Europe is a marvelous trip. My husband and I took that tour last September. It gave us a taste of the different countries and left us wanting more. As a result, we are doing the 14 Day Best of Spain mid-September. Try to pack lightly and limit yourself to no more than 20 pounds. You will be carrying your luggage almost every other day, over cobblestones, and up several flights of stairs. Wear good walking shoes as you will be on the go a lot. Dress in layers and include a lightweight weatherproof jacket if you can. Most of the time the weather was warm and comfortable, but we did experience light rain in the eastern regions and a bit of snow in Switzerland. Enjoy every minute of the tour and be open to new experiences and foods! I assure you it will be a trip of a lifetime.

Thanks to everyone who replied. Your feedback is greatly appreciated. I have been following this travel forum since we booked last September, and have tried to incorporate everything I have read. I think the number one thing most stressed is "pack light", and everything we have bought has had that in mind. Am counting the days, and will try a practice pack tonight. Thanks again.