Looking to meet possible travel friends for tours in April and May

I don't see the hours listed for Venice public transportation. You can check www.actv.it for information. Your hotel in Venice can give you the info about getting to the hotel. You could ask them if the vaporetto run after midnight. I think they do.
You are going to have some wonderful experiences this spring!

There is a night line of the vaporettos, I think it has an N in the name. The stops are fewer and it runs less frequently. You could also probably get a water taxi but that would be pricier.

Thank you for your replies re: night transportation. I did find out the the buses and water buses do run at least late enough to get me to my hotel if not through the night.

I can't believe you're doing five tours in a row! Let us know how it turns out. When you recover. (Lol)

Jane-
I figure that it's taken sixty-four years to get to Europe, I'd better see all I want to see while I'm there. Being an active hiker I figure that I should be able to handle the walking after all I hiked the Grand Canyon twice in a month this fall. 😄

I agree whew 5 tours. Good for you! I am on none of those. Doing Barcelona and Madrid in mid June. But I will be doing river boat cruise before the B&M. Tour. Next year we are doing back to back Ireland and Scotland tours.

Report back to us about your tours!

Happy travels

Wow! We've seen people post about doing two back to back tours, but never 5, at least to my knowledge.
I keep think that this is a great way to amortize the air fare. :-)
I'll be on the Adriatic tour that starts April 30th, so we'll be in different parts of Eastern Europe.
Have a wonderful time, don't be afraid to take a day off here and there (if only to do laundry!), and please let us know how it goes.
Happy trails!

Gee, Brad, What about Croatia (my coming tour)? I think you'll have just enough time to squeeze in a tour in late May. lol
I've done the Paris and 3 city Italy tours, plus have been to Munich a couple of times, if you have questions. Please post about your experiences. I've waited many years to travel extensively but have found 3-4 weeks is about the maximum I can absorb on the Rick Steves itinerary pace without a bit of a break. It's more than simply the miles of walking; it's being about to fully appreciate what I'm seeing and doing. I'm considering Portugal and Spain in the fall if you decide to you "need" another trip and want to say hi to another tour member in advance.
Have fabulous adventures,
Katy

Gee, Brad, What about Croatia (my coming tour)? I think you'll have just enough time to squeeze in a tour in late May. lol I've done the Paris and 3 city Italy tours, plus have been to Munich a couple of times, if you have questions. Please post about your experiences. I've waited many years to travel extensively but have found 3-4 weeks is about the maximum I can absorb on the Rick Steves itinerary pace without a bit of a break. It's more than simply the miles of walking; it's being about to fully appreciate what I'm seeing and doing. I'm considering Portugal and Spain in the fall if you decide to you "need" another trip and want to say hi to another tour member in advance. Have fabulous adventures, Katy

It was probably extremely naive to book all of the tours. At the time I was thinking it would be best to see what I want to see while I'm there; the more I read and research the more I see that I might be over reaching a bit. But then I've always been that way. My wife would get frustrated with me because I've always tended to be a bit grandiose in my travel plans.

Thanks all for the feedback and well wishes.

Hi,

I'll be in Paris April 15-19.

Angela

The RS company loves you!!
Have a great time Brad!

Brad, you absolutely have to attend the Tour Reunion in Edmonds in next January. I am sure you will win a prize for "most tours taken in one year". Good for you. I am really hoping you will take the time to post about your experiences.

Are you flying into Venice or arriving by train? From the train station, you can take a vaporetto to the stop closest to your hotel.

From the airport, you can take Alilaguna boats (low cost) to several points in the city. The last two blue line boats are at 23.30 and 00.30. There's an orange line at 00.00. The red line operates from April 1, so no timetable available. This is the cheapest way but takes about 1-1.5 hours.

From the airport there are also buses to Piazzale Roma where you can also get a vaporetto.

You can also take a private water taxi from the airport. Last month I was told, unofficially, that there's a fixed price of €150.

Unless you take a private water taxi, you need to ask your hotel for EXACT walking directions from the vaporetto/alilaguna stop. It's not easy to find your way around in daylight; at night it's much more difficult, at that time of night, chances are there won't be anyone out and about that you can even ask for directions.

Thank you Chani -

I did get the information I needed from the hotel and it looks pretty simple. Since I arrive at nearly midnight I was concerned about getting to the hotel but I have schedules now.

I do appreciate the feedback!

Brad

Bradndeedo..I am so jealous. We are doing best of Switzerland starting July 31st . You should add on the GAS tour in my book it is the best tour ever..maybe because it was my first. I would love to read your report.
Enjoy every moment. Safe travels.
Sue

You'll have a wonderful time! I do urge you to keep a journal and write a few lines every night about your day because they will run together. The year I really got back in to International travel I did 3 RS tours back to back plus an extra week in Paris in between. I started in London on my own then did the 21 Best of Europe, Best of Paris, the week with a friend in Paris and finished with Village Italy. I had a fabulous time and was not really ready to come home!

It will help that you are in good shape. I was doing a long walk of up to 10 miles once a week with daily miles ranging at 4-5 and felt that mileage helped me power thru 8 active weeks.

To add to Pam's great advice . . . Keep some kind of a journal and use the bus time or find a few quiet moments over a coffee or before bed to write a couple lines. Take extra memory sticks and batteries for your camera and take photos of signs everywhere. There are iconic sights, like the Eiffel Tower and the Colosseum, but museums, churches, villages, castles, and all the other places can be hard to identify a month later, after all the dust settles. Every day your guide will post a page with the next day's itinerary. Take a photo - first, it will be useful to be able to refer to it later in the day but when you get home, it will also help you make sense of the trip.

Wonderful advice!!! Thank you all!