Has anyone taken the Village Italy tour in late June/early July? How is the weather at that time?

I'm interested in that tour, too. Your question might get more responses if you post it in the Italy forum.

Hot , it will be hot . To avoid hot go innlate April or early May .

Before booking, I'd ask the RS offices if all the hotels are air-conditioned.

Yes, Pat is right and Chani gives good advice. It will be hot, or at least that was our experience mid to end of June last year. As I recall, one of our hotels (Lucca, I believe) was not air conditioned and we sweltered! That said, weather is unpredictable :)

That's when we're going. Luckily, the heat doesn't bother us. (Usually.) We used to visit my sister in Phoenix in August, until she asked us to choose another time of year.

We're really looking forward to this tour. Let us know if you decide on dates; PM me if you don't want it announced on the open Forum. Lo, have you made up your mind yet?

Hi,

I am taking the tour that departs on 6/26-7/09. As the old saying goes, "It's not the heat, it's the humidity!" So if it's hot AND humid, I'll probably be a bit miserable. But luckily the bus and most hotels will have A/C, so that should help. Would prefer to go in the fall, but I'm a teacher- so that's not possible.

Jane, the planets are starting to align. But being the human definition of a cheapskate, I'm watching the discounted tours and checking on how those dates are filing up. I'll be traveling solo and getting a single supplement, so if I can save some money, that would be great -- but not at the expense of missing the tour.

As to the heat, it's been running in the high 80's and low 90's here. But the humidity has been around 10%. I suspect the humidity will be the issue in Italy.

Lo, I noticed that the late May and early June tours are discounted $400. I can only assume that the later June ones will be too, but that could be a dangerous assumption. Would the office tell you if a discount is looming?

The weather note on the tour page shows daily highs ranging from 80 to 84; even with humidity I would think that those of us from warmer climes will be okay. Oklahoma is not as hot as Tucson, but it does get very humid.

My DH isn't quite as impervious to heat as I am (he calls me a lizard,) but he's generally okay with anything under body temp, certainly anything under 90-or so. He does like it to be below 80 at night though, for sleeping.

Based on a conversation with an RS tour rep, it looks like the dates I wanted for the Village Italy tour, 26 June - 9 July, are unlikely to be discounted due to the number of people already signed up. So I just signed up. Looks like I'll be glurging acqua frizzante and seeking granitas just like everyone else on the tour. See you soon Broekerd and Jane.

Great! I will look forward to meeting you on 6/26/- I'm arriving a day early and going to Venice on 6/25 since that's not on our tour. Only a 20 minute train ride from Padua!

My tentative plan (no lodgings yet) is to arrive in Venice (from Ravenna) on 21 June and depart for Padua on 25 June, so our trains may be passing each other. I hope to be able to get a room in the tour hotel in Padua and to be able to stay in it for the tour check-in. That's what we did in Istanbul, my only other RS tour experience.

Ladies, what fun! We'll (DH is coming, too) be arriving in Padua June 23. I need the extra day to recover from the plane trip and, more to the point, the pre-travel stress. And it looks like there's a lot to see and do there that the tour won't be covering.

And I want a second (well, first) look at the Scrovegni Chapel. I'm a sucker for frescoes.

See you there!

I went on this tour in late May-early June of 2012. Heat was never an issue. Some very pleasant days, a couple of rainy ones, and some in-between.

Great tour. If you have some extra days, think about Bolzano and the Dolomites before heading to Padua, especially if you've been to Venice already. Also, I'm glad I took a free afternoon in Lucca and jumped the train to Pisa. Yes, it can be swarmed with visitors, but it's one of those sights you really need to see.

Oh Jane! I wish I had known to go to the Scrovegni Chapel a second or a pre time. I'm not even that in to frescoes and thought it was fabulous. The time you are allowed in is so short. Take small binoculars if you have them.

If any of you have a remote interest in viewing relics, this is the tour. Start with St Anthony's tongue, jaw bone and vocal cords in Padua at the Basilica!

This is a fun and excellent tour!

Okay, I sent RSE a check for the balance of our account yesterday. I guess that makes it official!

Pam, I knew that just one short visit wouldn't be enough! I feel the same way about the Ravenna mosaics, but I couldn't rearrange our schedule to spend more time there. Sigh. Maybe next trip. There's always a next trip.

It's going to be a painful month, money-wise - I not only am paying my account with Rick Steves, but sending a check to Uncle Sam as well! If only I were getting a refund to help pay for my trip!

broekerd, same here. Ouch!

It's my observation that when you get to the stage in life where you have to pay quarterly estimated taxes, you're much less likely to get a refund!

PS to broekerd: Re your recent PM about how many posts I have: See how easy it is to keep adding posts?

You know, Jane, it just occurred to me that I don't remember what we did for lunch in Ravenna BUT if I were doing it again I might organize a picnic type lunch for that day which would free up some time to spend looking at the frescoes and mosaics. Your previous afternoon is a free afternoon in Padua where you might be able to pick up some things that don't need refrigeration.

I DO clearly remember that I popped in to a gelato shop near the meet-up point and had absolutely unbelievable white peach sorbetto while the group gathered.

Oh yes! Orta San Giulio - Gelato Artisinale Eliot - piazza by the boat docks! I was there in October so fall fruits were in. He had fig sorbetto from made from figs from his fig tree, pear and green apple. Oh my. Orvieto has some splendid gelaterias as well!

Thanks for the suggestion about the picnic lunch in Ravenna, Pam. And while I don't eat gelato or sorbetto, my DH does. I'll pass the recommendations along.

I was in Italy, from Sicily up to Florence, in late August last year. It was hot, but manageable. It was humid, but not quite as humid as Texas summers on the coast. It felt like the summer heat and humidity in Atlanta, Georgia or Austin, Texas to me.

I haven't been on any RS tour, but I can tell you that in July and late June Florence and Rome can reach 100 degrees and hang out in the 90s. It's not ideal, but we've enjoyed both cities at over 95. Be aware that museums are often unairconditioned

Hmmm? I'm on this same tour. I grew up in Texas. I've experienced summers in Austin, Rockport (on the coast) and San Antonio, my home town. Tucson heat is definitely drier, but I should be able to acclimate. The worst I've dealt with was in VA when it was 95° F and 95% humidity and there was no gelato. I noticed that this tour is now labeled "filling fast."

April is the cruelest month. Taxes paid, check. Pre and post tour lodgings reserved with deposits paid where applicable, check. Trip insurance purchased, check. Balance on tour will be paid by the 26th.

BTW, I decided to spend 5 nights in an apartment in Venice, so I won't get to Padua until 26 June. It's such a short train ride, I'll probably do the pre-Scrovegni visit part of one of those days. And I am spending 2 nights in Ravenna so I'll have extra quality mosaic time. I'm so excited. I've only seen those Giotto frescoes in books or travel shows. I have seen some of the mosaics, but not all of them. And that was 40 years ago.

Lo, yesterday was the first day in a long time that I didn't check the status of our tour, so I missed the change to "filling fast." I'm a bit surprised; I thought weather fears would keep folks away.

But even a full RS tour is a good sized group. Looking forward to meeting you and broekerd in person in June!

Hi,

I was rather hoping the tour wouldn't be full-- more room to stretch out on the bus! But I know it will be a GREAT trip even if I don't get my wish! I am sending in the final payment today- can't wait for departure day!

There will still be plenty of room on the bus. Usually the tours top out at 25 or 26 and you'll be on a full-size bus built for 52 to 60 people. Some couples choose to sit together, others sit separately. As a solo traveler I have always had 2 seats to myself! I also look at where the post is on the window frame when I choose my seats.

Pam's right, broekerd. There are generally at least twice as many seats as there are travelers. Although we have noticed that some buses are roomier than others: more leg room - and hip room.

See you soon!