A journey of discovery through the landscapes, art, food, and people of Italy
We discovered Rick Steves' Tours about 3 years ago when we were hoping to travel to Italy. We were looking at tour companies independently and both came home one night and said almost at the same time - have you looked at Rick Steves? So...it was meant to be! It was then that we fell in love the with Best of Italy in 17 Days tour, as it hit all our highlights, but we didn't have the ability to take that much time off of work at once. We decided instead to get our feet wet on the shorter Best of Scotland in 10 days tour instead. We loved every second of it! We discovered that Rick Steves' tours are just as advertised - paced well and thoughtfully organized, with spectacular guides, and most importantly, grump-free! The next year, we made plans to travel to Paris for our 10th anniversary. Of course our imaginations went wild, and we decided that Germany was an easy trip from France...so, we found ourselves on the Germany, Austria and Switzerland in 14 Days tour. Once again, the experience was unforgettable. On our flight home, we begin planning our Italy trip. We saved up all our time off, signed up for as many overtime shifts as we could, and a little over a year later, we were on our way!
We love the Rick Steves' travel philosophy. He has a "no grumps" policy that tour members sign agreeing to have a positive outlook on the tour, and believe it or not, it works! On all three tours our group has been great, gotten along terrifically, and there hasn't been a bad egg in the bunch! The company gives advanced notice that the tours are heavy on educational and immersion experiences, that the touring days can be physically strenuous, and that you are expected to carry your own luggage to and from the bus, often down the street and up sets of stairs in small (sometimes eccentric) hotels that have no elevators. This really attracts a certain kind of person that is interested in adventure, learning about new cultures, and educational experiences. Fellow tour members provide entertainment, camaraderie, and knowledge, creating a truly incredible experience!
Rick Steves' tours provide an action-packed itinerary of amazing sites and experiences but also allow substantial free time to pursue your own interests and rest if needed. This marvel is achieved via smaller group sizes than most companies, expert guides, and having the itinerary down to a science. I can't say enough for how much time it saves on a trip to have your hotels prearranged, to get to skip the lines at many sites, and to have a tour guide who knows exactly when the best time to arrive is. Worry-free traveling that allows you to make the most of your limited travel time!
Why this tour?
Best of Scotland 2014
Germany, Austria and Switzerland 2015
Best of Italy 2016
One of the most important ways to prepare for the trip is to get your packing list down! It is recommended to pack light, as you will be handling all your own luggage, often up stairs, down cobblestone streets, and on and off trains, buses and boats! The lighter you pack, the better off you are! It is amazing how little you can get by with, if you are willing to do a little sink laundry along the way! On this tour there are a few stops that allow you to have your laundry done by the hotel. We had all our laundry done for 15 Euro by the hotel in Cinque Terre - well worth it! We traveled for 24 days with a rolling carryon and a personal bag each, and we didn't miss a thing!
Preparing for the journey
We had never been gone for so long before, so we were very grateful to have a family member willing to stay at our home and care for our dogs and plants. What a relief not to have to worry about them! So after that was decided, the planning was all fun! We used the Rick Steves' Italy guidebook to read up about the places we would be visiting before and to help pick out free time activities. We read up on some art history and watched some videos to help prepare us for the great masterpieces we would be seeing along the way. Tamara is not so gifted with languages, but David picks them up easily, so he practiced his Italian with the free app Duolingo for months before the trip. It is amazing how much he was able to learn! And the locals loved the effort he made to communicate with them, however rudimentary the vocabulary. We elected to spend a night in Varenna before the tour, 1 extra night in Rome after the tour, and 4 nights in London on the way home. Before we knew it, we were off on our big adventure!
Packing light for 24 days overseas!
Volare! Our view as we flew over the Alps on the way to Varenna!
Day 0 - Our first day in Italy
We landed in Milan around 11 am, exhausted but excited to hit the ground running! After almost falling asleep standing up in the immigration line, we found our way to the train that took us to Milan Central Station. We had read that they have an area for left luggage so we could take a quick jaunt into the city to see the Duomo before heading to Lake Como. We had a bit of trouble finding the left luggage area, but after that it was super easy to catch the metro which lets out directly in front of the Duomo. What a surreal experience after hours in planes, trains and automobiles to emerge from the underground to that site! It was literally breathtaking!
We wandered around, readjusting to being in the daylight, and just tried to soak that "I can't believe I'm really here" feeling in. Before long, we realized how hungry we were, so we walked across the street to the Victore Emmanuel mall to find a bite to eat. We grabbed a sandwich in a little shop upstairs, and this is where the jet-lag brain really set in. I (Tamara) grabbed my lunch tray, promptly knocking my bottled soda to the ground with a loud thump and garnering stares from the cashier as well as the other patrons. Frazzled from that, I tried to quickly sit at the table we had chosen and missed that there was a step down to that table, so I gracefully fell down the step, pushing the table against the old window with a loud rattle. Face flaming, I was thinking, well, at least I know how to make an entrance! We giggled our way through lunch as we watched the cashier set every bottle after that on its side so it could not be knocked over. What a trendsetter!!
We wanted to make it to our hotel for the night before dark, so we left Milan around 3:30 pm and took the nice 45 minute train ride into Varenna. Following Ricks' advice, we sat on the left side of the train and got amazing views of Lake Como on the way! It was easy to walk to our hotel from the train station. Funny jet-lagged brain story number 2: We stopped for a minute to look at a map and I didn't notice that my new 4 wheeled suitcase took a walkabout down the hill all on its own. Luckily some nice fellow tourists were kind enough to point it out to me and I chased it down the hill, otherwise our peaceful beginning to the trip may have started out differently!
We got to our room in Villa Cipressi and were stunned by how beautiful the room and property were, and totally awed that we got to spend the next 3 nights there. Wow! We spent the evening walking around the gardens and town to watch the sunset and then had a delicious meal in the hotel restaurant before turning in early. What a perfect day!
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About the tour
The Best of Italy in 17 Days tour has what we thought was the perfect itinerary for seeing so much of what the country has to offer. It balances mountains and lakes, big cities and little quaint villages, beautiful landscapes, incredible architecture and art, food as varied as the regions, and lovely, welcoming locals. It is the very best of northern and central Italy, and we loved every stop. Here is a map of our itinerary. If you would like more information on this tour, please click the photo below:
