Village Italy
It's not by accident that the tour guides on our Rick Steves tours have all been very good. We were especially fortunate on this trip because Trina was superb. She kept us organized, informed, and in a good humor. Her recommendations for meals on our own and activities on our free time were, without exception, excellent. We took a side trip on our own to Pisa, which is not part of the itinerary, and she gave us ideas on what to do and how to get there that made the experience much more enjoyable and informative than had we tried to do it on our own. If you sign up for an Italy tour and get a note that Trina is your guide, you've won the lottery!
We are Steve and Lisa Bruns from Eaton, Ohio. We decided to take what would be our fourth Rick Steves tour to celebrate our 35th anniversary. We decided on the Village Italy tour because we liked the itinerary, it seemed to give us an opportunity to experience local culture more intimately than some of the other tours, and because all the comments online said how great the food was. When we told our adult daughter, Molly, who now lives and works in Washington, DC, about our plans, she reminded us how much she loved Italy and guilted us into inviting her along. Actually, we were glad to have her along because she did a much better job than we did in picking up some Italian phrases and aided our restaurant ordering immensely.
So, in late September 2017, we joined 22 other travelers, an outstanding tour guide, Trina Kudlacek, and our intrepid bus driver, Guido, for our tour of Village Italy. We had a great time, saw some beautiful art and scenery, ate some incredible food, and learned why they call them hill towns.
If you have any questions about our experience on the Village Italy tour, feel free to e-mail me here.
Click on the map to link to the tour page on Rick Steve's web site.
Our Guide
Our Bus Driver
A few words about the buses on Rick Steves tours. You spend a fair amount of time in them, so they are an important consideration. On all of our tours the buses have been new and maintained immaculately. Our drivers have washed the exterior of the buses during the course of the trip and police them for trash at every stop. The drivers' presence on the trips have added a great deal to our experience, bringing a local perspective and never-ceasing good humor.
This trip was a little different because Guido spoke little English, but when we shared a table with him and Trina and she could translate, we had great conversations. Another thing about the bus rides on Rick Steves tours that keeps us coming back is the fact that they're never more than half full and you have plenty of room to spread out. That makes the rides so much more comfortable.
Hotels
There are a lot of reasons why keep going on Rick Steves tours, but perhaps the most important reason is the location of the hotels. The map above is for the town of Orvieto and the pin marks the location of our hotel, the Hotel Grand Italia. As you can see, it could not be more centrally located. You have a lot of free time on the tours and being right in the heart of the town makes it easy to get up early in the morning, as I like to do, and take photographs before the crowds arrive, or to take advantage of all your time in an exotic foreign location and stay out late exploring the streets. Neither option is available at an American chain hotel located on the outerbelt well away from the city center.
All of our hotels were clean and safe and the hotel staffs were universally friendly and helpful. Every time I've mentioned a hotel in the text, I've included a link so you can get a feel for the places you stay on this tour.
