Ciao from Rick: Italy’s Parade of Travel Thrills
Last month, I took a different type of trip to Europe. I wasn't updating my guidebooks, filming a public television show, or hopping on a Rick Steves tour. Nope…I was actually on vacation — in Italy — enjoying the experience through the eyes of someone who'd never been there.
That someone was my wonderful girlfriend, Shelley. With a few friends, we spent two weeks enjoying a parade of Italian travel thrills in serene Venice, the majestic Dolomites, the sun-soaked Italian Riviera, and dreamy Lake Como. And I have to say: While I love writing and filming, it was so nice to just enjoy being in these beautiful places, with a great travel partner…on vacation.
In Venice, we hopped a vaporetto — one of the city's floating buses — and cruised down the Grand Canal, following an audio tour on my Rick Steves Audio Europe™ app. We wandered quiet back lanes, explored the city's layered history on a walking tour with a local guide, and lingered late in glowing St. Mark's Square…which, after the sun set and all the tourists went back to their cruise ships, was pretty much all ours.
In the Dolomites, we traded canals for high altitude Alpine thrills, hiking the Alta Via 1. Tiny lakes reflected mini-Matterhorns…cows checked us out as farmers let us use their picnic tables while we sipped their elderberry tea…each day came with king-o'-the-mountain views…and pasta and red wine never tasted so good as after an all-day hike in the Dolomites.
Then we traded thin-air thrills for the riviera: Italy's Cinque Terre. I've been coming to these colorful Ligurian coastal villages regularly since I first discovered them as a student backpacker…but never properly experienced the fabled Via dell'Amore — the path between the towns of Riomaggiore and Manarola — until this visit. The path, which recently reopened after being closed for years due to erosion, is indicative of the many improvements that have been made here. What was once, frankly, a poor and chaotic region (in a charming way) has become affluent, efficient, and bursting with experiences. The trails connecting the towns have been spiffed up, the trains are both frequent and (believe it or not) punctual, and the local white wine — once table wine served from bottles without labels — is now proud and refined. Locals capitalize on the region's popularity by catering artfully to the dreams of their many visitors, from boat rides to private coves, to pesto and focaccia cooking classes, to wine tastings high in vineyards overlooking the sea.
As we headed home and reviewed memories via our photos, it occurred to me that the trip I had arranged for Shelley's first visit to my favorite country was essentially a Rick Steves tour. That loving focus on experience, learning, great food, and connecting with interesting locals — it's what we curate on our itineraries. The joy I felt in designing and leading Shelley's experience was the joy my colleagues and guides feel when designing and leading our tours. I like to take the fun Shelley and I had, multiply it by the 35,000 travelers who joined a Rick Steves tour this year, and think…"Yep, that's a lot of travel joy, thrills, tasty treats, and fun."
Italy won't disappoint. There's just so much to see, taste, and learn here that we offer nine different itineraries, more than anywhere else in Europe. Browse our Italy itineraries, and you'll see: Whatever you're hoping to get from your next Italian vacation, we've got a tour that's right for you.
In this month's Tour News, we'll showcase the best of small-town Italy with a day-by-day slideshow of our Village Italy tour, share an interview with Village Italy tour guide Tricia Brady, take a stroll through one of Umbria's best hill towns with tour guide David Tordi, and help you choose which of our Italy tours best fits your travel dreams with an at-a-glance comparison.
Speaking of Italy: I have two exciting updates. First, keep an eye out for our new "Italy Highlights" episode in Season 13 of Rick Steves' Europe. The season is already airing on public television stations across the US (and streaming on Passport and ricksteves.com), and the Italy episode premieres the week of October 29. Second, I'm proud to announce our newest guidebook: Rick Steves Rome, Florence & Venice. It's the perfect companion for any trip to these three magnificent cities…which we (unsurprisingly) have a tour for as well.
Buon viaggio!
Rick