Trip Review and Tips
Who should take this tour:This tour is not recommended for first time visitors to Italy. Other Italian tours have much more interesting itineraries and more bucket list sights. This was our fourth Tauck tour to Italy and ranks in fourth place for those tours (our other tours were Classic Italy:, Tuscany and Cinque Terra: and Rome, the Amalfi Coast and Capri). Not that this was a bad tour, it just wasn't as amazing as the others. Think of this as the been there, done that, looking for something new tour of Italy. With the exception of Venice, all of the destinations were new to us.
TIme to go and weather: This tour is only offered in September and October. That's just perfect. We went the second week of September, and it was in the 80's for most of the trip and 70's towards the end. We had just a half day of rain (I think we were lucky). Go later if you want to be sure to avoid hot weather.
Food: Has anybody had bad food on an Italy trip? We certainly haven't. All on tour lunches and dinners included wine with the meal. Most of the restaurants were on the casual side, with the exception of the Grand Hotel in Stresa. No need for men to bring a jacket. In the past, Tauck dinners in Italy did the full three courses and dessert. On this trip, we were told two courses and dessert. A much more reasonable amount of food. I think you could have done the three courses, if you were a big eater. Lots of special food opportunities in Northern Italy: Balsamic vinegar in Modena, Parmesan in the Parma area, mortadella and other cured meats in Bologna, seafood in Venice. Try the pasta with black squid ink, if you get a chance (but don't get any on you!).
Hotels: All of the hotels were fully up to Tauck standards with awesome locations. All were of the vintage grand hotel variety. The hotel in Stresa (Grand Hotel des Iles Borromees on Lake Maggiore) was exceptional. Each floor had a different decor, and the decor was "over the top." Everyone got a lake view, but I'm not sure this always is the case. Some rooms were larger than others, luck of the draw. The hotel in Venice is right on the Grand Canal. You get to have your morning breakfast on the terrace overlooking the canal - memorable. The hotel is full of pictures of celebrities, politicians and royalty. They clearly got bigger rooms than we did. 
Pace: The pace varied, but in general it was on the leisurely side. Some early mornings when moving to a new hotel. Dinners were booked on the early side for Italy (typically 7:30-ish). The service speed was sometimes leisurely, and dinners still could run to nearly 10pm. Try to have your packing done before dinner on the eve of moving to a new hotel. Being Italy, many of the sights required a fair amount of walking and climbing of stairs or hills. Persons with walking difficulties should think twice before booking this tour.
Sights: This trip for me was more about enjoying Italian culture the seeing new sights. Lakes Como and Maggiore were the highlight for my wife and me - beautiful scenery and an island palace with gardens that was a joy to visit. In Miian, DaVinci's Last Supper was not available as part of the tour for our departure. I believe that next year they're dropping it entirely. So, if you want to see it, it's best to make reservations (entry is timed) in advance and do it on your own. The Milan Duomo is the most popular sight in Milan. If you want to go inside and possibly climb to the roof, you will need to do that on your own, as well. You can probably wait and have the hotel concierge make a reservation for you. Since most people on this tour have probably been to Venice before, it's nice that they take you to Torcello and Burano which you probably haven't seen. You also get the Doge's Palace and St. Mark's Basilica as part of tour, but those will be repeats for most visitors. We were supposed to get an after-hours tour of the Basilica, but it wasn't available for our tour. We got a before opening tour of the Doge's Palace instead.
All in all, an enjoyable trip. A good choice for those who are looking for more Italy and haven't been to the north.
Comments
Thanks for this! We have a deposit down for September 2023.
Thanks! Nice write-up and characterizations!
Along the lines of your point that this tour is not for first time visitors, we’ve been struggling with this even though we’ve been twice before. We are concerned because we’ve been to Stresa twice (wonderful twice too), and to Verona, and Venice in addition to a brief time in Bologna. Wondering if we’d be better off going to Sicily, where we’ve never been.
Rbernato-
That's a lot of overlap. Sicily or Puglia might be a better choice for you (I haven't done either). I'm assuming you've already done Tuscany and Amalfi.
We will be joining the September 27th 2023 tour. We are doing it on the backend of a back-to-back with the Rhine Oktoberfest tour. It will be our 6th Tauck tour, and our second tour in Italy, after our Classic Italy tour in 2019. Looking forward to the lakes, food and wine. Ken’s overview was very interesting. We have hired a personal guide for one of our 2 extra days in Venice to see/experience things we didn’t see on our Venice days. Looking forward to it.
Hopkinstx--I will miss you by 2 days. I will be on the September 23 departure. It will be the second leg of my back to back trips, the first one being Crown Jewels of Switzerland starting September 13.
voikk32--My husband and I and another couple will be on the September 23 departure. Hope to meet you.
Sorry if this is a repeat. I tried to send this before but I don't see my comments
Hi Ken, We are thinking this trip for 2023 if there are still openings, or for anytime next year. One drawback for this years trips is that the tours that end at the Gritti Palace are already booked. Is a stay there really worth it? It sounds fabulous. I think the itinerary is great as we have already been to Rome, Florence and Venice on our own. Have no desire to repeat Rome and Florence, but we ended last summers Croatia trip in Venice and I still could go back and do more, We have been to Murano and Burano and enjoyed the boat rides, so I wouldn't mind repeating them, or we could just skip and spend more time exploring the back alleys of Venice. We are 76 and 86 now, and of course will be one year older in 2024. What can you advise about the activity/pacing of this trip?. We were fine on last years Croatia trip which included lots of cobblestone and hills in the heat.
See you then, PhillyGal. BTW, my daughter lives in West Chester.
sherry_schare-
The Gritti Palace is nice. The rooms aren't that special (on the small side and you typically don't get a view), but the location, ambience, and breakfast on the Grand Canal are. I can't judge the alternative without knowing what it is (where did you get your information that Tauck wasn't using it for some tours?).
As to the pace and activity level, I can't add too much to what I said in my review. There is a lot of walking and stair climbing, but it is at a leisurely pace. At a minimum, you should be comfortable walking a couple of miles at a leisurely pace and climbing one or two flights of stairs.
By the way, your missing post was on my "wall" rather than in the forums.
The hotel change from the Gritti Palace to the St. Regis-Venice was listed on the Tauck "dates and availability" site. I looked up the St. Regis-Venice and it is located a little set back from the Grand Canal but with views of St. Maggiore(?). The rooms look bigger than the Gritti Palace, and ultra modern with no charm, but the room rate is about the same as the Gritti Palace so it is probably in the same class.
Looks like there is also a canal-view eating terrace, but there are so many others to choose from. We ended last year's trip to Croatia with an extra day in Venice to celebrate my birthday. It was wonderful until our flight home was canceled and I came down with COVID Looking forward to spending more time in Venice to skip the sights we have already seen and explore some new museum and back alleys
Note the famous Venice Biennale runs May through November, though in a departure the emphasis this year is on architecture. I was in Venice in 2019; the Glasstress exhibit on Murano was ultra-contemporary and worth a look online for a virtual visit.
sherry_schare-
We stayed at the St. Regis (then a Westin) on our first trip to Venice in 2005. At that time, the bar was the only part of the hotel with a terrace overlooking the Grand Canal. However, it appears to have been reconfigured since then and there is at least one photo on Google Maps showing someone eating breakfast overlooking the canal. It is a bit closer to St. Marks Square than the Gritti, but not a big walk for either. Our room in 2005 was at least as small as the Gritti rooms, so not much advantage there. I would say it's a toss-up and not a big deal either way.
By the way, the bar there in 2005 holds the dubious distinction of serving the most overpriced drinks we've ever purchased. As I recall it was 32 euros for two gin and tonics. Caveat emptor, especially in Venice!
Our first Tauck trip was 2006. Northern Italy. We arrived around noon to Venice. Hotel Danieli. We were immediately taken to the terrace overlooking the Grand Canal for a group lunch. Then Tauck surprised us with gondola rides. 17 years later and several more trips but still remember that day.
We stayed at the Gritti Palace with Tauck many years ago. Our room was very large and old fashioned. Since then I believe the hotel was renovated. The room had a view of the building next door and if you looked out the window you could see the side canal next to the building. There are very few rooms directly on the canal. However the hotel lobby is charming and to eat right on the canal every morning and later for a drink was wonderful. Just need to watch for the thieving birds.
Good location also. Gave a real sense of what living on the canal was like. We were not in the room very much. One memory I have is waking up at 2am to find my husband watching the Celtics playoffs! This was before all the streaming devies or reliable internet!
Don't know anything about the St. Regis.
We are new to Tauck. 1st tour taking the Northern Italy 9/6/23 for our anniversary. Have concerns about the amount of downtime not having a detailed itinerary in advance to plan purchase of tickets or restaurants. Had no luck with hotel concierge for Last Supper tixs. One would think if they were so hard to come by, Tauck would not have done away with it. Also trying to find a private driver for day trip to Piedmont to visit Barolo winery. Concierge quoted $1200! Does anyone know of any kind of day trips to Barolo? Thanks
Google “Tours By Locals”
I think Tauck did away with the Last Supper precisely because tickets were hard to come by (for them).
voikk32 Looking forward to meeting you and sharing our trip. (My sister formerly lived in West Chester with my Mom, but lives in Exton now; brother lives in Yardley.)
PhillyGal--it should be a good time. Looking forward to meeting you, your husband and your friends as well.