quote:

Originally posted by Hibiscus:
We have "two" days so, the glass blowing demo is on the second day with the "day at lesuire" after that.

Hibiscus ~ You have 2 nights in Venice, which means you will arrive in the afternoon of the 1st night as day 6 looks fairly full, then have a full day (day 7) of the 2nd night, then leave in the morning of day 8. This means you have only one full day - this may make a difference to your plans.

The number in brackets, in the TT book, beside each day indicates how many nights you stay not days.

Mallee ! To add to the experience of the amphibious fire engine swamping us, I had just bought an oil painting ( framed) in St Mark's square. At the price of it, I was trying to chose between the wife and the painting, which I would try and save !!!! ( Just kidding !) The painting was undamaged as it happened, and is now proudly hung on the lounge wall, reminding us of our trip in the gondola !

Dimpz- Yes thank you you're right! Two nights, one full day. Great thing to remember.

While tours have GREAT upsides, they do have the downsides of only getting a "taste" of each place you go through, bummer! I think this really was the best choice for our 1st trip over though; we can see which places we'd LOVE to go back to & plan for that someday!

quote:

Originally posted by Hibiscus:
While tours have GREAT upsides, they do have the downsides of only getting a "taste" of each place you go through, bummer! I think this really was the best choice for our 1st trip over though; we can see which places we'd LOVE to go back to & plan for that someday!

If you have never been to a country I think it is perfect to start, as you are, with a taster.

quote:

Originally posted by Hibiscus:
Dimpz- Yes thank you you're right! Two nights, one full day. Great thing to remember.

While tours have GREAT upsides, they do have the downsides of only getting a "taste" of each place you go through, bummer! I think this really was the best choice for our 1st trip over though; we can see which places we'd LOVE to go back to & plan for that someday!

Hi
You will find the whole tour is just a taster, nothing is in depth. You will get a feel if you want to come back. Dress for comfort with comfortable shoes & hold on as it's quick & painless

quote:

Originally posted by Hibiscus:
Ok, so tell me what we MUST DO in Venice!

Not sure what I should plan...there's just SO much! I know I HAVE to do the Burano seafood lunch optioanl.

But what do you suggest?

I would definately recommend St Marco's Square in the evening. There is an optional for this, you can sit in St Marco's square drinking wine, coffee or enjoying an icecream whilst listening to classical music being played by the orchestra's. It is definately a pinch yourself moment. Then a cruise along the Grand Canal at night time to see the sights and look in through the windows of Venice along the canal to see the wonderful chandeliers, tapestries and paintings. Truly wonderful.

A Gondola ride is a must, taken a dusk or in the moonlight - very romantic.

Alternatively, if there is a pizza restaurant/bar close to your hotel, once you arrive back at night time, it is great to sit outside and enjoy a glass of wine and maybe a pizza supper with fellow members of your tour group.

Venice is wonderful any time of day, it just seems a bit more special at night.

Burano is a must, it was absoulutely the highlight of my first visit to Venice. We spent about three hours there in total, which included a meal that was delicious. The extra time spent walking around, taking a zillion photo's and browsing the shops was just wonderful. I would never go to Venice now and not want to go to Burano. It is magnificent. A great pity there are no hotels there.

When you return from the Burano optional you have from about 4pm to do as you please, some of the shops are open until about 8pm, the restaurants and bars a bit later. See if you can find a map of where the hotel that you will be staying at is and find out what it is close to and where the vaporette's leave from so you can plan ahead for your free time. Of course you don't have to take the optionals or the included tours, you can if you wish do as you please, you need to let your Tour Director know that you are going it alone, but they are ok with this, if this is what you want to do. Just keep in mind that the optionals and the included tours are more economical if you do them with the tour group than if you do them alone.

Enjoy
JDee

This message has been edited. Last edited by: JDee,

quote:

Just keep in mind that the optionals and the included tours are more economical if you do them with the tour group than if you do them alone.

Is this really true, JDee? We found that the optionals times two were mostly quite a bit more expensive than doing some of the same things independently. However, for a first-timer, they may well be worth it, but I'm not sure they're more economical.

I think, for example, the trip to Burano and that fabulous meal were worth the money but that's a different matter, no? With so many things in Italy generally, I think you pay a premium for the view and possibly a tour takes this into account. But a street off the main tourist area and a panino in your hand at half the price of those in the piazza, and a wander around San Marco piazza finding a seat on the benches in the Doge's gallery, priceless!!!

Brenda

My tour had three nights in Venice and it wasn't nearly enough.

We arrived late afternoon, had a gondolo ride and some free time in St. Mark's Square then an included dinner at our hotel. The next day, we did the glass-blowing thing, then a tour of the Doge's Palace and Basilica then the Burano Optional. The third day we had totally free and I remember it as being magical. We went straight to St. Mark's Square and went up the Bell Tower before it got busy (fabulous views from up there) and then we spent the rest of the day shopping and wandering around the streets of Venice and then had an included dinner at our hotel in Lido (switched from the night before since we went to Burano for a late lunch).

Venice is wonderful.

quote:

Originally posted by BrendaC:
Is this really true, JDee? We found that the optionals times two were mostly quite a bit more expensive than doing some of the same things independently. However, for a first-timer, they may well be worth it, but I'm not sure they're more economical.

True, Brenda. I've generally found the optionals to be rather expensive but they are worth it for the convenience and time-saving (no lineups).

Usually the optional includes the 'fare' to get there as well. If you do it independantly you have to arrange your transport too, so this would add to the cost. Not everything is within walking distance, and in Venice transport is a little trickier for the first time visitor.

Certainly, if you feel you can do it more economically, the Tour Director's are happy for you to do this, they will never force you to do the optionals. It can work out a bit tricky however if there is an included optional after the optional, how are you going to get there? A lady on my tour last year did not want to do any of the optionals and it ended up costing her money in cab fares. In the end she decided to do those that were part of a days touring and to leave out the optional dinners at night time.

I think the big bonus with doing the optionals, is that you don't have to queue, they do save you time. And as most of the group do them, you have loads of fun with your tour mates, especially as some of the optionals include drinks !!

On the one tour I've had (not Italy), the optionals were places I wanted to go to, and it was far cheaper to go on an optional than to as an independent traveller. Yes, there were time constraints once you'd arrived, but, on balance, I thought they were very good value.

To be fair, I wasn't in a mood to be critical! They were all wonderful! There is just so much to see and do.

Mallee: I think that's the way you have to look at it and not calculate their cost.
As I said earlier, there's a difference between cost and value or I should say personal worth and not everything works out equally in that equation.

As JDee says, one does have fun with one's tourmates but even that can pall by the end of the tour for some, and independent exploration is just a matter of choice.

Brenda

JD- Thank you for your expreience. I was considering giving up the Burano optional because i don't want to miss Venice, but when I read your response I just know no matter what we choose, we won't be "missing" anything!

Jeannie-Mmmm...everything you did sound fabulous!


Re;Cost/Value: HUbby has been "reluctant" about optionals due to cost. I keep reminding him of the "value" factor. While we'll I'm sure do optional, he is excited about expreincing a bit of Italy on our own too, which I think we'll be GREAT!

quote:

While we'll I'm sure do optional, he is excited about expreincing a bit of Italy on our own too, which I think we'll be GREAT!

Hibiscus, it will be great, and remember Venice is an island and you can't go too far wrong and you'll usually land back at the Rialto bridge or San Marco. There are signs that point to both on most street corners.

Brenda

Thanks Brenda...I was a bit worried about being lost in the confusion of streets, but hey, maybe that's half the fun right?