Venice
Tours, Transfers, and Day Trips
 Venice is a small, pedestrian-friendly city, and if you're willing to walk or
buy a 12-hour to seven-day vaporetto travel card, you can easily get around on
your own.
 Still, a guided tour can be worthwhile if you're pressed for
time, if you want to learn more about Venice than you could learn from a
guidebook, if you have mobility problems, or if you simply want to try something
different (such as an Italian wine tasting, a photographer's tour, or the chance
to learn Venetian-style rowing).
Here are
some links that will help you find the right tour for your tastes and budget:
Moderately-priced tours, day trips, and transfers:
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 Viator
Tours and Transfers
our partner
Viator is a tour broker that offers a wide range of excursions and activities in
Venice, the Veneto region, and other parts of Italy--including gondola rides, ghost tours, and
"skip the line" tours of the Doge's Palace.
Viator also
provides airport and cruise transfers. You can pre-book before you leave
home, with prices shown in any of four currencies:
For an example of a Viator
local tour, read our Gondola Serenade article.
More personal and expensive:
If you can afford a private tour with your own expert guide, one
of these services may be worth considering:
WalksInsideVenice
Two licensed guides (both natives of Venice) have teamed up to offer private
tours for individuals, families, and small groups. Roberta Curiel is co-author
of The Venetian Ghetto, an outstanding book about Venice's Jewish
history and synagogues. Sara Cossiga is a freelance art historian, sommelier,
and culinary expert who organizes cooking classes, private dinners, and wine
tours at Venice & Veneto Gourmet
when she isn't guiding visitors around the city.
Contemporary
Venice Art Tours
Cristina Gregorin, a licensed guide and author of books
such as Venice Master Artisans,
offers guided visits of modern-art exhibitions, collections, artists' studios,
and galleries. She also leads
general-interest
tours with a variety of themes.
The Venice Experience
Mike and Karen Henderson, an American expat couple, will take you on a private
sightseeing tour, a cichetti pub crawl, or a photography excursion.
(Karen also publishes a
Venice Experience Blog, while Mike blogs at
Henderson in Venice.)
Venicescapes
Michael
Broderick, an American researcher and author who lives in Venice, has been
offering private guided tours and lectures for visiting groups since 1997.
Venice Tourist Guides Association
The A.G.T. Venezia represents licensed guides who speak 13 languages.
Venetian Vine
AIS-certified sommeliers Nan McElroy and Sara Cossiga present twice-weekly
Italian wine tastings at an enoteca in Venice. They also can arrange
private vineyard tours.
On the water:
Row Venice
Learn to
row the way Venetians do: Standing up and facing forward in a sandalo
or other traditional boat.
I Batelli di Brenta (The
Brenta River's Boats)
Boats leave Venice or Padua in the morning for an all-day trip through the
Brenta Canal that includes stops at three Venetian villas and the 16th Century
mills at Dolo. Other excursions, including a half-day trip from Dolo to Venice,
are also available.
Delta Tour:
Brenta Riviera and Venetian Villas
The excursion boat Città di Padova offers day cruises along the
Brenta Canal from Venice, with stops at historic villas and lunch on board.
Eolo
Explore the Venetian Lagoon on a restored bragozzo sailboat that was
built in 1946 and used for fishing until 1967. Itineraries range from daytime
sightseeing trips to multi-night cruises.
Venice Kayak
Paddle around
Venice and the Lagoon by the day or week, with an experienced tour guide.
(For pictures, see our
Venice
Travel Blog post.)
In the air:
Heliair Venice
Book a six- to 30-minute private tour by helicopter, with aerial views of the
Venetian Lagoon and Venice' s historic center. (See our
blog
post with videos.)
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links, and hotel Web sites.
» Click for
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Venice for Cruisers:
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