Trip Report - Venice and Dalmatian Coast September 2024 (part 1)
Venice and Dalmatian Coast September 2024
What a wonderful trip! I wanted to share some of our experiences, particularly information about selecting shore excursions to those who may consider this trip in the future. This tour includes a couple days in Venice and then a Ponant small ship cruise along the Dalmatian Coast.
For our tour the Ponant ship L’Austral had over 200 Tauck guests and was not a “shared ship” with other non-Tauck guests. Tauck personnel included 6 tour directors and a cruise director. Slightly over half of the group stayed at the Venice Stuckey Hilton on Giudecca Island and the rest stayed at the Excelsior Hotel on Lido Island in the Venice lagoon. The welcome dinners were held at the respective hotels, so we didn’t meet the other guests and 3 of the tour directors until we boarded the ship on the 3rd day. We chose to stay at the Hilton as it is a bit closer to the main part of Venice, but Lido Island has better beach facilities if that is of interest. We found the Stucky to be very accommodating with a great breakfast buffet. Also not to miss is their rooftop bar with a breathtaking view of Venice at sunset. We also appreciated onsite restaurants (especially on arrival evening) and the selection of local restaurants along the shoreline of Giudecca island only a short distance away.
One key consideration for taking this trip would be mobility. Aside from the usual European caveats of walking over cobblestone streets, steps without handrails, and standing, I must mention the need to get on and off small vessels throughout the trip. As noted, both hotels are on islands, so the small boat experience begins on the way from the airport in order to check into the hotel. It was the first time we’ve ever pulled up to a hotel in a speedboat. Gondola rides also require balance and mobility -- think of getting into a canoe. Transportation around Venice is provided by small water taxis, and floating public bus-boats (called in Italian a vaporetto). . Lastly many of the ports require access by a ship tender (aka lifeboat) to reach shore. A couple of these rides were over very choppy water. All types of vessels had an attendant to lend a steadying hand for getting on and off, but it is something to be aware of to fully enjoy all parts of this journey.
Day 0
We arrived a day in advance of the tour, so we headed out in the morning to explore the sites of Venice after checking with the TD’s to not duplicate the Tauck walking tour scheduled the next day. Buying an all-day vaporetto pass was a great investment and I would recommend taking a few moments to review the map for routes and stops of these water taxis before you head out to tour. It is also important to allow time for transportation and to note the Stucky hotel’s complimentary taxi-boat intervals were every 30-45 minutes.
Out first stop was the small island of San Giorgio Maggiore to see the Basilica built by the Renaissance architect Palladio that contains artwork by Tintoretto (father and son) and Sebastion Ricci. We opted not to scale the tower with reported impressive views, but did enjoy an art exhibit held in the nearby buildings.
We then took the vaporetto across the lagoon and then switched to Line 1 to get an overview going up the Grand Canal. One of the best ways to see Venice is from the water. I really appreciated the cooperation and skill of the operators navigating on the canal. After a brief pizza break for lunch, we then did an informal walking tour of the Jewish ghetto (a small island) provided an overview of the history of this community, museum, and synagogues.
Then back to the hotel to enjoy a lovely outdoor reception to meet the other tour guests staying at the Hilton hotel. The dinner (inside) was lovely, and I especially enjoyed my panna cotta (as well as half of my wife’s). To note my wife comments that this was a dressy affair – most men wore jackets, some with ties, and the women mostly wore dresses.
Day 1
The next day, Tauck offers either a morning or afternoon tour of St Marks Basilica and square and then an inside tour of Doges palace, including a view from the Bridge of Sighs and a tour of the jail area. They also divide each session into smaller groups that are of a good size for these venues. This tour is led by local guides and was informative and well presented. At the end of the tour, we were presented with an opportunity to ride in a gondola, four guests per boat. It was a nice experience as they also included a gondola with every third boat having two guests plus two musicians to accompany us. It was fascinating to watch the gondolier duck under the bridges, some being quite low while continuing to paddle the boat!. One thing that I wished I brought along was a lanyard for my phone as the best shots were when we were on the water, but I was always worried about dropping it into the canal.
The rest of the day was free time. We headed out for lunch (yes to more pizza!!) and then navigated our way to the Peggy Guggenheim Museum. This required some assistance from our morning local guide to find one of the four bridges across the Grand Canal to reach the museum. The collection of European and American 20th century art was presented in her former mansion which alone was an amazing visit to see the view into the canal. If you enjoy this period of art, it really is an amazing collection and glimpse into her life in Venice. Although we considered having dinner in Venice, we decided to head back to Giudecca and have our meal at a local restaurant (Trattoria Ai Cacciatori) along the waterfront. It was delicious and had a varied menu, including non-seafood options. If you dine later in the evening (we ate at 7 as we were still getting used to the time change) you may want to make reservations.
Day 2
This day began early as the luggage needed to be outside our hotel door by 7AM. After a quick breakfast, all of the Hilton guests headed out on a bus-like boat to Murano, a small Venetian Island famous for glassworks. The glass blowing demonstration was very informative and entertaining. We then toured their shop, or it seemed more like a museum for some of the pieces of glass artwork. My wife did find some more affordable jewelry downstairs that will make memorable gifts. Our group then re-boarded the boat to head to Burano, another island known historically for lace products. We had a leisurely lunch with some folks from the tour, so we didn’t investigate the lace products or other offerings from the local shops.
Our small tour boat then took us to the cruise terminal in Venice to begin embarkation to Ponant’s L’Austral cruise ship. After touring the ship and settling into our cabin, we had a lovely dinner in the main dining room. Overall, the food was very good to excellent, with a seemingly large selection of items for each course, given the size of the ship. There also was a casual buffet-type restaurant on the top deck that did not require a dress code. We had a few lunches and breakfast there during the cruise and found the food to be very good with a large selection, as well as a featured entrée for lunch.
Comments
Nice report. Thank you for posting!
Thank you for sharing
Lovely!