Pre-Tour Recommended Activities for Venice and Dalmatian Coast
We will be taking this tour in June, and will be arriving early. We are looking for interesting places to go / see you may have enjoyed that are not covered during the Venice portion of the trip. Thank you.
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Try to see the Palazzo Contarini del Bovolo - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palazzo_Contarini_del_Bovolo
It's a bit difficult to find. Even if you use GPS, I found that the GPS signals were blocked by the buildings along the narrow streets. Use a paper map, and ask for directions. You may see some cops along your way and many speak English.
I think the Palazzo Contarini del Bovolo was a worth while visit. From the top, you get a nice view of Venice.
https://www.mikeandjudytravel.com/2019-2Adriatic-11.htm#Palazzo
If interested, the Ghetto of Venice (Jewish Quarter) is located in the city center and is a nice place to stroll. There are many food markets scattered throughout the city as well.
I went to the Jewish Ghetto once while we were in Venice. I was drawn to it from descriptions in some of Daniel Silva's books. But there wasn't much going on there the day I went. Maybe I chose the wrong day (it was a Friday).
https://www.mikeandjudytravel.com/2019-2Adriatic-11.htm#ghetto
It was over twenty (20) years ago since I was there. It wasn't much of a vibrant area then, but I do remember enjoying the synagogues. I do not know if the museum is still there.
We were looking into the Jewish Ghetto as a possibility - we generally look at Jewish museums/synagogues and sites in cities we visit. Have you done it on your own in Venice, or do you recommend a particular tour or guide. Continuing thanks.
The museum is still there, as is the Synagogue, but they charge a fee to enter. Venice has seen a exodus of full time residents and I suppose that has included the Jewish residents.
@sevenseas - we just went there. I don't think you would need a guide - the ghetto area is fairly small. A good guide could give you the history of the place, however.
Here's a Wikipedia article about Jewish history in Venice. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Jews_in_Venice
My visit was a brief layover after business travel. I agree that a formal tour guide is not necessary.
The Holocaust memorial is moving. The buildings are among the tallest in Venice as the Jews were permitted to build up but not out. The tour of the synagogue was excellent. Davids Glass is (I think) still there. We bought a beautiful Kaddish cup and a ton of dreidels.
We ended the Classic Italy tour in Venice and one of the things we did on our final full day was take the elevator up to the top of St Mark's Campanile. You get amazing 360 degree views over Venice and the lagoon. It's about $10. We arrived about opening time (9:45-10) when the line was short and bought tickets. In Jun you might need to get there earlier otherwise there will be a line. Well worth it.
We also went to a glass factory on Murano. We were going to take the waterbuses/vaporetto but the hotel had a deal with one of the companies that they would pick us up and return us to the hotel in a water taxi. We only got to see that factory but the glass was amazing. Lots of shops in Venice to buy glass pieces and jewelry too.
Just walking around Venice is fun. Loads of little pedestrian alleyways with shops and restaurants. Hard to get lost. There are yellow signs that either say San Marco or Rialto. We knew how to get from San Marco to our hotel so we just watched for the signs.
Folsomdoc - Did you mean David's Shop? I ask because his shop had Judaica items in Murano glass. I purchased several glass Star of David necklaces for gifts that I remember being so inexpensive. I still wear mine, although I changed the chain. I checked their website and they are still there...since the 1980s!
Regardless, thanks for the memory.
sevenseas, how early are you arriving? Are you mainly looking for recommendations in Venice, or are you interested in venturing out of the city? Have you been to Venice before?
I really enjoyed the Jewish Ghetto because of how quiet it was, especially compared to the chaos around the Rialto Bridge! Nice Kosher Italian lunch at Gam-Gam also.
If you are not planning to venture out, then besides simply walking around and enjoying Venice you could consider the Guggenheim, the Biennale art exhibition, the Scuola San Rocco, and other excellent art museums. Also of course there is the Rialto Fish Market. I see your tour includes a visit to Murano; you could consider a boat ride to Burano, which is very charming. If you've never done a vaporetto ride on the Grand Canal or a taxi ride (better with a group to split the cost), that is really interesting especially early in the morning as the city awakens (the milk delivery boat was adorable.) We shared a gondola ride with friends not realizing that Tauck was arranging one for all of us! I don't know if they still do that.
A trip by Vaporetto to Burano is a must. Go early and wander the colorful homes around the streets and canals. Stop for lunch at any the lovely restaurants.
We were there last year and also one year ago at the end of the tour to Croatia.
A vaporetto ride can get you to Murano and Burano on the same day. you do not need too much time in Burano, but it is a beautiful place to see and have lunch or gelato. On Murano, if you go on your own you can see many glass factories, not just one and the collections are more extensive than the ones in Venice. The Jewish Ghetto, although small, has 5 synagogues which can only be seen on a tour. Usually 3/5 are open at any one time and they are all different. Tours can be arranged online and onsite, but you will probably have more choices if you do it yourself online instead of last minute. You want to be sure to get one of the English speaking guides. Getting to the ghetto is easy..it may take 1or 2 vaporetto rides but they are cheap and fun to take. Have fun
Do you recommend the Small Ship Cruise of Croatia / Venice or the Land Tour ? Trying to Decide
I think it all depends on your preference, I chose the land tour as I felt you see a lot more.
Do you want the cruise experience, or are you more interested in seeing the country? I took only the land tour that is primarily Croatia ("Adriatic Treasures") so can't compare the two, but I will say that I absolutely loved the land tour. I enjoyed seeing the different areas of Croatia, including Zagreb, which is so different from the coastal area, and the day trips into Kotor, Montenegro and Mostar, Bosnia & Herzogovina. Although you do get to Kotor on the cruise, you miss Mostar. There's also more time in the coastal cities than you will experience on the cruise. Still, if it is the cruise experience that you enjoy, I would imagine that this would be an excellent way to see some of the country.
Agree with MCD that the land tour was comprehensive, especially looking at it now compared to the cruise. However, you need a lot of energy for the land tour: several mornings we were out the door before 7 am to beat other buses at border crossings. We had something like 13 border crossings on the land tour. But my favorite part of the trip was Slovenia, which you would miss on the cruise. Note the activity levels before you decide.
I can't believe that I forgot to mention Slovenia! Thank you Wan. I, too, loved it. We also had time-consuming boarder crossings on the land tour, but my tour was in 2022, which was before Croatia joined the Schengen Zone. There will be fewer boarder crossings now.
If you want a preview of the land tour, we went in 2019 and I blogged it - https://www.mikeandjudytravel.com/2019-2Adriatic-01.htm
We had looked at doing it as a cruise but decided we'd see more on the land tour, and weren't disappointed. It turned out to be one of our favorite tours.
Besides the packing/unpacking thing, I don't understand the appeal of river cruises. Your room is the size of a closet, the shower is a smaller closet, the speed of travel is very slow and inefficient, you are stuck with sights near the river unless you then get on a bus or train, you have to be on the boat at certain hours so free time is restricted, yada, yada. Did I miss any?
I've asked Tauck not to send me their river cruise book, but they still do. When it arrives, it goes right in the garbage, still in the plastic.
We had the land tour booked for 2020 and of course it was canceled. We never rebooked.it. When we were on the Arabia cruise last year, we talked to one of the TD’s and he mentioned he does the Small ship tour and recommended that over the land tour. We still haven’t booked either. We may use another company which has a longer land tour, it does not go to Venice. We have only been to Venice for a day and that was 45 years ago, I’ve always wanted to go back. Next year, we had the chance to take a tour with a group of friends on the canals of Venice, many are signed up but we already have a tour planned elsewhere, so disappointed. Maybe 2026 will be the year we make it.
We stick to land tours by preference but have taken three small ship cruises and one river cruise with Tauck. I thought our river cruise cabin was fine but the small ship cabins small when you spend so much time there instead of on the land looking at scenery and actually being there. Our last small ship, we booked a bigger room and darn, it was the Arabia brand new cruise and it was packed with excursions , so we were not in the room for hours. Going forward, they were going to reduce the number of excursions! Of course I think that tour is no longer because of the war in the general area. We will do land tours while we still have the energy to keep changing hotels, then we might do river cruises. Everyone knows we will never step on a large cruise ship again, once was enough for us but I know everyone is different.
We did the Uniworld Egypt river cruise and it wasn't bad. The room was large and the attractions were close to the river.
But beyond that, I agree with you about river cruises. Doesn't mean we'll never do another one but we tend to stick to land tours and ocean cruises.
Mike - Egypt is an exception, as just about all attractions are near the river and the rest of the country is desert. I was primarily referring to Europe.
I'd like to thank everyone who gave their input about visiting the Jewish Ghetto in Venice. We are back from our trip (which was great) and did visit the Ghetto. The museum is currently under renovation, so there was less to see. For sure one can visit the area and the synagogues without a guide, and there are also inexpensive group tours from the likes of Viator, so there is no need to pay for an expensive private guide. There is a public waterbus stop nearby, and it is also walkable, albeit a long walk, from the Marriot hotel's shuttle drop off. Thanks again - your assistance as always is appreciated.
sevenseas - I'm glad you enjoyed the Jewish Quarter and your overall trip. Please consider posting a critique of your tour. Thanks.
If you liked the Jewish history of what you saw in Croatia and Venice try to read "People of the Book" by Geraldine Brooks, available on Goodreads. It follows the story of an illuminated Passover Haggadah, written before the Inquisition which travels throughout Europe and is eventually rediscovered in post world war 2 Sarajevo.
Excellent read.
Sherry -- I loved that book!
It sounds like I have some reading to do. Thank you, Sherry.