Venice -Doge's Palace Secret Itineraries Tour

[I object 2]

We're considering booking this tour, but I'm a little claustrophobic. Should I pass on this tour?

[deladane]

My cruise embarks in Venice, and we spend one night overnight on the ship and then set sail at 2pm the next day (all aboard time is 1:30pm). Does anyone know if I would have enough time to take the 9:55am tour and to walk around the other larger rooms for a few minutes, and then get back to the cruise terminal before 1:30pm? I don't want to cut it too close, but this is the only chance we would have to take the tour. Also, does anyone know if they will let you use your pre-purchased tickets to skip the line and walk around inside BEFORE the tour starts (like if I arrived at 9am, could I enter then and meet my tour guide at 9:55am for the tour)?

[festivalfrau]

I went on that tour with the same boarding time. It was do-able, but it certainly was not leisurely! When we got to the boat, pretty much everything was put away as they were just waiting for the last few passengers to check in.

 

I did not get there early enough to know whether they would let you walk around, but I would think they might. You don't get to see much of the "regular" museum on the Secret tour.

 

You do also get to skip the line!

[suzski]

We went on this tour last September and even my husband (not a super huge history fan) enjoyed it. I booked in advance from the US as there are only a few tours offered each day that are in English and they tend to fill up.

[nzdisneymom]

We did the Secret Itineraries tour on July 4th this year.

 

We pre-booked our tickets from here and took our printed form to the ticket window to exchange for tickets. Our tour was at 9:55 AM. We left our cruise ship at 8:15 and used the People Mover and Vaporetto Line 2 to get to San Marco Square where we arrived around 9:40 which was plenty of time to get the tickets inside (you enter from the side of the building facing the water) and there was a restroom just inside the courtyard area of the Palace. There is a designated meeting spot near there for the tour to begin.

 

Our tour began right on time even though there were four people who were late - they were able to catch up with us just before we entered the "secret" part of the tour that is behind a locked door. Our guide gave us a lot of information about the Palace and the history of the Doges and how things ran back then. I didn't read up on my Venetian history before we went so I didn't even know what Doge was or anything - I will say that having done the tour and learned so much from it, when I read Dan Brown's Inferno a few days later, it helped me understand his book more because there were references to Doges and to Casanova who we learned about on the tour.

 

The tour itself took about 1:20 - and of the 25 people on the tour, I would say 1/3 of them were bored - but I think that was mostly because they were with other family members who really wanted to do the tour and they didn't want to split up in Venice. We had our two teenagers who actually were interested, but they both like history and one had already had AP Euro History and the other is taking it this year - so it was relevant to them.

 

After the tour, you can stay and tour the Palace at your leisure. As others have mentioned, this can eat up your whole day - we walked through the Palace and completed the tour path through the rooms, the passageways, across the Bridge of Sighs, and through the jail cells. We got some good pictures from the Bridge towards the waterfront, and then afterwards we went to the waterfront and got the pictures of the exterior of the Bridge. We did not do audio-guides for the Palace and we really didn't give it justice, but we had other things we wanted to do in Venice as well and time was a-ticking. Even so, if you do the Secret Itineraries tour, allow at least another 45 minutes to walk through the Palace - if you think you want to actually stop and read / admire things, allow 1 1/2 hours.

[Moksha22]

We did this a few years ago and it was the highlight of our Venice trip. You skip the line for the Doge's Palace and meet at the tour window. Then you get a guided tour of places not open to the public, and you can see the jails where famous prisoners were held. You also get to peek out the window leading to the Bridge of Sighs (I'm probably describing this incorrectly). Anyway, it was really interesting.

 

After the tour, you can go back into Doge's palace and tour it on your own. You should book this ahead of time. I went during low season (Nov) and there were no more tours available at the check in window.

 

Hi I've booked this tour for aug. Would you know if we can do the palace BEFORE the tour? I thought I'd show up at 8:30 , check it out and hook up with the tour at 9:55. Thanks

[Moksha22]

We did the Secret Itineraries tour on July 4th this year.

 

We pre-booked our tickets from here and took our printed form to the ticket window to exchange for tickets. Our tour was at 9:55 AM. We left our cruise ship at 8:15 and used the People Mover and Vaporetto Line 2 to get to San Marco Square where we arrived around 9:40 which was plenty of time to get the tickets inside (you enter from the side of the building facing the water) and there was a restroom just inside the courtyard area of the Palace. There is a designated meeting spot near there for the tour to begin.

 

Our tour began right on time even though there were four people who were late - they were able to catch up with us just before we entered the "secret" part of the tour that is behind a locked door. Our guide gave us a lot of information about the Palace and the history of the Doges and how things ran back then. I didn't read up on my Venetian history before we went so I didn't even know what Doge was or anything - I will say that having done the tour and learned so much from it, when I read Dan Brown's Inferno a few days later, it helped me understand his book more because there were references to Doges and to Casanova who we learned about on the tour.

 

The tour itself took about 1:20 - and of the 25 people on the tour, I would say 1/3 of them were bored - but I think that was mostly because they were with other family members who really wanted to do the tour and they didn't want to split up in Venice. We had our two teenagers who actually were interested, but they both like history and one had already had AP Euro History and the other is taking it this year - so it was relevant to them.

 

After the tour, you can stay and tour the Palace at your leisure. As others have mentioned, this can eat up your whole day - we walked through the Palace and completed the tour path through the rooms, the passageways, across the Bridge of Sighs, and through the jail cells. We got some good pictures from the Bridge towards the waterfront, and then afterwards we went to the waterfront and got the pictures of the exterior of the Bridge. We did not do audio-guides for the Palace and we really didn't give it justice, but we had other things we wanted to do in Venice as well and time was a-ticking. Even so, if you do the Secret Itineraries tour, allow at least another 45 minutes to walk through the Palace - if you think you want to actually stop and read / admire things, allow 1 1/2 hours.

 

Hi! Would you know if it's possible to do a self tour of the palace BEFORE the secret itineraries tour?

[sailaway5]

We did the Secret Itineraries tour on July 4th this year.

 

We pre-booked our tickets from here and took our printed form to the ticket window to exchange for tickets. Our tour was at 9:55 AM. We left our cruise ship at 8:15 and used the People Mover and Vaporetto Line 2 to get to San Marco Square where we arrived around 9:40 which was plenty of time to get the tickets inside (you enter from the side of the building facing the water) and there was a restroom just inside the courtyard area of the Palace. There is a designated meeting spot near there for the tour to begin.

 

Our tour began right on time even though there were four people who were late - they were able to catch up with us just before we entered the "secret" part of the tour that is behind a locked door. Our guide gave us a lot of information about the Palace and the history of the Doges and how things ran back then. I didn't read up on my Venetian history before we went so I didn't even know what Doge was or anything - I will say that having done the tour and learned so much from it, when I read Dan Brown's Inferno a few days later, it helped me understand his book more because there were references to Doges and to Casanova who we learned about on the tour.

 

The tour itself took about 1:20 - and of the 25 people on the tour, I would say 1/3 of them were bored - but I think that was mostly because they were with other family members who really wanted to do the tour and they didn't want to split up in Venice. We had our two teenagers who actually were interested, but they both like history and one had already had AP Euro History and the other is taking it this year - so it was relevant to them.

 

After the tour, you can stay and tour the Palace at your leisure. As others have mentioned, this can eat up your whole day - we walked through the Palace and completed the tour path through the rooms, the passageways, across the Bridge of Sighs, and through the jail cells. We got some good pictures from the Bridge towards the waterfront, and then afterwards we went to the waterfront and got the pictures of the exterior of the Bridge. We did not do audio-guides for the Palace and we really didn't give it justice, but we had other things we wanted to do in Venice as well and time was a-ticking. Even so, if you do the Secret Itineraries tour, allow at least another 45 minutes to walk through the Palace - if you think you want to actually stop and read / admire things, allow 1 1/2 hours.

 

Thank you for all of this great information. We are returning to Venice again and DH wants to do the whole Secret Itinerary tour again. Does anyone know if the Senior Citizens (65 & over) discount applies to us American citizens? Or is that only for Italian citizens?

 

And is this website the "official" one for ordering tickets? I notice they only let you order 2-months out. The other sites allow several months ahead.

 

Can't wait to return to this magical city.

 

Thanks again for all of your help.l

 

Carol

[Got2Cruise]

Hi, I just booked the tour this morning through the official website. Price was 20 Euros pp for a regular ticket. When I looked on Viator the private tour company price was $66 USD which is more than double, almost triple the price. The directions to pick up your tickets were in Italian, I figured I would have the hotel desk translate for me when I get there. . . but if anyone else goes before July 2015 please report back here. Grazie

[ducklite]

We took this tour in 2012 and loved it. Booked direct with them.

 

To answer the question about getting off any time, when we arrived it took about an hour to clear the ship (only 200 guests!) and then even after they gave the all clear we got off only to find ourselves in a gated area and not able to get out until Italian immigration decided to show up which was another 15-20 minutes. Moral of the story is make sure you have enough time. Take the Alilaguna directly to St. Marks.

[Got2Cruise]

Re: Doge Palace - Itinerari Segreti - Inglese -:)Giving myself a pat on the back;) I put the message in Italian on Google translator. It says bring the voucher to the window up to an hour in advance with proof of I.D.