Arrival and Guided Tour

Arrival in Italy at Venice Marco Polo airport and meet your driver who will take you to the boat pier for a private boat transfer to your hotel

Start exploring this beautiful city with a unique guided tour off the beaten tracks! We will lead you to discover streets and squares off the standard tourist trail. We will offer you a glimpse of an alternative Venice and show you its history, landmarks and roots and will lead you to discover our Venice.

The least touristy part of the city is where the real Venetians leave, and you can see the most picturesque buildings, cool little shops, and the best, least expensive places to eat. The ones with all the washing hanging out to dry on the line, the ones with the children playing hide and seek, the ones with the old ladies having a chat from the windows of opposite buildings! That’s the real Venice. Away from the river of tourists, you can discover the hidden soul of this amazing city, the anecdotes of its daily life, both past and present, the secrets and the magic of this ancient city of water.

For your first dinner we will be happy to book for you a table in one of our favourite restaurants!

Accommodation throughout: 

Hotel Bonecchiati – Refined elegance, comfort and exclusive services, a water landing for gondolas and motor boats and a romantic restaurant on the terrace. The hotel has been welcoming guests to the heart of Venice since 1790, is just 3 minutes from Saint Mark’s Square and 5 from the Rialto Bridge, for the most exclusive and unforgettable of visits.

Rowing and Tasting

Today your experience is dedicated to the preservation of the traditional Venetian ”cultura acquea”  or water culture and at its centre, the art of the Venetian style of rowing: standing up, facing forward, native to Venice and made iconic by the gondoliers.

Row like a Venetian! Get off the beaten path and onto the Venetian waterways in our beautiful ‘bateline’ or  traditional rowing boat and try it yourself! Once you’ve become comfortable behind a Venetian oar, why not use it to go somewhere? And what better destination than a local bàcaro…or two. If there’s anything more enjoyable the learning to row Venetian style, it’s combine it with a “cicchetti” tasting  and a Spritz… An assortment of typical cicchetti and accompanying wines at Venice’s traditional bàcari is the perfect introduction to the tastes of Venice without committing to a whole meal. Being accompanied by a bàcaro devotèe means you might try Venetian classics like piovra (octopus), fluffy white bàcala mantecato ( codfish mousse) on polenta, hot polpetta (meatballs) meat or tuna croquet,  delicious italian cheese with truffle…when you otherwise might pass them by.

The itinerary includes learning the basic strokes in the Cannaregio canals, then heading out into expansive lagoon as the sun begins to set. Afterward we’ll return to two of the many bàcari along the lively Misericordia canal, where your reward will be to sample a variety of cichetti and regional wines or other drinks as you prefer.

Rest of the day at your leisure.

Accommodation

Hotel Bonvecchiati

Free day

Today is a day at your leisure to explore Venice; we suggest you discover the real Venice on your own with its streets, hidden places and squares, stories and original tales about the city. We can of course provide you with suggestions of places to visit (for example a nice Venetian Carnival Mask maker).

We recommend you explore the Grand Canal by vaporetto the local public transport boats   which regularly go up and down the Grand Canal connecting several stops along the route. It is a unique experience which allows you to see the Grand Canal at a slow pace and mingle with the locals. It also gives the opportunity to hop on and off for visiting different areas of the Grand Canal. We will  be happy to provide you with  more information before your departure.

Alternatively you could visit the Islands of Murano, Burano and Torcello, the 3 main islands of the Venetian Lagoon. Sail past the island of San Giorgio Maggiore, the S. Elena gardens and the Lido, famous for its beaches. Murano, with its world renowned glassware workshops, and Burano, famous not only for its hand lace-making, but also for its brightly-coloured fishermen’s houses. 

Accommodation

Hotel Bonvecchiati

Departure

Check-out from your hotel after a final breakfast in Venice

Transfer from your hotel to the airport by boat and car and wave goodbye to Venice as you fly home with lasting memories of the real Venice.