Feedback on 2 days in Venice? With broken toe and wheelchair

Do you have your reservations for the Fondaco dei Tedeschi rooftop terrace? This will be Tuesday March 5, correct?

If not, book them now as there are only slots left at mid-day, between 12:45 and 3 pm that day. Monday March 4 is fully booked—-that is how popular this is. Note that you can only book a maximum of 5 in one booking, but you can do 2 separate bookings.

https://www.dfs.com/en/venice/service/rooftop-terrace

Hi, yes! I do. I just booked them for 12:45 -- two separate bookings for 3 people. Thank you!

More thoughts—-I do not recall ever seeing a gondola in the back canals of San Polo, but google found this gondola station by the San Tomà vaporetto stop:

https://gondolieritravel.com/en/classic-gondola-services/san-toma-private-gondola-ride/

They take a maximum of 5, but there may well be other gondolas waiting there, and you could ask about taking 6 people.

This one starts at a bridge right by Piazzale Roma, which you could reach by vaporetto. They will allow you to book for 6 people.

https://www.getyourguide.com/venice-l35/venice-private-gondola-ride-off-the-beaten-path-t99711/?ranking_uuid=3e4cc3b7-6556-4b12-8c5d-98345c1446fe

For your dinner near the Squero di San Trovaso, I suggest you make a reservation at nearby Ristorante San Trovaso (not to be confused with the lower cost and touristy Taverna San Trovaso, which is OK but not wonderful). Our family of 8 had a memorable “seafood extravaganza” there last September. We sat at a table in the courtyard, but I doubt the outside is open in early March.

I wonder if you have thought what you will do with the wheelchair during the gondola ride. Does it fold down? Can it take up a seat on the gondola - they are pretty narrow?

Imagine they could keep the wheelchair at the gondola landing. There are usually several gondola staff there.

OK, you have your hands full just getting these six people around Venice, but I think you have chosen your itinerary well!

I do not think you'll regret not seeing the Doge's Palace, but that's possibly because I've spent almost a month total in Venice and have never wanted to see inside it. But I love the carved tops of its columns --- each one is different and they are full of people, animals, fruits, etc.

Inside the basilica, some of the coolest mosaics are above the entry, but you will be hustled through there so as not to block traffic --- good to know that at the END of your visit, you can stop before you exit and gaze at them all you want. This is where our grandchildren were thrilled to see mosaics of NAKED PEOPLE.

Sounds as though you will need to buy vaporetto passes for everybody as soon as you arrive, and with your five days you may have to buy the two-day pass and the three-day pass. We would have bought our passes anyway, but they were truly worth the money on our last trip because my husband's severely arthritic ankle made walking very painful and it was great to just hop on a vaporetto frequently, even when it would have been quicker to walk.

In my opinion, the only way to really enjoy the vaporetto is to find a seat outside, but these seats can be scarce and you will rarely find six seats all together. It's a bit tricky to stand at the sides of a vaporetto (i.e. instead of on the seats inside) because at every stop one or the other of the gates has to be opened, but you might be able to find a good spot there. Maybe take turns being "outdoors" on different trips. Many people do not share my opinion, including members of my very own family! Here is the interactive map of the routes that is really helpful to have: https://actv.avmspa.it/en/content/consult-map

I was ready to skip Murano on our last trip, since we'd seen the glass-blowing almost 25 years ago, but we went for the grandkids' sakes and everybody very much enjoyed it. Fairly close to the dock where the boat goes to Murano is both the Ponte Chiodo with no railings and the narrowest calle in Venice, Calle Varisco. Fun to find these.

You will have a wonderful time and I hope the weather will be good!

I’m just commenting to say thank you for the great ideas. We will be in Venice with our teen for four nights in June and I’ll be adding a few of your ideas to our intineary!

Amy - you're so welcome! I'm glad it was helpful. I love planning trips -- having to plan this one so quickly is stealing some of the fun from me!!

I know you said you want to avoid museums but consider the glass museum on Murano. Our group of 7 all loved it.

Oh, thank you Beth!! That does sound like it would appeal to my people! I'm glad to know you enjoyed it!

Amy—-if your plans for Venice in June include the rooftop terrace at Fondaco dei Tedeschi (which I highly recommend), you will need to pay attention to the booking schedule and reserve your tickets the day they are released. Jessica was fortunate that she could get tickets closer to the date, but in summer it really does book up the day of release, and for the September date I was seeking, within 15 minutes of the time they are released. Right now the booking date is 3 weeks in advance, but from the west coast of the US, it is a day earlier.

Lola (or anyone else) -- I'm debating not pre-booking tickets for St. Mark’s Basilica and the campanile for our trip. How likely do you think they are to be booked or have really long lines a week from now? I'm looking on the website and while nothing is available for today, tomorrow is wide open for both. I'm thinking they don't sell online for the same day.

I'm think we'd appreciate having a little more flexibility on our first morning after a transatlantic flight + train ride across the country (from Rome). But obviously I want to lock us down to a particular time if that's the only way to avoid huge lines.

Thanks!

For the vaporetto, I think it's worthwhile getting up early in the morning so you can get seats in the front or the back and have unobstructed views of the canal. At other times, it will likely be stuffed with people and the views wont be great.

I think you should be able to buy tickets to St. Mark’s and the campanile online while you're there.

I see there are lots of time slots still available for March 4, which I Leslie be is your day. Except for 11 am—-that one is sold out. I suspect the reason is that those people are planning to catch the illumination of the mosaics—-traditionally the lights inside are turned on at 11:30 for 30-60 minutes. It is beautiful to see them in the light. So assuming they are still doing that, why not book the 11:30 time slot while it is still available? That would give you time for a leisurely morning, and you could have lunch right after.

I faced a very long line for San Marco late last September. I'd definitely expect fewer people there in early March, but I think there will be a line. The good news is that the line moved quite rapidly. I cleared the line in about 30 minutes.