Guided tours or not?

Why shouldn't you be capable of finding your way in Venice? Thousands of tourists do it every day on their own. And when you get temporarily lost, which you will, there is always a large painted sign somewhere on a street corner to get you in the right direction again.
For me one of the pleasures of Venice are the unexpected corners, quiet squares and all those other small things which a tour will pass quickly to get you to the major attractions.

I'm not worried about finding our way -- I just wanted to know if we could cover all the major sights without going on a tour!

Of course if you plan ahead you can on your own see anything you could see in a tour group. Best part is your own planned tour is catered to your specific interests and waits for no one but you.
If you want to not plan in advance and fly into Italy without a plan, then yes you should book a tour if only staying a short time in each city.

I think most folks fall into 2 groups: those that prefer to plan on their own and be in control of their own schedule and those that want to be void of stress and prefer someone else handle the planning and logistics.
The second group pays more up front but if you factor in time spend researching as a cost, the first group may actually pay more. The first group I think return home more knowledgeable than the second.

I felt perfectly capable on my own in Venice and Florence, but was glad I signed up for guided tours of the Colosseum/Forum and the Vatican Museum in Rome. I would have been overwhelmed and not understood what I was seeing without a guide. We used Walks of Italy and would use them again. In the Colosseum/Forum tour our guide had a particular interest in botany and it was fascinating to hear him describe some of the plant life of the ancient world (and see it in the carvings). I found the tours deepened my experience and were well worth the cost. There were about a dozen people in each group and it was quite convivial.
Enjoy your trip.
Cynthia

I plan all of our trips from start to finish including our itinerary which ALWAYS includes some sort of walking tour. My time is valuable and if I have a limited time in one city I want to make sure my time is spent between a short tour and wondering around on my own. We used Walks of Italy for Rome and Florence and consider it time and money well spent. Most tours will take 3-4 hours then your on your own at the monument to do as you please. There is a discount code on this website, cant remember what it is. I can also recommend a wonderful food tour in Rome called Italy Eats, so much fun exploring Trastevere while sampling the local cuisine.

I don't want my nose in a book or both my ears plugged as I walk through these monuments. I even dislike the audio guides they give you at some places. They make me feel alone and not connected to what is going on around me, but that is just me.

ponygirl...my thoughts exactly!

That's what I thought -- I know I can do it all but I don't want to waste too much time when we don't have that much! Walks of Italy seem to be the tour that is mentioned the most...I'll take a look at them.

Thanks so much!

I ALWAYS take a tour, especially if it is a museum as I feel that someone is teaching me and pointing out things I may miss on my own. I don't want to read a placard or listen to an audio tour, nor does my 18 yr old daughter. I feel that we (and this is subjective!) learn more if we go on a tour as we can ask questions. With that said, we have used Walks Of Italy to do the early Vatican tour and the underground Coliseum tour and felt,out of our month in Europe and many tours later, they were the best! We will be using them again in June when we go to Florence and return to Venice. However, we also LOVE bike tours and have done several of those to mix things up (I wouldn't recommend in Venice, lol) I have done several "free" walks with mixed reviews, some have been great, some superficial. Like I always say, the tour is only as good as the guide! Have a fabulous trip!!