Specific questions about Venice

Hello,

"We are thinking we would get the tickets to the basilica for 4 pm. Will this give us enough time to do Doge's Palace, if Doge's closes at 7 pm?"

No. Visit them on separate days, otherwise it'll be overwhelming.

1) I see no reason to buy in advance. If you do, it does not save money, and you still have to retrieve your tickets from an ACTV vending machine by putting in the code they email to you.
3) If there is a line at the San Giorgio Maggiore Bell Tower, it would knock me over. Was there on a weekend day in May and there was absolutely no line, and maybe 6 other people on the viewing platform, That is its main advantage, no line, cheaper price, wonderful view.

If we are only going to be there one half day and a full day—a Friday late afternoon, leaving very early Sunday morning—would you still do then separate days? If not, would you recommend doing Doge’s Palace Friday late afternoon/evening?

If you're going to have such a short time you may skip one or the other(in the hope that you'll return to Venice) and spend your time walking around Venice and exploring other sights which don't take as long. In case it's raining you could see both. At least try to see one in the morning and the other in the afternoon, not immediately after each other, because that's really tiring and overwhelming.

Agree with Sam's comments 100%.

But your vaporetto tickets when you arrive. The same people are generally pretty good English speakers, and it's a piece of cake to make the transaction. The Valero tickets save money if you take a handful of trips each day. More important, they make it easy to move around Venice at a whim.

We just left Venice. Seven cruise ships were docked as we left...

San Marco plaza was ugly with crowds, and the summer is still to come.

We booked online to see the basilica, at 3 euros per, to skip the line, while we were standing in front of it, using a cell phone. That was worth it.

But they are really serious about covered knees and shoulders for women. My 6'4" daughter and my 5'11" wife were dressed appropriately but knees were exposed. So they had to buy the cover and ironically it still didn't cover their knees.

As impressive as the interior of the basilica is, unless you're a Pilgrim, I suggest passing if you have crowds. It was brutal.

We just got home from Italy, last city on our visit was Venice.
1) we bought 72 hour vaporetto passes at the train depot when we arrived.
2) we took Walks of Italy’s Doge’s Palace/St Mark’s After Hour’s tour. Back to back tour that starts at Doge’s Palace at 5pm and ends at St Mark’s. Book online before you leave home. It was well worth the money. All Walks of Italy guides are very knowledgeable.
3) there was no line at San Giorgio Maggione bell tower. We bought tickets at the door and took the elevator up. There were about 8 people at the top. Great view.

I completely agree with all the above comments.

In many visits to San Giorgio Maggiore I have never waited in a line to buy tickets. Once the lift/elevator was about to go and quite full so we decided to wait the 5 minutes until the next trip. It is always worth the ride up. Put your fingers in your ears if it is about to be ringing time.

No advantage to getting vaporetto vouchers ahead. You save no money or time and might lose your voucher.

Thank you so much, everyone! I appreciate the responses. I will skip online purchase of the vaparetto tickets and will not worry about the line for the bell tower. We will think a little bit more about skipping St. Mark’s tickets to accommodate time, since we will not be there long. Thank you again!

3 hours is more that enough for me to visit the Basilica and Doge’s Palace.

If you are arriving by train, there is an ACTV store where you can purchase the 72 hour ( NOT 3 day ) pass. I also purchased a very good map there.

If you arrive Friday afternoon and leave Sunday morning you only need a 48 hour pass - not 72 hour. Or is my math letting me down :-(

You have plenty of time for St. Mark’s and the Doge’s Palace between 4 pm and 7 pm. Don’t dawdle too much at St. Mark’s. Maybe 30 minutes to shuffle through the church then 30 minutes in the museum above, which is well worth the small admission price. Two hours in the Doge’s Palace would be one hour too long for me, so if you have even 90 minutes there it is enough.

Hmmm, maybe we will try to swing it in one day; thanks! And I did not know that a 48-hour pass was an option. We will look for it!

Thanks again.