I'm planning to visit venice on april 21st 2014.
1) How long does it take for the ticket lines in the palazzo Ducale to get in ?.
2) Does it save my time if I buy tickets online ?
3) What is the secret itineraries tour ?. Which one would you suggest for me - regular entry, secret itineraries or both ?
I very much enjoyed the SI tour. If you can still book it (the English tours sell out pretty fast), go for it. The price includes entry to the rest of the palace, before and/or after the tour. If you plan to buy a museum pass (you get a discount on the SI tour), then choose that option when you buy the SI tour online. You can get the pass elsewhere in Venice. Once you have the pass, you skip the ticket line at the palace and go straight in to collect your SI ticket.
The SI tour takes you to parts of the palace that are closed to the general public. I think it's about 1.5 - 2 hours.
You do skip the ticket line if you purchase online at least 48 hours in advance or if you buy the combo ticket at the nearby Correr Museum. The Secret Itineraries tour is a guided tour through some extra palace rooms not open for general admission.
The first time we visited Ducale, I think we had a good hour long wait, at least, to get in. This was mid-late Sept. We revisited it the next trip to Venice (hubby and I got separated inside and I ended up rushing thru about half of it trying to find him the first time) and did the combo ticket with the Correr Museum, allowing us to bypass the line. And as a mention, we really enjoyed the Correr museum as well!
