Venice stop on 14-day BOE Tour

I didn't do the RS tour, but you could easily do the "Secret Itineraries" tour of the Doges Palace - as long as you know the exact date. You get reserve tickets online and it's a great tour. Seeing the Basilica by yourself is very easy. In the past, one could get very inexpensive tickets online to the Basilica, which really just allowed you to skip the lines. You can google it and find out if those tickets still exist,
The one tour I took to Italy offered free time also and those were some of my favorite times of the trip. I encourage you to go for it.

We did the tour with Walks of Italy. Very good tour and tour guide.

Thanks Kathryn and Joyce for your helpful ideas. Much obliged.

I was in Venice last September and it was very busy. It was also very hot and humid. I was at the Piazza at lunch time and the queue was short and moving quickly and I managed to get into the Basilica with hardly any wait. It was my third visit to Venice before I finally made it into the church - well worth the wait! I have heard they also do evening tours after it is closed to the public but I think it is only on specific days but something worth checking out. I think the RS Venice/Rome/Florence tour includes this so maybe your guide will have details of it - in my experience they seem to know everything!

After San Marco I treated myself to an expensive lunch at Florian's - just being able to sit and watch the world go by for an hour or so was a great experience (30 Euro for a panini and an aperitive including the cost of the orchestra) great fun and worth every penny! You are paying for the experience not the food but the food was good and of course being Italy you are not pushed to leave as soon as you take the last mouthful..

Matt, the secret itineraries tour is good; it was what I most enjoyed in the visit to the Doge's Palace. In July, I would suggest scheduling it as early in the day as possible. You will be in an attic area, and in September, during mild weather, it was hot up there. The guide mentioned that during hot spells, they sometimes need to cancel that tour.

I have used an excellent company for walking tours – Context Venice. The groups are limited to 6, and the guides are amazingly well educated and interesting. They are a little more expensive than the larger walking tours, but worth it. You might want to take a look at their website. I've even used them at sites I've previously visited, and always learned so much.

Thanks Lesley. The Secret Itinerary tour of Doge's Palace was one I had looked into. However, their English-speaking run starts at 1130, which is before our scheduled RS Tour activities end for the day. So we're essentially looking for an afternoon-specific visit, before our tour departs the following morning for Tuscany.

Thank you, Sherry, for the tip on Context Venice. Will check 'em out. Would be great if they can get us into Doge's Palace and St Mark's Basilica in the afternoon, without having to wait in line/s when it's crowded and hot.

Have also looked into Discovering Venice (company). Has anyone used their services by chance? Thanks!

You can also skip the Doge's ticket-buying line by buying a Combo Ticket at the Correr Museum, mentioned in your guidebook and I'm sure your live guide will also discuss it.

Thanks Laura. Upon review of several options, went ahead and booked a 'Walks of Italy' tour which comprises St. Mark's Basilica, Terrace and Doge's Palace over a three-hour duration. Seems a perfect compliment to our RS itinerary, as it meets at 1:45p (after Rick's tour particulars conclude that morning). It will allow us to skip the lines -- and outside, mid-July heat !! -- and better enjoy what we're seeing with benefit of guide's knowledge and perspective.

This was one of the last puzzle pieces in completing some local itineraries during (BOE Tour) free time. Really appreciate everyone's feedback and suggestions.