Where to stay before tour starts in Venice

Do some price checking before you reject the tour hotel's price.

Please don't waste a night of Venice in Mestre. Think about whether you'd like a hotel close to the tour hotel or maybe you want to be in a different neighborhood just to get a taste of it. We stayed at BnB Corte Campana. Huge room, clean, modest, but fresh continental breaksfast and the hosts are about the nicest people I've ever met. https://www.cortecampana.com/ I think we paid around 150 euro, quite possibly less.

Consider staying in a monastery IN Venice, not Mestre.

https://www.monasterystays.com/?d=Italy/Veneto/Venice-accommodation

Let’s save you $200!

Since you’re just arriving, I would pick a location that is very easy to find from a vaporetto (water bus) stop. Looking at Booking.com and flitering for a rating of 8+ plus a private bathroom, I see these two just off of the Accademia Bridge vaporetto stop. Of the two, Palazzo Guardi looks the nicest.

$262 non-refundable, $288 refundable: Palazzo Guardi

$235 refundable: Hotel Agli Alboretti

OR, my favorite hotel (and I’ve run into RS groups staying there) is Unahotels Ala Venezia. It’s directly off of the S. Maria Giglio vaporetto stop, and I see on Booking that it’s $269 for a non-refundable.

All of those prices are for your exact date.

Another vote for Hotel Ala

If you book on their website, bkft is included

Plenty of hotels available for $200 less on booking.com and you can check rating and location with filters.

Sounds like there are lovely hotels available. IMO, since you are arriving late, exhausted and will only be at the hotel one night and check out in the morning, I'd be inclined to get a moderately priced room in a decent neighborhood. Save the $$$ for some other treat later in your travels.

Our fav is Hotel Ai Mori D'Oriente, in the quiet and calm Cannaregio area. Lots of charm and restaurants, but no crowds. I think you owe it to yourself to experience the quiet back canals. Enjoy!

Ps
I would highly recommend coming in a few days early. I can never get enough of Venice.

because of your late arrival in Venice, and because you say you will be exhausted it sounds like you're at the wrong end of a transatlantic or other longhaul flight. You'll barely have time for your internal clocks to reset and start getting over jetlag. I'd suggest a day earlier if that is possible, or at least make things as easy as you can for the next day. Picking up luggage at 11am and humping it to the tour hotel, leaving the luggage there and doing things until you can check in won't help with that process, it will leave you worse off.

Have you bought your flights?

I'm not an expert on Venice but perhaps if you tell us where your tour hotel is located others can tell you a reliable place nearby?

I really just wanted to add that you'll have plenty of daylight that time of year in Venice. Here are the sunrise/sunset times for Venice on May 30, so well worth staying in Venice as everyone has suggested.

Twi: 4:50am
Sunrise: 5:27am
Sunset: 8:49pm
Twi: 9:26pm

I agree with Mary, specifically Istituto San Guiseppe. We’ve stayed twice, including earlier this year. Book thru monasterystays.com or try direct. They have availability for your days. 125 Euro. nice location between Rialto and San Marco.

My tour hotel is Antigo Travatore in the Castello neighborhood. I am now searching for a moderate hotel in a different neighborhood for one night. I am also taking the advisement to look for a place close to a vaporetto stop to make the transfer easier. I wish I could have arrived 2 days earlier , but I am adding 2 days at the end of my tour in Rome and that is all the days off I can get from work. I want to thank you all for the great advise and recommendations.

The neighborhood near the main trains station is the most affordable.

My tour hotel is Antigo Travatore in the Castello neighborhood. I am now searching for a moderate hotel in a different neighborhood for one night.

Given your flight arrives at 4pm, you probably won’t be checked-in your room before 6pm or 7pm. After a long flight, you’re likely to be tired, so you won’t really have much time or energy to enjoy a different neighborhood that evening. For this one night, I would look for a hotel close to the hotel you’ll stay on the tour. Staying in a different neighborhood means just wasting extra time moving the next day. Stay close to your tour hotel, which is by Piazza San Marco, and enjoy the piazza in the evening when it’s not nearly as crowded as during the day.

IMHO, if you're adding days, I would do it at the beginning. I realize we are all different, but we are exhausted after tours, and ready to go home. I enjoy extra days at the beginning of the tour more. OR- add one day at both the beginning and end. Just a thought....no bad decisions here. Safe travels!

I understand Pat's reasoning but I'd still go with extra time after in Rome. You only have 2 nights each place so 1 extra night in Venice gives you a full day before the tour starts. I will admit that I like Rome better than Venice and have never marked everything off my "to-do list" there, hahahaha!!

I guess it also depends on your stamina but I'm not tired after a 2-week tour and can still go. I did the Best of Italy 17 day tour with about 4 nights ahead in Milan and Varenna where it started then and an extra night in Rome at the end. I could have kicked myself for not adding another night to Rome, though.

It is totally understandable that your days are dictated by your time off. If you are still working, you are young enough that you can always come back to revisit what you missed!! I recommend you start an Italy "to-do" list for completion over the next 10 years, hahahaha!!

When we did our Rome tour, we arrived about 10 days before the tour and stayed about 7 days after the tour. I've done exactly one tour, the RS Rome tour, and found it more relaxing than traveling on our own. There was less walking, and it was mentally relaxing because, for the most part, all the logistics, some the meals were all planned for us.

That said, we would always prioritize arriving at least two days before a tour. (We also have done 2 Viking cruises) I would do that because some times there are delays plane cancellations, train strike, etc. Plus, I also want to be somewhat rested to start my expensive tour/cruise. (We've found it much less expensive to travel independently)

Quick question. Do you arrive to the airport at 4pm, or is that your estimate of arrival into Venice, proper? If it's the later, I stand by my suggestion to pick a different neighborhood for the first night. And, I sure wouldn't fork over a lot of money to stay in a lovely hotel. Hopefully, you'll have time to walk around, go to dinner, and go to bed. The next morning, you could explore the neighborhood some more before heading to your tour hotel. Venice is just not that big,