Hi springermad,

We took our kids to Venice when they were only a little older than your DD, and during the course of a week, we only went on a day trip once, and that was to Burano and Torcello. overall, i feel that you are under-changing Venice by prioritising day trips over exploring Venice itself. and there is no need at this stage to be planning how it get away from it - you may find when you get there that you want to spend more time in Venice itself.

there are a number of pretty obvious places to see in Venice that you don't mention - the Church of the Frari and the Scuola di San Rocca, Santa Maria della Salute, Ca' d'oro, Ca Rezzonico, the Gugenheim, not to mention the fun that is to be had from simply getting lost in the tiny streets and alleys.

Certainly i think that I would drop the idea of going to Verona on your 2nd day, and devote that to seeing a little more of venice. then your 3rd day would fit better into your schedule, IMHO.

Day 5 looks fine [try to poke your heads into the church of the Gesuiti which is round the corner from the vaporetto stop on the Fondamente Nova which will take you to the islands and look at the wonderful marble curtains and swags], but depending on what the Tour of the Grand Canal and the Ghost walk entail, Day 6 might be a little thin.

if you click on my screen name, you can see my trip report from our week's stay with our kids a few years ago.

A few suggestions:

Day 5 seems like a bit much, with visitiing the three spots. It can be done, I suppose, but it's packing a lot into one day.

Gondola ride. Personally, I much prefer the group gondola tour that can be purchased from local travel agents. The typical gondola ride is boring, IMHO.

Besides, you may not want to schedule that on your first day if you break down the time. If you're taking the Alilaguna into the city, figure that you won't leave the airport before noon (even if all goes well). Then 1-2 hours by the time you get to your apt. and get your bearings. That brings you to late afternoon, leaving time to stroll, see some sights, have dinner, etc.

"Tour of the Grand Canal": Do you mean the vaporetto? If so, there's nothing wrong with that, but IMHO, a vaporetto ride down the GC is greatly overrated, since the trip entails essentially traveling on a crowded utilitarian "bus."

I wasn't crazy about the Academia. Prefered the Guggenheim. Maybe just a matter of personal taste.

Where's the apartment?

Why 3 day trips out of Venice?
I would plan at least 3 full days right in Venice. Lots to see.

Hi, Thanks for replying and your suggestions.

My DD does not want to spend too much time in churches and moaned when I suggested we spend more time wandering around Venice. I was hoping to sneak them in, but its difficult not knowing what is close to where.

This is also why I have not booked much before going in case its all too much.

I really liked the look of the Guggenheim, but DH does not, which is why I did not initially include it.

The ghost walk is an early evening walk that lasts about an hour. Haven't decided on the tour of the grand canal yet, or the gondola trip, but DD is determined to do both and wants to do a night canal trip.

The apartment is in Dorsoduro, very close to the church of spirito santo, and there is a new vaporetto stop there which is 2 mins from the apartment.
I think we will probably get the ATVO bus to Piazzale Roma and then a vaporetto to our stop on the Zattere.

Thanks for the link annhig, have started reading your report, looks like you had a great time.
Did you do reports for Florence and Rome also as we are including them in our trip and it would be helpful to read them before we go.

Make a list of everything everyone wants to do. Annotate a map with each site so you are not backtracking continually. Do an area at a time, leaving room for lots of wandering, shopping and eating. Don't stick together all the time. Use the vaporettos when convenient, passes are economical. After a few days you will get the feel of the city and can decide whether you want to do a daytrip, in which case I recommend Padua, not Verona. March should still be relatively tourist-light, but in any case it is always possible to escape the hordes by getting off the Rialto to Piazza San Marco trail.

I echo the thoughts of others that you need a bit more time in Venice itself and fewer day trips. I for one would skip the Dolomites or Veneto hills, and I agree that Padova is a better day trip out of Venice than is Verona.

All of the places you mention and things you plan to do are rewarding, but with 6 1/2 net days for your visit, you have to be selective, and burning a whole day riding in a van in the hills just might be too much.

My DD does not want to spend too much time in churches and moaned when I suggested we spend more time wandering around Venice. I was hoping to sneak them in, but its difficult not knowing what is close to where. >>

you'll read that my kids aren't great art buffs either, but we thought of various "games" to keep us going! you don't really need a grand canal tour - you just get on the no 1 vaporetto and let it take you up or down - you'll find you get on it more than once in the course of a week.

i second Tarquin's idea of annotating a map or doing something to group the places you want to see in sensible groups - the other thing to look for is opening times, though there aren't many closures in Venice; even on Easter Sunday as we discovered on our trip. and i agree about getting a pass for all the time you're there - it does make life a lot easier, and you actually see more as you can go further without getting too exhausted.

We did go to Florence but before i joined fodors so there's no trip report for that, but there is one for our 2nd trip to Rome with our DS. hope it helps.

Hi springermad,

I think March is too early to book a trip to the Veneto hills and especially the Dolomiti unless you want to ski. it's just not the most favorable time of year to make that trek. If at the last minute you get nothing but sunny skies, I doubt you will have any trouble booking such an excursion the day before, if you feel like making it.

I also think that you might be over-estimating your interest in leaving Venice so soon for a day trip to Verona. Jet lag often hits people unpredictably over a few days, plus it sounds like a lot of hopping around the first days instead of feeling the luxury of time and the timeless in La Serenissima the first moments you arrive. I'd save that Verona excursion for a later part of the trip.

Other than that it doesn't look too rushed or over-committed to me.

I don't blame your daughter for moaning at the thought of "wandering around Venice" and I wouldn't trick her into going into churches or make up games about it. But Venice has some quite interesting craft traditions -- especially when it comes to jewelry, both glass beads and gold. There are places in Venice that repair gondolas and still sand-cast the keys and locks for the old Venetian doors.

Perhaps also an excursion to Burano to see lace makers -- touristy, but it does have a history -- might intrigue her. If you notice she enjoys the food markets in Venice, a morning trip to the quite extensive food market in Padova is short and easy. Padova is also a town for the science-minded, and you can bicycle there. It's just a lot closer than Verona -- but if she has seen Letters to Juliet or has read Romeo and Juliet and has expressed an interest in Verona, sure.

It is really not unusual for young people to not thrill to every moment of travel as many older people do. I just wouldn't push it. Venice is absolutely wonderful at nights, so if she is attracted to the idea of late nights out rather than touristing days, sounds great to me. Lots of people prefer Venice at night -- and if she discovers some places on nighttime walks that are shut but look lovely, she might want to go back the next day to see them (if you all can find them again!)

Oh -- I meant to mention music. An evening concert in Venice in nice, and they are often in churches, so kills two birds with one stone.

You and your daughter should go to the Guggenheim; send DH to the Academia. (wink)

With taking the bus, then the vaporetto, then walking to your apt., your touring time the first day will be limited. I know the area you're talking about -- generally a good spot.

BTW, one spot that gets little mention in Venice is the ghetto. It's an interesting enclave that's a break from the usual wandering/churches/museums.

You might want to download Rick Steve's podcast for the Grand Canal tour... and maybe some of his other podcasts.

http://www.ricksteves.com/news/audio-tours.htm

Hi and thanks for all your great suggestions, I think I will just stick with booking the secret itineraries and leave the rest until after we arrive.

I will look at Rick steve's podcasts I am sure they will give us some good ideas, thanks for the link.

An evening concert sounds lovely, is there any way of finding out beforehand which churches they are in?

I take the point about the Veneto hills or Dolomites trip and weather, thats my husband's idea so maybe we can forgo it this time.

we were originally having our holiday in May/June but had to change it to the Easter school holidays to fit in with my daughter.

The only reason for the two trips early on were because we were not sure what would be open, I read that a lot of museums and galleries would be closed on Easter Saturday,Sunday and Monday and the trip is going ahead that day.

My daughter and husband really want to go to Verona, so think we will keep that in but maybe later in our stay.
As we are only planning on getting a 3 day vaporetto pass, we need to either have any trips we take at the beginning or end of our stay in Venice to get maximum benefit, but I think maybe we will just do the islands and Verona and spend the rest of the time in Venice.

The first 8 days of my trip report from 2010 were spent in Venice:

http://www.fodors.com/community/europe/how-do-you-know-they-are-not-killers-an-italy-trip-report.cfm

I think it is a good idea to wait until you are in Venice to consider your day trips. I wouldn't want to make an effort to travel out of town especially to do outdoor activities, in bad weather.

The other cities you mention may be even more problematic with holiday closures than Venice since they are not as dependent on tourism.

Keep in mind: your 3-day vaporetto pass actually lasts 72 hours. Therefore, by carefully timing the moment you activate it, you might be able to use it on 4 different days. For example, a pass activated at noon on Day 1 would be good until noon on Day 4.

As you implied, think about placing the Verona day trip during the active time of your vaporetto pass so you can get your roundtrip to the train station covered. (If your husband isn't looking forward to wandering Venice, he might not enjoy the walk from your apartment to the train station.)

For your departure day, depending on how you plan to spend the day after you check out of the apartment, you might take you bags to the train station and store them at the baggage deposit. Then, when it's time to head to Florence, you can go straight to the train station from wherever you are. The benefit of this really depends on where you plan to spend the day.

If you are set on Verona, book your train tickets in advance and as soon as possible, so you can get the super economy fares if they are available. That way you can take the fast train for 9 euros vs. 22 euros each way.

I'd also find the time to explore the area around the ghetto and also, eastern Castello (Via Garibaldi, the Gardens, check out the gorgeous views along the riva.) And definitely drag everyone to the Frari, it is a different experience than your average church.

Easter Monday is insanely busy in Venice. So, get off the beaten track that day - and I wouldn't even go near the train station.

I've spent a while in Venice, and like to think that I know it a little. Murano, Burano and Torcello is easily do-able in a day, and do follow Annes suggestion to look inside the GGesuiti, which is very close to the vaporetto stop for Murano - the marble carvings there are quite something.

I wrote a bit of a trip report - it's here.It might give you a bit of a feel for Venice.

http://www.fodors.com/community/europe/venice-a-sort-of-trip-report.cfm

We're returning to Venice 24th March - counting down the days!

I am happy for you, Peter! I will be there next week myself.

I read that a lot of museums and galleries would be closed on Easter Saturday,Sunday and Monday and the trip is going ahead that day.>>

on the contrary, we were amazed at how many were open, even on Easter Sunday for example the Accademia:

http://www.gallerieaccademia.org/?lang=en

it is possible to book, but we found that if you just turned up about an hour before it closes, there was no queue at all, and very few people inside.

and the Gugenheim [which closes Tuesdays and Dec 25th]

http://www.guggenheim-venice.it/inglese/museum/info_biglietteria.html

if you are arriving in Venice over the Easter holiday, which is what we did, you might want to prioritise your shopping, as what will be shut over the holiday is most of the food shops.

as for concerts, the vivaticket.it website is pretty good; many are not listed until a month or so before so keep looking.

do read Peter's trip report - he's spent several months in Venice and is very knowledgable. and it's a cracking good read!

Music

http://www.musicinvenice.com/eng/luoghi.html

TTT