I'm making my first trip to Italy in July. Many of you have recommended going on the Secret Itineries Tour of the Doges Palace in Venice. Is there a particular tour company you would recommend to reserve a place on this tour? Thanks. Helene

Helen,

You'll love the tour! I believe the tour is provided by an organization affiliated with the Palace (in what way I don't recall, its been 4 years since I've gone). Regardless, there is only 1 place to go & sign up; requesting tours in english, if that is your preference. Back in 2001, walked into a side entrance that was part of the palace and made a reservation for the following day. I guess my memory is escaping me a bit (eek....).

I'll be doing this again in Mid-May. I'm certain you'll be receiving more specific help to this question. Hope you have a geat trip.

Your hotel can make this reservation for you at the Doge's Palace ticket office.
Just make sure they know you want the English tour, I think it's every day around 9:30 or 10am

Hi H,

Secret Itineraries tour of Doge’s palace Phone number is 011 39 041 520 9070.

You will not be charged if you don't show.

Hi H,

Secret Itineraries tour of Doge’s palace Phone number is 011 39 041 520 9070.

This is the official Venice site.

You will not be charged if you don't show.

And THIS is the website for the Palazzo Ducale: ((Doges Palace)
where you can book the Secret Itineraries Tour in English on line:

http://www.museiciviciveneziani.it/f...ione=biglietti

Hi spy,

I think that the online site charges your credit card when you make the reservation.

Am I correct?

The phone call does not.

Yes it does.

How long does the tour take?

About 1.15 hrs

Thanks so much! Helene

You can book the tour at the desk just outside the main ticket office at the Palace. You may need to book for the next day as these tours are very popular and well worth the extra couple of euros. Say hello to Casanova!

I just made a reservation via the website, received a confirmation number, but did not click credit card payment. The form said page 6 of 6, so it seemed as though you could just stop there, keep your confirmation number and pay at the DP or you could click a button at the bottom to continue to the secure credit card screen.

Does this make sense? I figure I've got a reservation at least...

Yes, ChiDGirl-it does make sense. I did the same thing a couple of months ago, and also did not pay online, and it didn't matter. I received an email about two days later from the booking office informing me that I had a reservation for such and such a date for the SI Tour-so no worries there, you should be receiving a confirmation email soon.

Thanks Spygirl!

Warning - We just got back from Italy. Like a few others on this post, I booked the Doge Palace tour at the website, but did not prepay. I received a booking number and printed the confirmation page. When we arrived for the tour, they did not have my name on the list - they said the transaction was never completed. Luckily, we were able to book a later tour at the desk.

If you book on line you must pre-pay. They will not have your name on the list if you do not pre-pay.

So are some of you calling Spygirl a liar, or are you just saying the company made a mistake?

We just returned from Italyl and did the secret itineries tour and loved it. We called about a month before our trip and got a confirmation number. We didn't have to wait in line and were able to walk right in at the time of the tour.

I read through this helpful thread and I have a few questions that I hope someone can answer. I too, booked online through www.museiciviciveneziani.it and was not asked to confirm by payment. The price was 15 euros each.

So I got on SelectItaly.com and thought that I might try there and the tickets were 29.00 USD each.

This seemed like a big surcharge for their efforts.

Should I get back on the original site and try again or just book through Select Italy?