I was very disappointed. We didn't get to explore many of the canals, rather spending a large…read moreportion of the tour at the edge of the city and the lagoon. Further, the guide didn't seem to care much about the quality of our experience. She literally said "this is a group of younger people, so we can do a chill tour" -- I took this to mean she would be informal, but it turned out to mean she put minimal effort into educating us about the city or the ensuring we were getting to see the sights. There were people in the tour more interested in taking pictures, but instead of making sure that we stayed on track the guide just sat in her kayak while they took selfies. It was fun to paddle around in a kayak, and doing so at sunset was absolutely beautiful. But overall, this "tour" is definitely not worth the price.

I had SO much fun! Instructor and guide, Anna, was so knowledgeable and patient. She was such a…read morepleasure to talk to, it felt like a local friend was showing me around Venice. She had a friend with her--Andrea--who was also a local and SO NICE and KNOWLEDGEABLE! When I could not hear Anna, Andrea would relay the information back to me. As well as ask her in Italian really fast if I had any questions. She may become a guide as well so if you can somehow request either of these two girls you will get your full money's worth! HIGHLY RECOMMENDED and will 100000% be back next time in Venice!

While vacationing in Italy we were tired of doing all of the excursions, visiting sites and…read morebasilicas; we decided to have a beach day and we stopped at Lido beach based on the recommendation of our friend who lives near by. I am so glad we had this beach day. The Adriatic Sea was crystal clear. As we walked in we could literally see our toes in the sand. Lido Beach and the area around it was the perfect beach town.

This is the most Beautiful Beach in Italy. It's place that you must see. Stunning water views…read more Beautiful crystal clear water. It was Anniversary Vacation for my husband and I after 19 years of Marriage. It's a bucket list must. We had a great time over there, especially from being from the US.

Great tour of Lido. Marco was a very informative and entertaining guide. Knowledgeable of the…read morelagoon area both in history and current day environmental issues. You can't get a complete picture of the lagoon area without including Lido in your Venice visit and bicycling is a great way to do it.

An amazing bike tour on Lido Island. Peaceful atmosfere, stunning landescape in one of the most…read morebeautiful island in the Venetian lagoon!

Paola was delightful and a patient teacher of rowing. Even with years of sculling, my son took a…read morelittle coaching to pick up the movement. Once he did, he said it was no more strenuous than walking. Paola guided the boat around some lovely, quiet parts of Venice as our son powered the boat.

Absolute highlight of our multiweek honeymoon in Italy. I'm so glad we did this…read more This was so much fun to do. I loved being able to tool around the canals of Venice with my husband and to see the city from the lagoon. It made the rest of the day sparkle, and I would 100% do it again when next in Venice. The analysis is simple. Eighty Euros for a 30 minute or so trip on a gondola for two (guys, it might destroy romance as we know it, but it costs more for singing to happen in boats apparently) or for the SAME PRICE a 90 minute lesson on a gondola where you can get people to sing for free! The administration of booking was painless on our end, and demonstrated really good customer service on Row Venice's side. Once we knew this was a thing, we reached out to book a session. They were able to email us back, in English, and helped to troubleshoot my inability to book and pay through the website the first time around. They were very patient with us and our lack of wifi and accommodated our last minute reservation. We lucked out and had two instructors and both were really friendly and personal. I also really appreciated how there were multiple couples who had all booked at the same time and each of us got our own gondola and instructor. Final props is that this place is a nonprofit entity that supports rowing culture in Venice. Support this group when you're next in Venice. It'll be a really fun day in a really beautiful town.

Established in the 9th century and often known in English as St. Mark's Square, Piazza San Marco is…read moretrapezoidal-shaped in the heart of Venice, where my partner, our friends, family members, and I visited on our first day. It was crowded with tourists in the afternoon, showcasing the Venetian Republic's former glory, and is an essential stop on any Venice itinerary. It is 590 ft (180 m) long and 230 ft (70 m) wide and is the only "piazza" in Venice, since the rest of the squares are called "piazzales" or "campos." It is dedicated to the Evangelist, Mark, patron saint of Venice, where the most famous buildings reside: St. Mark's Basilica, Doge's Palace, the Campanile (the Basilica's bell tower), and the Clock Tower (Torre dell'Orologio). The cafes were super expensive and essentially tourist traps around the gondola stations. Come early in the morning or later in the evening for a more peaceful feel. As one wanders this historic square, you're not just sightseeing--you're stepping into the pages of Venetian history, surrounded by testaments to the city's enduring allure and grandeur, which we can recommend.

Came back to Venice again. Didn't plan to go to the Piazza San Marco this time around, we've seen…read moreit plenty of times. But somehow we still ended up here again after strolling around in the city. And of course it is an impressive place to be. And besides the Rialto area the busiest place in Venice probably. Of course there's lots to see: the Basilica di San Marco, the Palazzo Ducale, the Colonna di San Marco, the Campanile di San Marco, nice views of San Giorgio Maggiore and the Giardini Reali. The Ponte dei Sospiri is just around the corner. And the Riva Schiavoni is nice to take a stroll along the water. Lots of restaurants and cafés. Many with nice live music. But we always avoid these. Way too expensive. But if you feel like it and don't mind the price, it's surely a nice place to do so. From here you can take Vaporettos to many directions. Going back to the Cannaregio area we just to Vaporetto No.2 back to Ferrovia. Easy and convenient (the weekly pass is worth it if you take 2-3 Vaporetto a day).

ESCAPETHEROOMers are in Venice, my favorite city in Italy! Although we are only here for a few…read morehours, we had to check out the only escape room in Venice (close to the port area) - "Escape Venice"! Transportation in Venice is quite tricky. We discovered the People Mover (a train with 3 stops) was quite easy to use to get us from the cruise port to the main hub. We strongly suggest you store your luggage at one of the storage units at the Piazzale Roma station and walk everywhere. There's a lot of bridges with stairs and pebble stone walkways. Water taxis are quite expensive and if not necessary, walking is the best option in the port area. It was quite convenient to use the bus from the central bus station to the airport afterwards. We'll have a tutorial of this in our travel vlog of Venice soon. As we walked about 15 minutes or so in the meandering roads of Venice (we used Google maps), it would be a bit difficult to find if you didn't have pre-printed directions. We stopped pretty much every few steps as the views of the canals, small boutique cafes, and magnificent structures can be seen from every corner of our eyes. As you approach on to the right street it's on (which turns into a dead end), turn right and you'll reach an ancient door (you CAN'T miss it). The room that we are trying - "The Merchant of Venice" is inspired by Shakespeare's comedy. We loved how the game started and how we were immediately absorbed into the storyline. As we stood in Shylock's studio in the times of Serenissima Republic, we had to get to work to find the hidden treasure right away. Given how much space they had to work with, I think they did a great job utilizing all that they can. The props and set design felt authentic from the actual time frame. I must say, I have never seen so many puzzle locks in my life! If you love puzzles and love to open locks, this room is your sweet spot! The clarity of clues to the actual puzzle was great and easy to follow. It's not all linear so groups can work on different puzzles at the same time but there will be a point it does become quite linear. We had a minor issue with one mechanism in the room, but I think it also had to do with us being not locals and knowing their culture. They definitely added a few puzzles that had their local flavor and history to it. The owner did give us a few minutes extra to finish the room as we did spend some time at the beginning with filming and this room is pretty challenging with just two people. Our recommended size would be 4 people due to the room size and the number of puzzles especially if you are not experienced players. This room definitely gave my brain a workout as I slept like a baby on the plane ride back to NY feeling quite satisfied. It was a great way to finish our Europe tour. As we dived into the escape room owner's history, we now understand where a lot of these ideas of the puzzles comes from. One of the owners is the President and the other is on the executive board of the Escape Room ASD which is a Chess, Checkers and Go club. Members of this club will get a 5-euro discount when playing this game. Currently they are working on something that might take the escape hunt outside of the escape rooms. We can't wait to see what they create and next time we will definitely stay longer in Venice and take up the challenge! *For more info, check out my Yelp profile.

So we have this magical talent. When we visit a country, we always end up staying each city…read moreone-day-too-long. Ever done that? So here we are in Florence. We've done it all, over stuffed with food, needing to walk it off. Somehow our backsides end up on a water taxi and we're now at the Fondazione Giorgio Cini. WHAAAT? It was worth a visit. Lovely little island that is connected to other little islands by wooden and metal bridges. It feels like a magical little city in the middle of the ocean. Little boats are parked along the water as naturally as cars parked along a curb. People are polite and delightful. The food (albeit we were full and not near hungry!!!!) was absolutely stunning. The smells were intoxicating... I was near anger that I could not eat again... despite me having an extra 17 pounds of pasta floating in my belly. Next time you're in Italy and need to burns some time in Florence, hope a water taxi and I'd love to hear what you think of Fondazione Giorgio Cini!

Roach hotel. Worse ever. Garibaldi hotel in Italy. Smells like feet. No elevators, no one to…read morehelp with luggage to go up the stairs. . This place should close down. Not sure how they stay open.