Tours, sightseeing tours, activities & things to do | Viator.comSkip the Line: Venice Walking Tour with St Mark's Basilica
based on 85 reviews of Skip the Line: Venice Walking Tour with St Mark's Basilica
Read what other Viator.com travelers think about the Skip the Line: Venice Walking Tour with St Mark's Basilica. What they loved, what they liked and what they think could be improved, it's all here to help you make the most of your next trip.
Yes we skipped the line for St Marco, but we only had 10 minutes in the cathedral. This was not enough. You should mention this in your information. The walking tour was very good, but if you could do that part first and then let us stay in the church at the end, that would be much better. We wanted to go upstairs and spend more time in the church. That's why we booked the tour. We were very disappointed.
Reviewed by: Andrew C, Canada, September 2008
If you do this tour try to go in the afternoon, ours was changed to 11.00 am. In summer it's very hot and humid which didn't make for a pleasant walk. Hat and drink bottle are musts.
Reviewed by: C E S, Australia, September 2008
Was not the best we ever had.
Reviewed by: Anonymous, Switzerland, August 2008
The walking tour was pretty good. Unfortunately, the only time I could book this tour was just after we arrived in Venice and so by the time we checked into our hotel, we were running late for the tour. I called and the person I spoke with was not very helpful or sympathetic to our situation, saying if we didn't get to the starting location on time, MAYBE he would book us for the next day. Fortunately, there was still someone waiting for us who took us to the tour group. Learning about the areas of Venice through a tour guide was helpful. However, our headsets were quite uncomfortable around the ears and it was very difficult to hear what she was saying, especially in busy places such as St. Marco's Square. One more thing, directions as to where to meet the tour group could have been a little more detailed. Being in a different country and not knowing the language, it is very difficult to ask for directions, so better directions would be very much appreciated. Overall, it was ok.
Reviewed by: Almero M, United States, July 2008
This is certainly not for families with infants or children who use pushchairs or strollers. Venice by geographic design is a city of an innumerable number of bridges over its canals, and it's difficult to follow the guide, who walks very fast through them. Also, there were no head pieces or earphones provided, and most of the time, it was quite difficult to hear the guide! Also, you have to queue up for getting into St. Mark's Church, so no real jumping the line!
Reviewed by: Nabarun N, India, June 2008
Unfortunately, when we arrived for the tour there were a lot of people, which I wouldn't recommend. It was very hard to hear the tour guide; too many people in a tour shouldn't be allowed. We left it after an hour and did the sights ourselves.
Reviewed by: Margaret M, Ireland, June 2008
I liked the fact that the walking tour took us through the back streets and non-touristy areas of Venice, but the commentary was very dry. I found myself bored a few times. I was also expecting to do more than just spend fifteen minutes in St. Mark's Basilica before walking out. There was no time to explore on your own or visit other areas of this main attraction. I could have done this walk on my own.
Reviewed by: Kristin G, United Kingdom, May 2008
This was the last tour of a two week trip, and we were tired of tours. We left halfway through, as it was too hard to hear the guide with her wimpy megaphone. We heard the group next to us much better.
Reviewed by: Anonymous, United States, May 2008
Tour guide spent one hour of the two hour "walking tour" standing in St Mark's square gushing about the figures on the buildings.
Reviewed by: Charles F, United States, March 2008
Our tour was worth doing, but it could have been better. We learned a lot of different things about Venice, but at some times it was hard to hear because we had a big group. Many different things the guide told us about we did not visit. She would say we could do these things on our own time. I have taken many tours with this company and really enjoyed them, but this one was "just OK".
Reviewed by: Steven S, United States, December 2007
It was interesting to discover and learn about different parts of the city that we would not have found otherwise, but I felt this tour went too long. Our guide was more focused on art and philosophy than on Venice's history. Perhaps there should have been a refreshment stop to break the tour up.
Reviewed by: Mikarla M, United Kingdom, September 2007
The guide was very knowledgeable and passionate about Venice, but a bit resentful of the tourists who invade her beloved city.
Reviewed by: Anonymous, Australia, July 2007
The history background of Venice was not explained. The guide had a poor-quality microphone compared to her colleagues, and therefore some of her explanations didn't reach all of us among the crowds. The maximum number of participants was supposed to be 20 people, but our group had approximately 25 people. This should have been enough of an issue for the tour operator to reduce the price.
Reviewed by: Harri L, Finland, July 2007
This walk would have been better if we could actually hear and see our tour guide. We had a group of 28 people, making it very difficult to follow along with the tour guide. We basically stood in different spots around the city for fifteen minutes, having no clue what we were looking at. Venice is small, so it's much better to tour the city yourself!
Reviewed by: Jennifer V, Canada, June 2007
Lots and lots of info, as long as you can hear the guide. Our group was nearly thirty, and unless you were one of the few right next to the guide, you could not hear. Also, we went during a high tourist time. We were rushed the whole tour. I'm sure smaller groups would have been wonderful.
Reviewed by: Valerie H, United States, June 2007
