10 Apr 2023
Our tour guide for the day was so personable and friendly and we really enjoyed the opportunity to meet her on this day trip; however, this tour was not what we had expected based on the description. First of all, we were the only couple in this tour...so no small group at all. For some people this would be ideal if you required lots of individual attention throughout the day, but we did not need this much attention and would have really enjoyed some time to look through a couple of shops on our own without our guide with us the entire time. And once St. Mark's Square and a few other places were pointed out to us, we really would have preferred time to explore or at least walk around this area a little bit on our own. We also did not need the guide to ride on the train to/back from Venice for the approx. 4 hour ride each way with us (total of almost 8 hours). We had paid more for the first-class train tickets option and were disappointed to find that we did not sit near each other on the 4-hour ride back to Rome. We would understand if this was a last-minute booking, but this trip was booked months in advance. We had expected that we would have seats by each other. Again, the guide was extremely courteous and also helped us find a gondola ride at the end of the day. This would have been more romantic if the guide wasn't on the gondola with us and we could have enjoyed this on our own (especially since we returned to the exact location). This was not the small group tour we were expecting based on the description. This might be perfect for another couple/family, but we wish someone had left a review like this so we would have known what to actually expect. We felt like it was extremely overpriced only to have someone literally walk around with us for a few hours (nothing else was included). We booked several guided tours during our time in Italy and I'm sorry to say this was our least favorite which is a shame because Venice is such a beautiful place to visit!