From St Pauls to St Peters Tour #5900

[Karen witte]

I am registered to go on this tour with my husband in October. Does anyone know how much time there is in Florence between the end of the city tour and the departure for Rome? I would like to make reservations ahead of time to see the statue of David in the Acadamia, but don't know if there will be enough time. Also, if there is enough time, what would be the best time to make the reservations?

Also, in Venice what time does the city tour end? And, what time does the optional boat trip to Burano leave and return? I am hoping there will be time to see the interior of the Doges Palace and the Bridge of Sighs, but am not sure when to try to fit it in.

If anyone can help on either of these questions, it would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Karen

[Jeniceves]

Hi! We just got back on Friday from the "From Rome to London" tour that is the reverse of your trip. We had originally scheduled your tour but it was cancelled.

As far as your questions, we were in Florence for only one half a day. Our tour left Rome and took forever to get to Florence. We got to our hotel in time to have dinner, sleep and get up to have the half-day city tour the next day. We had a city tour in the morning and were only free for about 2 hours as we were on the road to Venice right after lunch. Many of us wanted to see "David" but there was a 2 hour wait at the museum and we weren't sure enough about our timing to buy tickets ahead of time. You can really do Florence on your own without the city tour if you want. That way you could buy your tickets ahead of time and see the museum in the morning. You will have plenty of time to see the other sites before you leave for Rome, if the timing is the same. If you tour is the same as ours, you will have your luggage on the bus and can just take off on your own. Just make sure of the departure time. They really don't care if you do the included tours or not, as long as you are on the bus when it leaves.

As far as Venice goes, we had one night and one day there and it was wonderful. If they have the optional dinner the first night you are there, it's worth it just to see everything at night. The dinner was also good and fun. Again, the next morning there is an included tour which we did, but you do not have to do. It was worthwhile as we got into St. Mark's ahead of others and we had a good tour guide. We had all afternoon to explore on our own and had enough time and then some to see everyting including the Bridge of Sighs and Doges Palace and everyting else. It was just fun to shop and get lost in the narrow streets! There is not a great amount of time to shop in this tour. This was one of the few places we had time to shop. The Burano tour left around 3 PM as the optional gondola ride was at 12:30 and they want to give you time to do everything if you want. Burano did not get good reviews from those who went. Maybe just not that interested in lace! Our boat did not leave until 6 PM to get us back to the hotel. Included in the city tour is a tour of a glass factory.

If you would like more info. please let me know! Jenice

[Karen witte]

Jenice,

Thanks so much for the information. It gave me a lot of much needed help. As for the trip to Burano, was the town picturesque and colorful? Would a photographer enjoy taking pictures there?

Karen

[Jeniceves]

My friends took the trip to Burano last month and had photos. The town is very picturesque--pastel colored homes and friendly people. Hope that helps. I put a review of our trip on this site so you may want to read it just to get some info. on the places you'll see since they are about the same. Happy travels! Jenice