Florence

Top Florence landmarks

From Florence to Venice: A Day Trip to the Floating City

Badge of ExcellenceFlorence, Italy

Likely to Sell Out

From $120.34

Select Date and Travelers

up to 24 hours before the experience starts (local time)

14 to 15 hours
Mobile ticket
Offered in: English

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Overview

Spend a day exploring Venice on a full-day tour that travels by luxury coach from Florence. See highlights including the Piazza San Marco, St. Mark’s Basilica, and Palazzo Ducale, and take a gondola ride on the canals (own expense). With a combination of guided tours and free time, you’ll experience the best of the Floating City in one day.

A day trip to Venice from Florence
Hear insightful commentary from the guide
Ideal for first-time visitors with limited time
Includes glass-blowing demonstration and map

What's Included

Journey by fully-fitted luxury GT coach
Expert multilingual escort
City orientation tour with tour leader
Glass blowing demonstration
Free time for independent sightseeing
Map of Venice

Guided tour of Venice
Entrance tickets to churches and attractions

Meeting and Pickup

Meeting point

Piazzale Montelungo, Firenze FI, Italy
TOURS & NEWS KIOSK AT PIAZZALE MONTELUNGO BUS TERMINAL Located at 5-10 minutes walking distance from Santa Maria Novella Train Station. Look for our staff wearing a FUCHSIA CIAOFLORENCE JACKET and holding a CIAOFLORENCE CLIPBOARD!

Start time

07:30 AM

End point

This activity ends back at the meeting point.

What To Expect

Florence

3 hours • Admission Ticket Free

Venice

5 hours • Admission Ticket Free

Piazza San Marco

30 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Basilica di San Marco

20 minutes • Admission Ticket Not Included

Venice

30 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Doge's Palace

30 minutes • Admission Ticket Not Included

Ponte di Rialto

15 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Ponte dei Sospiri

15 minutes • Admission Ticket Not Included

Canal Grande

30 minutes • Admission Ticket Not Included

Florence

3 hours • Admission Ticket Free

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Not wheelchair accessible
Stroller accessible
Near public transportation
Infants must sit on laps
Infant seats available
Not recommended for travelers with back problems

Not recommended for pregnant travelers
No heart problems or other serious medical conditions
Travelers should have a moderate physical fitness level
English and Spanish are always guaranteed. In order to confirm the excursion in Italian, German, Portuguese or French a minimum of 4 pax is required
Covid-19 Mesures: A safe distance of one meter between clients will be maintained whenever possible. All our vehicles will be deep-cleaned and disinfected before and after each service. The use of masks is mandatory; clients must bring their own mask. Alcohol gel will be available on all our vehicles. Temperature will be checked for staff and visitors. Disinfected radio units will be provided, and headphones will be single-use. Showing your voucher on your phone will be enough; it is not necessary to print it out.
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 25 travelers

Cancellation Policy

You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.

For a full refund, you must cancel at least 24 hours before the experience’s start time.
If you cancel less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time, the amount you paid will not be refunded.
Any changes made less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time will not be accepted.

Cut-off times are based on the experience’s local time.
This experience requires a minimum number of travelers. If it’s canceled because the minimum isn’t met, you’ll be offered a different date/experience or a full refund.

Traveler Photos

Reviews

4.5

32 reviews

Total review count and overall rating based on Viator and Tripadvisor reviews

Reviews by Viator travelers.

We perform checks on reviews

Showing 1-10 of 32 reviews

Five stars even with bad weather

Stephen_S, Apr 2024

Rainy, windy, cold and gondolas shut down. Why 5 stars? Constantine! He was an awesome guide. Funny, organized and connected. When gondolas restarted after 2 hour shutdown because of wind, he got us to the front of the line. Took us to an off the path restaurant with great food and no waiting. He knows Venice and made a potentially disastrous day a lot of fun.

Best Tour Guide

Cassidy_S, Apr 2024

Great day! Honestly our tour guide was amazing! Hands down best we have had! Super funny! Thank you!

Very disappointed in this tour and our guide

Marla_G, Apr 2024

No time on our own for shopping and we weren’t able to pause for pictures anywhere. We were in a constant run to catch our guide Constantine who even joked about leaving people behind. The glass blowing was interesting but turns into a sales pitch and we asked if our guide earned a commission and were told “we can’t discuss that arrangement” so go watch the demo then leave if you want to have any time on your own at all. We went to lunch where he recommended and he was served drinks as soon as we walked in. Food was good but was very slow and took a lot of the day. For the gondola we paid 120 euros on the bus and the rides were 90. Our guide made good money in addition to the fee we paid to go. There was a lot of discussion about this from quite a few people in the group!! Very little was pointed out to us like us mentioned in the listing and no time to visit on our own. The very few things that were pointed out we were told not to stop, we could come back for pictures later- not possible! We bought two tickets for sites during the free time we were supposed to have. We didn’t get to use those. As we didn’t get any free time. We had to weave through a crowd in a near run to keep up with our guide. At times we could see the flag two blocks ahead and he never paused to see if the group was with him. We had able bodied people on the trip. Older folks should not attempt this tour! We were very excited about seeing the things on the tour listing and hearing info about each as indicated. NONE of that happened! We spent most of the day chasing our guide and felt like he spent the day taking us places where he made extra money. We had a bathroom stop on the way down- not on the way back- we also weren’t told we wouldn’t be stopping on the return trip so we didn’t go before we left the city as we weren’t given time. We were rushed to the boat to return. We returned to Florence a full hour and a half before the tour was set to end. It would have been nice to have spent that time in Venice seeing sights or shopping instead of being in a run to get back. Our guide bragged about finishing early and to brag on Constantine if we liked the tour. We wanted the time in Venice, that’s why we paid money to go. This was a once in our lifetime trip so it was very disappointing that we didn’t get to see and do more and enjoy our time in the city.

Rushed & Ruined by Weather

Claudine_D, Apr 2024

Did 3 tours from Florence (this 1, Cinque Terre, & Tuscany/ Pisa tour). This one was my least favorite… It was very rushed, felt like we ran to everything, the glass blowing show was nice but felt like there was a push to sell. I did purchase a necklace pendant cause I liked it. The weather wasn’t great, it drizzled a bit, and seemed like there were flooded areas due to high tide. My shoes and socks were soaked, so carry an umbrella and buy some shoe covers that go up to your calves. The Gondola ride was okay (pricy if not shared amongst 4-5ppl) but ruined by the weather and the water was crowded with lots of other Gondolas. The photos didn’t turn out as romanticized. Food was okay. None of this was our tour guide’s fault. Constantino was a good guide. Would I book this again? Likely not.

Great tour guide

Paige_L, Mar 2024

Trip was great. It's not the tour companies fault that everything was flooded. I'm not sure it's possible to really experience Venice in just a few hours. While I liked the tour guide, I don't think it's worth it.

Quick Venice

MariahM, Oct 2023

Not much time in Venice, but the benefit of this tour is that you don't have to figure out canal transport. Also, the glass blowing demonstration was pretty cool and if you want a gondola ride, the guide will make the arrangements. If you are a solo traveler being with a group tour could be beneficial in bringing the cost down for a gondola ride too since you can join another group.

Additional birthday gift for my partner

DonnaMarie_M, Oct 2023

The travel time was about 3hrs from Florence to Venice but worth it. Great tor guide and driver. Glass blowing demonstration was good plus shop (this did not take a lot of time at all and does not impact on your time in Venice. There was plenty of time to still wonder and see the sights plus have a gondola ride as well as food and drink. Would definitely recommend.

A must!

vanessa_c, Aug 2023

The gondola ride was amazing! The travel to and from was easy and the stop 1/2 way for lunch and a stretch was really nice.

Glorified Shopping Centre

Donald_W, Jul 2023

Terribly disappointed and saddened . Had I wanted a shopping trip I would have gone to Westfield in London. I went to be engulfed in the History, Culture, Art , Sculptures. Indeed they are there but you have to peel back layer after layers of shops and stalls . I first realised something was not what I expected when following the Glass blowing, Boxed glasses were bought out and offered for sale even a price for cash to a captured audience expecting a talk on Venetian glass Not a Salesman. Thank God for the Gondola ride, literally saved the day .

Great host. The glass...

Mary_H, Jun 2023

Great host. The glass blowing display and the gondola ride were the standouts on the tour. Plenty of time to explore on your own.

Venice is lovely

Ilah_W, May 2023

The boat over scenery and all the architecture on the island. Gondola was nice, but would have been fine if had not done it as the canals were a bit crowded. Was nice to do a bit of wandering on our own.

One day trip to Venice was all we needed

NathaliaS_P, May 2023

Although the bus ride is just over three hours to get to Venice, the bus stops around the halfway mark for passengers to use the bathroom or stretch their legs at a gas station. Our guide, Giuliano, despite having a heavy accent, was funny and very knowledgeable. Our group was not too large and he gave us the important info and free time if we wanted it in Venice. Definitely use the restroom before heading back to Florence—as it is a long way back (3 hrs). For those of you who haven’t been to Italy, ensure you are taking coins to use the bathrooms—as public bathrooms are not free—they charge (on average) 1.00 euros.

The bus was very...

gelson_t, Apr 2023

The bus was very comfortable, tour guide was knowledgeable and entertaining, and the driver was solid. I’d recommend it again. We skipped the glass tour to do our own touring but that was our decision. Other folks seemed to have liked the tour. Buy a map of Venice, google maps or other apps do not have the ability to hone in on your location.

Great Day in Venice

Shirley_E, Apr 2023

We had a fabulous trip to Venice from Florence. Giuliano and Paolo were fantastic tour guides and our driver. We had a wonderful experience and Giuliano was so knowledgeable and helpful.

Love Venezia!

Terra_M, Oct 2022

Amazing experience, but a bit crowded. The glass blowing demonstration was cool, but there were so many of us that it was a little uncomfortable when watching. The gondola ride was nice as well, but on the expensive side (worth it to me, however). What I love most about this tour was freedom and time you're allowed you to self-explore. It was very adequate time, and the guide was very informative and detailed in the meeting point instructions.

Venice

WILLIAM_V, Sep 2022

Really enjoyed the tour. We had enough time to explore on our own. And we’re able to enjoy an Awsome lunch.

Small taste of Venice - you will love

Beth_S, Jul 2022

Perfect taste of Venice - great ferry ride over and what a view ..quick tour of st marks square and glass demonstrations- our guide Constantine was 5 star with many ideas and connections- he made arrangements for shared gondola rides ..best 20 euros ever ..this ride is how you should see Venice it’s magical !! I spent the last hour in Florian cafe 1720 with Piano band playing just watching the view and feeling the city vibe it’s very expensive but worth every memory penny - thanks Caio Florence

Good trip, but want more!

Alyssa_A, May 2022

Our guide was passionate about his job and one could tell! It help make the day go very smoothly and have high energy even if it wasn’t always sunny! Well organized tour, only downside is the limited time in the city itself. Not much time to do other activities like see inside musuems or gardern

Major Disappointment

DonnaF_M, Apr 2022

No photos because trip canceled within last 24 hours No help to arrange an alternative way to go there

The joy of floating in Venice.

Christine_J, Nov 2019

Everything was great. Really liked my guide Giuliano C. He was great. The ride to and from was comfortable. Although things were great and the trip to and from Venice is not that long I think at least one rest stop going and on rest stop returning should be added to the trip to give people the opportunity to use the restrooms. anyone that has ever visit Italy no that finding a place to use the restroom can be difficult.