Venice: After-Hours St. Mark’s & Doge's Palace VIP Tour

The VIP After Hours tour of St Mark’s and Doge’s Palace was one of the absolute best tours I think we have ever done. Our guide Marina was so passionate and fabulous in explaining all of the history in great detail and stories behind the artwork and the locations while keeping a lovely balance of humour. I would highly recommend this tour.

The tour was more than I had hoped for. Francesca was our guide, and I enjoyed her storytelling more than the places themselves. She brought them alive within the context of their time and shared insightful comments. The after-hours tour was no gimmick here, as this was truly a unique experience devoid of crowds, with space to move about and enjoy every bit of the experience. Being in the evening it was also cooler. All together, I would tell my frienda and family they shouldn't take any Doge or basxilica tour but this one. Highly recommended.

We were very disappointed with this tour. It was advertised as being 3.5 hours but ended up being 45 mins less as the guide finished at 3 hours and also took a 15 mins break in the middle of the tour while we all sat around waiting. The headsets were also a problem from the start for many people in our group of about 25, which meant we missed about half of what the guide was saying. She kept complaining about the equipment and acknowledged it wasn’t working well. About 6 people in our group left the tour early out of frustration. It was advertised as a ‘small group VIP experience’ but didn’t feel like that at all as several groups were running concurrently, which meant it was still a large group of people. This tour was not value for our money or time.

Our guide Valentina S made this tour one of the most incredible tours I have ever experienced. Her knowledge of the Doge Palace and St Marks is so varied, providing history, Venician culture, present day Venetian's feelings about history, and so much honesty about life as a Venetian now and then. Her obvious pride in all that Venice is creates wonder for the audience. We toured Doges Palace first as the only group in each of the rooms and stairways. Valentina's descriptions made the art come alive in that each art piece is a propaganda for the power of Venice so she explained the Venetian point of view in each. It was kind of funny. In St Marks we sat quietly as the lights came up which was awesome then we saw the crypt, the vestibule with Bible stories to lead folks to faith in Christ, and St Marks tomb. Ending with the church for 1.5 hours of descriptions of the beautiful mosaics was an awesome inspiring ending. Valentina gave us times we could sit to listen and offers of elevators.

We really enjoyed the Venice After Hours Tour. Our guide, Marina, was fantastic. She was very informative and passionate about the history of Venice. We were the only group in Doge Palace and one of two groups in St. Mark’s. It was awesome not having to deal with the crowd and we were given access to areas, such as the crypt, that aren’t accessible during the day.

The after-hours entry was great for fewer crowds and cooler temperatures. We had St. Marks almost to ourselves! To be improved - at certain points of this tour, the radios for those at the back of the group go out of touch with the guide. Something for the guide to keep in mind, if there is a place they can stop or put themselves in the middle of the group.