Unique, custom private tours designed for those who'd like to experience this intimate city even more up-close and personally.

What We Offer

Complete Listing

Booking and Payment

BOOKING

Venice is a busy place and inundated with cruise and other tourist traffic, which means choice authorized guides are in demand. To make sure you get our favorites, your first order of business will be to fill out the availability form so we’ll have all the info on your travel plans. We’ll need this to offer you our best advice, so we ask that you fill that out as completely as you can right away.

Then, you should review our site, consult with us for advice (we’re happy to schedule a phone call or a Skype chat), we’ll book your choices as soon as you are comfortable.

BOOKING FEES.

Beyond the services we offer, for travel 30-days or more in advance, we can book your San Marco Basilica entrance, your VeniceConnected.com passes, and Secret Itineraries entrance, and other passes if you like for a €10 fee for each booking. There are no booking fees for any services we provide directly, or that are included in any of our tours.

PAYMENT

For bookings made 30 or more days in advance, a 50% non-refundable deposit is required to book any tour. You may

  • Send payment via Paypal to friendinvenice@gmail.com, using your account or credit card (you do not have to have a Paypal account to use the service).
  • pay with your credit card, providing card details (number, expiration, ccv, billing zip code). Send the numbers split into separate e-mails, or we can take it by text message or phone if you prefer.
  • send a check made out to Illustrata, Inc. to:

Your Friend in Venice
269 E Lake Drive
Decatur, GA  30030

The balance will be due in cash in Venice. (You may also pay the balance by credit card, but unfortunately we must add the 5% fee to cover exchange rate and bank fees.)

PLEASE NOTE: Bookings made less than a 25 days in advance from May through October will require full payment at time of booking and will be non-refundable.

CANCELLATION

  • the deposit is non-refundable.
  • for cancellations within 30 days and no shows, balance will be charged.

For unforeseen delays, etc., every effort will be made to adjust tour times whenever possible. Please be aware that guides book up quickly from May through October and there may be difficulty rescheduling during these periods, especially on weekends or on holidays. We highly recommend the purchase of travel insurance — please consult with your travel specialist.

LAST MINUTE

Do to high demand during the months of May through October, booking guided tours less than 30 days in advance may not be possible. For the most flexibility, please confirm your travel plans two or more months in advance.