- I went on a trip to Venice with two of my kids and made travel mistakes that I should have avoided.
- Our gondola ride felt overrated and I wish I had done more research on the best places to eat.
- The hotel I booked was actually on another island in Venice, not the main one.
I have visited more than 65 countries and I consider myself an experienced traveler.
Sometimes, I prepare for trips by doing exhaustive research, and other times, I hold it in and hope for the best. I’ve been to Italy a few times, so on a recent trip to Venice, I decided to play things by ear.
I thought it would be a better use of my time to focus on other parts of the trip, which included taking my two children across Europe from Rome to Warsaw.
Although my children and I had a great time in Venice, there are five of them travel mistakes I wish we had avoided it.
Not staying on the mainland of Venice
I realized I should have spent more time planning the trip once we checked into our hotel, which wasn’t in the part of Venice I’d hoped it was. Jamie Davis Smith
Most visitors to Venice, including us, come for the sites on the main island, such as Piazza San Marco and the Doge’s Palace.
However, Venice consists of over 100 islands that all include “Venice” in their address. This confused me when booking hotels and I ended up accidentally choosing an accommodation in Murano.
We had to take ferry rides to get from there to the main island of Venice and back throughout our trip, which took a toll on our travel time and budget.
I met many people who deliberately chose to stay in quiet and peaceful Murano, but I wish I had booked a hotel on the main island.
Going on a gondola ride
Like many visitors to Venice, I was convinced that the highlight of our trip would be being paddled through the city’s quiet canals by a gondolier. However, our gondola ride was anything but the bespoke experience I had dreamed of.
Instead of sailing leisurely through the picturesque waters, our trip along Venice’s main canal was mostly bumper-to-bumper with other boats as we listened the gondolier talks to the gondolier in front of him.
Fortunately, we found a better way to enjoy the waters of Venice.
Later in the trip, my kids and I took a leisurely rowing lesson with Row Venice, which was more fun than the gondola ride.
We learned to row a traditional Venetian boat on an almost empty canal and the instructor gave us a ride as part of the lesson.
Next time, I would skip the gondola ride and book another rowing lesson.
Don’t wake up early
We had some rare moments without crowds during our trip to Venice. Jamie Davis Smith
I had heard that Venice gets crowded (especially in summer) and that getting there early is important to avoid the crowds, but I’m a night owl.
I ignored this advice and realized that, as a seasoned traveler, I would be fine navigating the crowds.
However, I was not prepared for how crowded the narrow streets of Venice would become during the day. We regularly found ourselves squeezing around other sweaty tourists in the narrow streets or waiting behind groups of people to see the monuments.
I still had a great time in Venice, but I regret not setting my alarm earlier at least once to enjoy the city when it was quieter and less crowded.
To believe that all Italian food is delicious
Back home in the United States, Italian food is a staple of my family’s diet. It’s usually hard to go wrong with any pizza or pasta, so I haven’t looked up where to eat in Venice.
I thought all the food in Italy would be delicious. Unfortunately, being open to eating anywhere, we ended up in a number of takeaways tourist traps with mediocre pasta and even worse pizza.
Towards the end of the trip, I began to make efforts to find the best traditional Italian food in Venice and found some gems, including the oldest pizzeria in town.
If I ever go back, I’ll do more research on where to eat ahead of time. After all, Italy has so much incredible cuisine that there’s no excuse for even a mediocre meal there.
Not giving yourself enough time to leave
There are no cars in Venice, so it is not possible to take a taxi to get to the city’s airport, train station or bus depot.
On our way out of town, we had to navigate narrow paths and bridges – with our luggage – on foot. Doing this took longer than expected and was stressful.
Next time, I will allow more time just to get to our departure point in Venice.