Pick the best Florence to Venice day trip

Visiting Italy and not visiting Venice? Something is wrong here. A trip to Italy should always include at least Florence, Rome and Venice, but it might happen that you are on a budget, or Italy is just one of the stages of your larger Europe tour. If this is the case, it’s a good thing to choose Florence as your base in Italy because it’s exactly in the middle between Rome and Venice and from here you can organize a Florence to Rome and a Florence to Venice day trip. By visiting these three cities, you can have a good idea about the history of Italy: from the glories of the ancient Roman Empire, to the flourishing Medieval Republics, to the Renaissance and Baroque age. In this art-rich country, Venice is definitely the most romantic place. It’s something unique in the world, a city built on water, where you don’t have streets and blocks but canals and islands, filled with beautiful buildings and churches. You don’t want to miss the opportunity to see this wonder, once you are in Italy, and here I am to suggest the best Florence to Venice day trips. Some of them require a bit of organization, but if you don’t want this hassle, there are more which are fully organized by agencies.

Florence to Venice by train

This is probably the best way to visit Venice, meaning that the transfer (2 hours to reach Venice) is the fastest possible, leaving you more time to visit the city. Unfortunately, no tour operator offers a guided tour of Venice with high-speed train transfer. If you want, you can settle for a self-guided tour of the city, buying this package which offers the round-trip train ticket and the Vaporetto ticket for 12 hours, but then you are on your own. I wouldn’t do that. I would buy the train tickets myself instead, you can do it on the official Trenitalia website, and book a guided tour in Venice. A tour of St Mark’s Basilica and Doge’s Palace is what I suggest, or you can pick one from this list. This is the most flexible way to visit Venice from Florence.

Going by train? Choose your Venice tour here >>

Florence to Venice day trip by Minivan

This is a “no-hassle” way to visit Venice from Florence. It is expensive but offers a great service: the Minivan will pick you up at your hotel in central Florence, or you can join the small group (up to 8 people) in front of the Gilli Cafe, in Piazza Della Repubblica, ten minutes before the scheduled start time. Upon arrival, you will meet your tour guide that will provide a walking tour of the city, including the Ponte di Rialto, Piazza San Marco, the Palazzo Ducale and the church of San Giacomo. You will say good-bye to the guide in time for a lunch in Piazza San Marco (at your expense) and then you will enjoy the rest of the afternoon exploring on your own, shopping, or taking a romantic gondola ride, before meeting your driver to get back to Florence.

Book this tour >>

Venice from Florence by bus

This is another organized Florence to Venice day trip, which differs from the previous one because the price is much lower, the group is much larger (up to 50), and the transfer is made by a private air-conditioned coach, instead of a minivan. This means a slower transfer, justified by the difference in price. I never suggest joining large groups but, in this case, you don’t have many alternatives if you want a “hassle-free” Florence to Venice day trip. Once you reach your destination, you will have free time to explore on your own and after lunch you will be provided a walking tour including the main attractions, including a glassblowing demonstration. Notice that the tour might be provided in more than one language.