Culture and grandeur stand at the heart of the Venetian lagoon and spreads east into the charming landscape of Slovenia. Your custom tailored tour immerses you in beauty, elegance, and hidden wonders inside Venice and steps beyond the Italian border to uncover a mixture of marble palaces and marbled mountains, gilded artwork and emerald forests. Follow narrow passageways into the hidden chambers of the Venetian aristocracy and wander through limestone tunnels revealing gigantic empty caverns inside...
Customizable Itinerary
Day 1
Venice – Along the Grand Canal
Venice is a city of grand design set against the backdrop of the Grand Canal. Lavish palaces conjure images of opulent feasts filled with produce and seafood unlike anywhere else in the world, highlighted by the inventive flavors of Venetian cuisine. Palaces provide artistic interpretations of history through embellished facades overlooking the wide and narrow waterways. The city continues to defy convention as it has for more than five centuries, embodied in the perseverant traditions, connection to artwork, and culture of enjoying daily life.
Your private transfer meets you at Marco Polo Airport upon your arrival and escorts you to the edges of the Grand Canal. You board a private boat to begin your exploration of the Grand Canal. The waterway has a reverse “S” shape and stretches nearly two miles long. The towering figure of the campanile, the bell tower in St. Mark’s Square, rises above the marble palaces bordering the water’s edge. Vaporettos speed down canal casting a wake behind them. Wooden plinths rise out of the water supporting structures, docks, and walkways.
For the moment, the lavish buildings fade behind the lively culture of the city. Neighboring women lean out their open windows and talk to each other. Dockworkers hammer new plinths into the soft sand of the lagoon floor. An old woman with silver hair, dressed black, strolls down the cobblestone lane carrying groceries. The grandeur of the canal returns in the image of Palazzo Corner della Ca’ Grande, offering a stunning example of High Renaissance architecture in encouraged during the Republic of Venice. The stately façade was designed to impress passersby and visitors, using Ionic columns to decorate the first floor and Corinthian columns on the second story.
What's Included:
Day 2
Venice – Soul of the City and Republic
Day 3
Venice – Lands on the Lagoon
Day 4
Venice – Treasures of the Republic
Day 5
Ljubljana – Past the Edge of the Republic
Day 6
Bohinj – Enchantment on the Lakes
Day 7
Venice – At the Heart of Europe
Day 8
Venice – Exiting Floating City
Trip Highlights
- Traverse the neighborhood streets of Venice on a guided tour for insight into the local culture and continued traditions practiced inside the maze-like streets
- Explore the hidden chambers and lavish décor of the Doge’s Palace, along with the stunning architecture and artwork of St. Mark’s Basilica
- Let the artwork inspired by Venice take your breath away inside Ca’ Rezzonico Palace, which offers a perspective on life in the Venetian Republic
- Taste the celebrated flavors Venice during a private tour of the city’s bacari, wine bars serving local tapas
- Follow the current around the lagoon on a private cruise to visit the surrounding islands, including the glass blowing island of Murano
- Venture deep into the mountains of Slovenia in a subterranean network of Postojna Cave
- Experience the culture and enchanting atmosphere of historic Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia
- Discover the charms of rural villages around Slovenia, including the marvels of Lake Bled and Lake Bohinj
- Follow the trails in the Soca River Valley to find the gorgeous Slap Kozjak Waterfall
Detailed Description
Castles and palaces embody an enchanting past and captivating stories spanning the Venetian lagoon and mountains of Slovenia. Travel between graceful, crystalline lakes surrounded by verdant forests and labyrinthine cobblestone streets leading to aristocratic mansions, each revealing the surrounding culture and splendor. Your tour begins with your arrival at Marco Polo Airport in Venice. Your private transfer escorts you to the Grand Canal to tour the elegant waterway acting as the main artery for the city built on the lagoon. After the introductory tour, your guide takes you to your lavish hotel overlooking the water.
The following day, you meet your guide in the hotel lobby and set out on a tour of the Rialto Market and Piazza San Marco. Discover the artwork covering the basilica and the hidden chambers inside the Doge’s Palace. In the evening, you accompany your guide through the neighborhoods of Venice in search of the celebrated bacari, local wine bars often serving Venetian tapas. Board a private boat on the following morning to visit the islands of the Venetian lagoon.
Witness the famous glassblowing of Murano; stroll alongside the colorful houses of Burano, and wander through the farms of Sant’Erasmo. Your guide leads you through the marvelous collection of art and historical museums in Venice, which includes a variety of churches hidden by the maze-like streets. Next, you travel east into Slovenia, leaving the marble and cobblestones behind. Mountainous landscape and lush forest become the norm. You stop en route to Ljubljana to visit Postojna Cave, the second largest cavernous network in Slovenia.
Once in Ljubljana, you can enjoy the atmospheric streets of Old Town and the historic city center at your leisure. You visit the castle grounds before venturing to Lake Bled. Wander the trail and visit the Church of Assumption, located on an island at the heart of the lake before venturing to the shores of Lake Bohinj to visit a selection of the 24 villages along the waterway. Bask in the beauty of the landscape around Lake Bohinj before visiting Soca River Valley. Wander the hillsides and traverse the trails along Tolminka Gorge to reach Slap Kozjak waterfall en route to Venice. On the final day, your private transfer leads you to Marco Polo Airport for your flight home.
Starting Price
$3,600 per person (excluding international flights)
Your Zicasso trip is fully customizable, and this sample itinerary is a starting place for your travel plans. Actual costs are dynamic, and your selection of accommodations and activities, your season of travel, and other such variables will bring this budget guideline up or down. Throughout your planning experience with your Zicasso specialist, your itinerary is designed around your budget. You can book your trip when you are satisfied with every detail. Planning your trip with a Zicasso travel specialist is a free service.
What's Included
- Accommodations
- In-country transportation
- Some or all activities and tours
- Expert trip planning
- 24x7 support during your trip
Your final trip cost will vary based on your selected accommodations, activities, meals, and other trip elements that you opt to include.
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