Venice Tours in September 2026

Well organised and visits to some different places were appreciated, such as - Villa do Maser - Rovereto and the World War 1 museum and Peace Bell - Motovun and pasta making - Tesla museum And some better known places were excellent - postojana caves - lake Bled despite the rain - Plitvice despite the wet weather - Rovinj was very relaxing and the hotel great The guides we had along the way were all excellent - Loretto in Rovereto - Karen in Bled - Yannis in Ljubljana - Anna at Plitvice lakes Hotels all good with the last one in Zadar being “adequate”. A few things to consider - Apollo Grappa Museum - one to leave out noting that there was no one who enjoyed Grappa on our tour. It’s an acquired taste. - Breaks along the way would have been better at small villages rather than roadside petrol stops. There were 2 large roadside stops that were worthwhile. - Could have done with more suggestions for restaurants from the Blue-Roads Guide Martina. And a bit more social / lighthearted interaction with her generally rather than the formal approach that was taken. - The organised meals we had along the way were great apart from the farewell meal in where the offerings were massive (apart from fish which was excellent); the meat meal was dried out. - We found the ending a bit strange in being offloaded in the Split waterfront. Suggest a morning in Split with a guided tour then a final lunch or dinner to round things off. Don’t take any of this as complaints - they are suggestions on what could be improved for next time - and from a personal perspective. Thoroughly enjoyed, will recommend and it was a wonderful group of people we toured with.

The cycle paths from the Dolomites to Lake Garda and on to Verona were amazing. The leader (Fabio) was fantastic; he was friendly, efficient, knowledgeable and above all patient. He took us to, or recommended, excellent places for lunch and supper each day. The extras in addition to the cycling were great fun, e.g. the cable car ride in Bolzano and the wine tasting in Soave. The bikes were sturdy and well maintained. There were only two up-hills of note during the trip. If you are reasonably fit you will get up them easily, otherwise be prepared to get off and push for a short distance. The accommodation was very good with en-suite rooms in all hotels and great breakfasts, including lots of healthy options. On the last night we stayed at a place outside of Venice but very close to the Mestre train station (it took 15 minutes to reach the Grand Canal). We were able to go back to Venice on the Sunday morning, after the organised holiday finished, but before our flight. We had an excellent holiday, enjoyed with like-minded people who were good fun to be with. Well done to Explore for offering and organising such an interesting and action-filled week.

The quality and value of the National Geographic tour was obvious with the choice of hotels, the archeological tour of Pompeii, the visit to the lemon farm for limoncello tasting and the other extras that we would never have done on our own.

Fantastic from whoa to go, our guide Danielle was brilliant, and the itinerary was varied, and took us to loads of places bigger vehicles wouldn't access. Driver Roberto kept us safe and our mini bus was super comfortable, and nothing was too much trouble.

Well-planned trip, full on but plenty of spare time to rest or do extra things. Nice mix of other travellers. Our leader dealt very professionally with enforced changes of plan. Good humour.

Really good trip, with some very pleasant companions and an excellent guide, Fabio. He seems to have a sixth sense and is always aware of what is happening in the group. There is a lot of variety in the scenery and climate, and the combination of big cities and smaller towns works well. The cycling wasn't intense, but wasn't super easy either. It seems normal these days to have a mixture of e bikes and conventional, but it worked fairly well. The food was good and reflected the local cuisine. All in all a great trip!