Venice: Saint Mark's Basilica Guided Tour Pre-reserved Entrance

I paid too much money for a 15 minute tour. We go inside around the church and talk about the outside all in 15 minutes.

They change the time of our tour without asking us. We were scheduled for 3:00 PM and they changed it to 11 AM. We had another tour at that time and would not be back by 11 AM. They said too bad. You did not get us get back to us fast enough and say this time was not acceptable and we’ve already bought the tickets. They did not refund the tour.

No a good guide she was very uninterested in us & explaining anything Large group which was not good The cathedral was amazing

Amazing experience! Thank you so much Journeys to Italy for guiding me to Discover Venice and all of its many many treasures!

Checking in was sloppy and unorganized. The tour guide was knowledgeable, but the group size was way too big for being able to fully understand and see what was being discussed. The Church itself is gorgeous, historic and a MUST SEE, but I would say to get the longer tour and be aware that it’s crowded at the check-in point AND they allow too many people in one group for such a fast paced tour.

There has been a change with the admission procedures since JULY 2025. You must buy the tickets online, before entry. No real need to purchase a skip the line ticket. Because the lines are so short now. The Venice Tourism Board is still ironing some stuff out while we visited. Things should get better. Be sure you know what you are buying. There are separate prices for each stage of the Basilica. Basic entry, plus the museum/terrace, plus Polo d'Oro, plus audio guide etc. When we visited, we were instructed to scan a QR code and go to the official website and buy the tickets or upgrades. However, the website is obviously in Italian. When you ask to translate to a foreign language (for us English) the website did not have the same options to purchase anything online. It took about 1/2 hour to have someone help us via the Italian instructions. While we were doing that someone put up an English version of the QR code. It should be better handled now. Don't let any of this scare you off. It is something not to be missed. Amazing inside and out. Much better with an in person guide I think. We didn't have one and after all the hassle with our tickets we did not purchase an audio guide either. Absolutely beautiful, no paintings, all the artwork on walls and ceiling are mosiacs !!

Booked this only to have the organizer cancel the day before with no refund because they “didn’t have enough guests.” Back and forth on WhatsApp, only to be ghosted.

Unless you’re deeply religious, skip it. Even in late September, the crowds ruin the experience. We arrived early to the Piazza and THAT was worth more than going into the Basillica!!

The tour was ok but I’m sure we could have found better. We booked this at the last minute and my advice would be to book a tour well in advance if you want the full Basilica experience including the balcony and behind the alter.. this tour didn’t include these areas. Our guide was running very late. Originally we were booked for 2.30 pm which was changed to 3pm but actually didn’t commence until at least 3.30pm. Some people had to leave mid tour as they had something else booked. The Basilica is VERY busy. We had headsets to hear the guide but even still it was a little difficult at times to hear and she was speaking very quickly. We felt that we were being rushed through a bit. A shame as I actually feel Savena was very knowledgeable and we would have been interested in learning more. I can understand with the sheer number of people this is a challenging situation but it would have been nice to not have felt so rushed through the tour.

The guide was very professional and provided interesting local insights plus St. Marks Is definitely one of the most beautiful churches i have ever seen. The tour was very well arranged with skip the line tickets too.

Excellent experience, professional and thorough guide. Perfect service we were looked after from start to finish! Wonderful experience!

We were in Venice for a business purpose and we booked this tour with Vivicos travel, Journeys to Italy. We met the guide Roberto and had a great sharing tour. Even if it was very hot in Venice we enjoyed the explanations of the guide learning about Venice and it Maritime Republic. The tour was great!

An excellent option to discover the history and beauty of the Basilica of San Marco. The guide clearly explains the details of the temple, making the visit much more interesting. Highly recommended for those who wish to know one of the most emblematic monuments of Venice.

We arrived at the tour on time, met our guide and handed us tofo the group printed tickets. When we formed in the Basilica, the guards of the entrance informed us that the tickets were fake. The machines at the entrance did not read the QR codes and the machine marked ticket blocked. The agency couldn't resolve the situation. No one from our group got in and the tour was cancelled. Admission costs 10 euros. Everything else is charged by the agency as a business. Lousy service, this is a scam. I want to clarify that the guide had nothing to do with it. She was baffled. It was an agency scam.

Bad experience for a visit costing 12€ pay 70€ for two people for a visit of barely 25 minutes is abuse

Amazing tour in the Basilica of San Marcos with the Enterprise Journeys to Italy - Vivicos, unforgettable experience thanks to our guide Fabiola. We jumped the queue without waiting and discovered the Basilica of San Marcos, explained everything in detail and very well explained. All this thanks to the Enterprise of Journeys to Italy - Vivicos “ Excellent experience, book without a doubt “ 👌