Secrets of Venice

FINAL ROOM 4* HOTEL! (either a regular double room or a super canal suite!)
We still have enough comfortable rooms in the good 3* hotel Tintoretto.

Venice should need no introduction. With 30 million visitors a year, this is one of the world’s top tourist destinations. It is just one big museum everywhere you walk… or sail of course, because the city is 100% car free. And during this weekend we are given an extra treat, namely the breathtaking Redentore Festival Fireworks that lasts almost a full hour. Venice is a must-see city and with Expat Club you will have the chance to see it in the best possible way since we organised 2 great hotels, 2 guided tours by official local guides and an optional program that you will totally love!

With a departure on Friday early afternoon from Brussels Airport and a return on Sunday evening, you will only need to get the Friday off from work. For the rest the weekend is packed with culture, art, architecture and special visits. Will you join us too? We especially would like to invite solo travellers as well as couples to continue reading because this “group trip” is more suitable for you than you may think!

You can expect the following on this trip:

???????? flight Brussels Airport – Venice Treviso
???????? transfer to/from Venice airport by bus
???????? 2 nights in a 3* or 4* hotel in Venice
???????? choice between single, double, twin, triple rooms
???????? possibility for room-sharing for single travellers
???????? 2 hours guided walking tour in Venice
???????? 3 hours guided tour San Marco Basilica, Doge Palace, Correr Museum
???????? entrance fees and reserved entry San Marco Basilica, Doge Palace, Correr Museum
???????? afternoon excursion to Murano and Burano islands
???????? entrance fees glass museum and lace museum
???????? visit Venice Lido and beachfront dinner
???????? amazing Redentore fireworks
???????? organised gondola trip
???????? casual walks around town 
???????? a lovely international group

Venice is 100% art, architecture, history, opulence, culture and eternal beauty. You simply must visit Venice once in your life and discover all the lovely corners. But instead of running around aimlessly we arranged a nice program that allows you to see the entire city, both from the land and from the water. We visit all famous landmarks and several museums and panoramic points. We also sail to the islands Murano (from the famous Murano glass), Burano (one of the world’s most colourful places, and the Lido (from the famous Venice Film Festival). And on Saturday evening we attend a spectacular fireworks show that is almost 1 hour long!

Our program
Expat Club trips are known for carefully planned and balanced programs, that will allow enough time for visiting all main attractions, lunches & dinners, guided tours, free time and resting time. Still, with 400 bridges, countless small streets and alleys, endless canals and large waters, there is always more to see. Since many people have no idea where to start we’ve done all the home work for you. The below program includes visits to all most important and historic place, all main areas of the main island of Venice, as well as the fascinating “satellite islands” Murano, Burano and Lido. Although you are more than welcome to join the entire program, you are of course also free to choose your own itinerary and leave the group and discover Venice on your own or find a nice romantic restaurant for two. The items with the Italian flag are the “required” parts, you definitely don’t want to miss those!

Friday 13 July

• 12h00 – Meeting at Brussels Airport, flight and transfer to Venice ????????
• 17h00 – Check-in hotel ????????
• 18h00 – Guided tour with a local guide ????????
• 19h30 – Free time
• 19h30 – Optional evening visit to Lido & beachfront dinner

Saturday 14 July

• 09h00 – Guided tour San Marco Basilica, Doge Palace & Correr Museum ????????
• 12h15 – Visit Campanile panoramic tower
• 12h45 – Lunch
• 13h30 – Gondola trip
• 14h30 – Visit to Murano, glass museum, Burano, lace museum
• 18h00 – Return to main island & free time
• 20h30 – Dinner in great restaurant
• 23h30 – Redentore fireworks

Sunday 15 July

• 09h00 – Walking tour around Venice (Cannaregio, Dorsoduro, Giudecca, Chiesa San Giorgio Maggiore)
• 11h30 – Guided tour Galleria dell’Accademia
• 13h00 – Lunch
• 14h00 – Continuation walking tour (San Marco, Castello, Cannaregio)
• 17h00 – Departure from Venice ????????
• 20h05 – Flight to Brussels Airport ????????
• 21h35 – Arrival Brussels Airport ????????

Breakfast, lunch and dinner
Your wake-up meal is already included in the trip fee. We are going to organise lunches and dinners in good restaurants as well (picked by trusted locals and Expat Club members). You are welcome to join those as well, but we will communicate the locations, menus and prices at a later point. It is a super busy weekend in the city and searching for a good place may not be so easy, especially with the many “tourist traps”, so by joining us you are assured of getting a great meal with the best company you can find!

What parts are included in the trip?
It’s really all up to you, and eventually your friend, partner or family. If you want to join the entire program, you are more then welcome to do so! But if you want to skip parts of it (or even the entire program), be our guest, you decide. For this specific trip we recommend to join at least the Friday evening guided walking tour and the Saturday morning “San Marco” guided tour. So if you don’t want to join to the Lido on Friday evening, or Murano/Burano on Saturday afternoon, and the walk around the outer neighbourhoods on Sunday, not a problem at all. However, if you do join to these places, please make sure to pre-order your 48-hours “boat pass” during the checkout process. You definitely need it then! Finally, we will organise optional dinners on Friday and Saturday, and lunches on Saturday and Sunday. You pick & choose. 

Our flights & transfers
We depart on Friday at 13h45 from Brussels Airport and fly to Venice Treviso Airport with Ryan Air. Since it’s mid-summer, many of us probably won’t be bringing much stuff, so we travel with hand luggage only. If you do want to check-in a bag, you can add this during checkout, but please be advised that this costs €25 for 20kg per flight (€50 in total). We will have reserved seats and all sit together. Those who book first will of course get the first choice of seats. We cannot guarantee your favourite spot, so booking early is advised if you want to have an aisle or window seat. If you sit in the middle seat, for sure you will have other Expat Club members sitting next to you, so you can already get to know 2 new friendly persons 🙂

Upon arrival at Treviso airport we will travel onward to Venice by shuttle bus so we won’t loose time waiting for the next departure. It’s only 40-45 minutes to get to Piazzale Roma, the main bus terminal next to the train station. From there we walk together to our hotels, which will take only 15 minutes. On our return trip we also depart from Piazzale Roma and travel again by Ryan Air at 20h05 with arrival at 21h40. The transfer fee by bus to/from Venice is included in the package.

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Our hotels
For this trip we arranged two nice hotels in the heart of the city, at just a few steps away from one of the main roads, the Strada Nova. You can choose between the Hotel Tintoretto*** and the Cà Vendramin Santa Fosca**** in the Cannaregio district that is full of shops and restaurants and at just 5 minutes walking from the famous Rialto bridge and the Venice Casino. Note that we can offer twin rooms only in the 3* hotel, and single rooms or double rooms only in the 4* hotel. You can select your room during the reservation process but be aware that supplements apply. These will become visible once you are booking your room. No worries, you won’t be charged until you reach the checkout page. But be aware that we have a limited number of every room type available. Your choice may be gone quickly if you don’t book on time.

Hotel Tintoretto***
This basic 3-star hotel offers clean twin rooms with two single beds. We can also offer a triple room for you with 1 double bed + 1 single bed, or even a family room with 1 double bed and 2 single beds, which is of a great course great for families. All rooms have air-conditioning and a bathroom with toilet and bath or shower. A simple breakfast is served in the morning. You can book here for yourself alone, with your partner or if you travel alone and would like to share with another person (only male or female rooms).

Cà Vendramin Santa Fosca**** – FINAL ROOMS
This 4-star hotel is a true Venetian gem housed in a 17th century building. The rooms are all decorated differently with various colours and furniture, and we’re sure you are going to love yours! A buffet breakfast is included, which is served in a nice room with high wood-beamed ceilings. In this hotel we can offer you single rooms, double rooms and eventually also triple rooms. On top of that we have a few junior suites available and even the hotel’s top suite with canal view! This hotel is especially suitable for couples who want to have a romantic time in Venice.

Room sharing
If you travel alone you can avoid the single room surcharge by sharing a “twin room” with 2 single beds. We offer male or female rooms (unless you book together of course) and we can introduce you to all the other ladies or gentlemen in our group who are also searching for a room partner. This means we do not assign you to a room, but you choose yourself who you want to share the room with. So if you prefer this option, just select it during checkout. It is a perfect way to lower your costs and to meet another friendly expat. Many of our guests in the past have chosen for this option, sometimes even up to 70%. In other words, you don’t have to worry about finding a room partner, we do this for you. Since our participants are all adults (30-70 years), there is always a kind person to share the room with.

About Expat Club trips and why this trip is great for solo travellers and couples?
Expat Club trips are not regular group trips. What makes our trips different is that the people who join us have an international background in common. Our participants come from all over the world, but all live and work in Brussels. This shared element ensures a much better integration of the group than with usual group tours. In addition, our trips are normally much more complete than other trips. We ensure a full program with guided tours by local official tour guides. They have been to the puppet show and they have seen the strings! Also we arrange reserved entry so you won’t have to stand in line unnecessarily. On top of that we organise optional tours, visits and meals. So if you come alone, we guarantee you that you already feel part of the group even before we arrive in Venice. On top of that, solo travellers have the possibility of choosing a private room, or share a twin room with 2 single beds with another lady or gentleman in the group (only m/m and f/f rooms). This way you avoid the high single room surcharge. If you come with your partner, you may want to make it a romantic weekend. But by joining our trip you are already guaranteed of perfect flights, connections, hotels and “basic program” with guided tours and reserved entries. Leave the group whenever you want and join us again later.

Trip fees
To calculate the total trip fees, please click on the blue [Book now] button.

Families and special (room requests)
If you travel with children younger than 18 years, or if you have special requests, please contact us at info@expatclub.org or call us at 0495-345144, also reachable during evening hours (until 22h00) and weekends. Leave a message if there is no answer and we’ll call you back asap.

Comments & special terms

• This trip is carefully and realistically planned. Still, all timings are indicative and may change if required by circumstances.  Expat Club cannot be held liable for long delays that impact the program (e.g. missed guided tours, reserved entries etc.), neither can Expat Club be held liable for weather-related cancellations or any other unforeseen circumstances that influence the course of the trip, including, but not limited to technical problems with the airplane, strikes, weather, inundations etc. Pretty logical we think, but we just want to be clear about it.
• The trip is sold as a package. You cannot go with your own transportation or arrange your own accommodation. If there are specific things that you do not want in the package, please let us know and we may consider a (small) discount.
• You are personally responsible for getting a good cancellation and/or travel insurance that covers you for unforeseen emergencies that prevent you from coming on the trip and medical expenses before or during the trip. 
• Pictures on this page, and especially from the hotels are carefully selected but not legally binding. This means, your room may differ from what you see on the picture, especially since both hotels are in very old buildings and rooms are not standard in size, shape or style.
• You are personally responsible for using the hotel room in an appropriate way. Any missing or broken items will be billed after the trip.
• Expat Club cannot be held liable for personal injuries during the trip, such as, but not limited to, things that happen during the guided tours, visits to museums, transfers by boat, bus and plane. Joining this trip is safe but still at your own risk (it’s a low risk activity).
• If you do not find a room partner on your own, we will find one for you (male/male, female/female). During the outbound trip we will connect you with others in the same position. If you decide to take a single room during the trip, then you will have to fully pay for it yourself. If you book this option, you are never forced to pay for a single room.
• If you book a double / twin room and your travel partner cancels, you will have to pay the single room supplement or share a room with another person (if available).
• The general cancellation terms as described in our terms & conditions do not apply to this trip. Instead, you can cancel for a refund up until 6 weeks with a minimum cancellation fee of €200.