Venice Simplon-Orient-Express & Northern Italy River Cruise

Enjoy a relaxing start to your holiday with an included chauffeur drive transfer to London Victoria station. Head for the Belmond departure lounge, then board the iconic British Pullman for the first leg of your journey – a brunch-and-Bellini-paired dash across Kent. Next you’ll cross the Channel to Calais where the blue-and-gold carriages of the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express will be waiting to welcome you. Settle into your wood-panelled cabin as you race across rural France before heading to the dining car for a four-course gourmet meal, served by attentive, white-gloved waiters. End your day with a drink or two in the bar car, then retire to your cabin, which you’ll find transformed to a bedroom by your steward.

Wake to a delicious breakfast of pastries, juices and fresh coffee in your cabin as first the Swiss Alps and then the Italian Dolomites rush by. Disembark in Verona, where you’ll be met for a private transfer to your five-star hotel and prepare for two memorable days exploring the delights of ‘Shakespeare’s city’. Indeed, be sure to take in the likes of Juliet’s balcony before enjoying skip-the-line access and a private tour of one of Italy’s most prestigious music venues – the Arena di Verona. 

After breakfast at your hotel, you’ll take a private transfer to Venice where you’ll board your ship – the S.S. La Venezia. Fully refurbished, and with decks named after the islands of the Venetian Lagoon, it’s an opulent home to three restaurants, a spa, a lounge and bar – the perfect home-from-home for your cruise through northern Italy.

Stay: S.S. La Venezia

Before departing Venice, you’ll have a day to explore the myriad wonders of Italy’s floating city, as an expert guide helps you to untangle the secrets and myths of its iconic waterways. There’s also time for a scenic cruise around the Venetian Lagoon and a very special after-hours private tour of St Mark’s Basilica. End the day in style with a Captain’s Welcome Reception and delicious celebratory dinner.

Stay: S.S. La Venezia

Located at the far-southern end of the Venetian Lagoon, Chioggia is often referred to as ‘Little Venice’. Having cruised passed the colourful fishermen’s houses of Pellestrina, you’ll be met by a local guide to uncover the unique charms of this traditional port community. Alternatively, take the chance to spend more time on the water with a boat tour to harvest mussels in the lagoon and then enjoy them as part of a delicious lunch. Whichever you choose, you’ll meet your fellow guests back on board for sundowners on the upper deck – sheer perfection.

Stay: S.S. La Venezia

Today you’ll have a choice of tours. Perhaps take in the culinary joys of Bologna, where you’ll learn how to make pasta before having it cooked and served as part of a traditional lunch, or head to World Heritage-listed Ferrara. Explore its medieval city walls and its impressive Gothic cathedral before retuning to the ship where the bar or onboard spa provide the ideal spots for a relaxing wind-down.

Stay: S.S. La Venezia

Return to Chioggia today for a new perspective, taking the chance to explore one of Europe’s largest wholesale fish market and enjoying an expert-led tour of Corso del Popolo, where traders meet to sell everything from textiles to trinkets. Pick up some souvenirs, then sail on to Burano for a guided evening stroll among its colourful buildings and pretty canals.

Stay: S.S. La Venezia

Today offers a chance to explore three of Venice’s islands, places which tend to escape the attention of many visitors to the city. Setting out in the morning, you’ll begin with Torcello, a once-bustling city now home to a handful of locals and home to an 11th-century mosaic of the Last Judgement, for which you’ll be treated to early access without the crowds. It’s then on Mazzorbo, where you’ll have the chance to tour an estate to learn about the island’s wine-making heritage, before returning to Burano where you’ll visit a lace-making atelier to see this well-practised tradition in action, and perhaps pick up a souvenir.

Stay: S.S. La Venezia

Cruise back to Venice for a choice of superb excursions – the first a ‘do as the locals do’ appreciation of the city’s markets and culinary hotspots in the company of a guide, often the ship’s head chef. You’ll even have the chance to add on a gondola ride before re-joining your guide at a local bacaro wine bar for the Venetian version of happy hour. Alternatively, take a walking tour to Rialto Bridge and visit the sites made famous by renowned intellectual and part-time playboy – Casanova. In the evening, a Captain’s farewell reception and dinner will see you end your cruise in style.

Stay: S.S. La Venezia

Disembark after breakfast and head to the airport for your flight to the UK, where you’ll be met for your included chauffeur transfer home.