This experience felt misleading. It was just a lunch at a regular cafe (Illy cafe) near some of the hot spots in Venice, but you were restricted in what you were allowed to get off the menu (only cicchetti for appetizer, and only pastas for the main course). You could have just as easily walked in, sat down, and ordered, without having to reserve this ahead of time, as everyone else who was there had done. The location and views are pretty nice, but aren't different than many other places in Venice (and in fact, it is nicer to sit out directly on the waterfront rather than set off from it). You were next to, but not in, the royal gardens. It also felt like the waiters didn't exactly know how to handle us, and we didn't receive what we ordered at first. That being said, we were late in arriving, and they were nice in accommodating us. But if I could do this over, I would definitely not choose this again.
The meal was sumptuous. The helpings were generous. The quality of the meal was excellent. The pastas were perfect and so were the desserts.
We arrived at the shop where the wine tasting was to take place and the owner had no record of our reservation and was quite rude when we showed him our confirmation. We were two couples and he also said that, even if he had our reservation, he could only have two people at a time because of Covid protocols, so La Vacanza Travel couldn't have booked us because he would have refused to take a booking for four people. We had to leave without having the experience and he told us to contact La Vacanza Travel for a refund - he had no interest in assisting us.
If you aren't available, don't allow those dates to be purchased. The business waited until days before our trip to let us know they were going to cancel on us. Pick a more reliable business to work with.
My sister and I came to the wine tasting together. It’s down a side street near the church. We were expecting a large group of people to be taking the tasting with us. But we’re pleasantly surprised to find out it was a private tasting with just us! Wines were great. We had 4 to choose from. The wine for sale after was also very reasonably priced. Very very happy we did this! Make sure to come with some food on your stomach. He pours very large glasses to taste:)