OLTRE Venice,
Without the Noise
The way Venice was meant to be arrived at — from the water.
There is only one correct way to arrive in Venice. Not through a parking garage. Not on a crowded train. You arrive by water — stepping from your private Mercedes directly onto a mahogany boat, as the engine starts and the lagoon opens before you. By the time St. Mark's Basilica appears on the horizon, you will understand why people have been making this journey for a thousand years. OLTRE is Italian for "beyond." This is Venice beyond the tourist trail — seen from the water, experienced from the inside, and returned from without regret.
THE EXPERIENCE
HIGHLIGHTS
The Grand Arrival A private wooden water taxi departs from the terminal and glides down the Grand Canal — past palaces, under bridges, toward the heart of La Serenissima. This is the only arrival that does Venice justice.
The Gondola Makers A private visit to one of Venice's last working gondola boatyards — where craftsmen still build and restore gondolas by hand using techniques unchanged for centuries. One of the rarest experiences in the city.
Murano Glass — The Real Thing A private demonstration with a master glassblower on the island of Murano. Not a showroom, not a factory — a craftsman at work, creating something extraordinary from molten glass and centuries of knowledge.
Lunch Like a Local A cicchetti lunch at a neighbourhood bacaro — small plates, local wine, no menus in six languages. The Venice that Venetians actually eat in.
Your Istramore Chauffeur Private luxury Mercedes-Benz transfer from your Istrian hotel through Slovenia to the Venetian terminal — and back in the evening. Every detail handled.
The Arrival
The terminal at Tronchetto is where Venice begins for most people — a car park, a crowd, a vaporetto queue.
Not for you.
As your Mercedes pulls in, a private wooden boat is already waiting. You step aboard, the engine starts quietly, and the lagoon opens up. The skyline of Venice rises from the water the way it always has — slowly, dramatically, impossibly. The Grand Canal receives you with its full ceremony: Renaissance palaces on both sides, gondolas crossing ahead, the Rialto Bridge appearing and then passing behind you.
You arrive at San Marco from the water.
There is no other way.
The Gondola Makers
Most visitors to Venice see gondolas everywhere and understand nothing about them.
In one of the city's last working boatyards — tucked into the Dorsoduro district, far from the crowds of San Marco — craftsmen still build and restore gondolas entirely by hand. Eight types of wood. Months of work. Techniques passed from father to son across generations, without written instructions, without modern machinery.
A private visit here lasts about an hour. By the end of it, every gondola you see for the rest of the day will look completely different.
Murano
The island of Murano sits fifteen minutes from Venice by water — and a world away from its tourist crowds.
Here, master glassblowers have been working with fire and molten glass since the 13th century, when the Republic of Venice moved them to the island to protect the city from fires — and to protect their secrets from the rest of the world. A private visit to a working studio, not a showroom, gives you something most visitors never see: a craftsman at the furnace, shaping something extraordinary from nothing but heat, breath, and knowledge that no book can fully contain.
Lunch
The one tourists eat — and the one Venetians eat.
A bacaro is a neighbourhood wine bar where the cicchetti arrive on small pieces of bread and the local wine costs less than water in a tourist restaurant. You stand at the bar, or find a corner, and eat what the kitchen made that morning. It is unpretentious, delicious, and completely alive.
This is lunch in Venice. The real one.
The Return
Late afternoon, your water taxi returns you to Tronchetto.
Your Mercedes is waiting. The drive home through Slovenia unwinds the day gently — the lagoon behind you, the Istrian hills ahead, the particular quiet of someone who has spent a day exactly as it should have been spent.
WHAT'S INCLUDED
Private luxury Mercedes-Benz transfer — Istria to Venice and back, through SloveniaPrivate wooden water taxi — Grand Canal arrival and returnPrivate visit to a working gondola boatyardPrivate Murano glassblowing demonstrationCicchetti lunch at a local bacaro with wineAll entrance fees, demonstrations, and gratuitiesOn-board refreshments and Wi-Fi throughout
AVAILABLE: By request · Private groups up to 6 guests · Full day
FAQs
How long is the drive from Istria to Venice?
1
Approximately 2 to 2.5 hours from Rovinj, through Slovenia and northern Italy. The drive is relaxed and scenic — we time the departure so you arrive in Venice with the full day ahead of you.
Is the water taxi private — just for our group?
2
Yes. Your wooden water taxi is exclusively for your party. No shared boats, no other passengers.
Can we visit Murano and still have time for San Marco?
3
Absolutely. The day is designed to include both — the itinerary flows naturally between San Marco, the gondola boatyard in Dorsoduro, and Murano, without rushing.
Can OLTRE be combined with a night in Venice?
4
Yes — if your group would like to stay overnight, Ana Roberta can recommend where to stay and adjust the programme accordingly.