Classic 30-Minute Gondola Ride in Venice

Venice, Italy

From $39.49

Select Date and Travelers

up to 24 hours before the experience starts (local time)

25 to 30 minutes
Offered in: English

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Overview

Explore Venice's famous canals on a guided gondola ride through the city. Meander beneath bridges and along quiet, peaceful stretches in a traditional Venetian boat, taking in sights such as the Rialto Bridge and Campo Manin as you go. Join up to five others—along with your expert gondolier—in enjoying one of Venice's most leisurely and original pastimes, and don't miss this chance to experience the Grand Canal from the water.

A classic gondola ride through Venice
Explore the waterways around Venice by one of the city's most traditional and unique transportation methods
Sit back and enjoy as an expert gondolier navigated hidden passages and the Grand Canal
Enjoy the peace and tranquility of being on the water and seeing Venice from a whole new perspective

What's Included

30-minute shared gondola ride

Hotel pickup and drop-off
Gratuities

Meeting and Pickup

Meeting point

C8MQ+24 Venice, Metropolitan City of Venice, Italy
Alilaguna ticket office is located at San Marco Giardinetti vaporetto stop, next to the Royal Garden Please don't look for Alilaguna office on Google maps. Strictly requested to be at the meeting point 15 minutes before the departure of the tour.

End point

This activity ends back at the meeting point.

What To Expect

Meet your gondolier in the Alilaguna ticket office at the San Marco Giardinetti vaporetto stop, next to the Royal Garden. Board your gondola with up to five other passengers and enjoy one of Venice's most celebrated pastimes.

This trip is tailored for a quick overview of Venice’s top highlights, providing an exploration of the city’s picturesque waters with an expert gondolier.

Navigate along the famed Canal Grande and past famous bridges such as the Rialto Bridge, all while benefiting from unobstructed waterside views from the comfort of your Gondola.

After about 25–30 minutes, your ride ends back at Bacino Orseolo, the famous Gondola station behind St. Mark's Square.

Canal Grande

10 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Ponte di Rialto (Pass By)

Campo Manin (Pass By)

Hard Rock Cafe (Pass By)

Gondola Danieli (Pass By)

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Not wheelchair accessible
Near public transportation
Infants must sit on laps
Not recommended for travelers with back problems

Not recommended for pregnant travelers
No heart problems or other serious medical conditions
Most travelers can participate
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 25 travelers

Cancellation Policy

You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.

For a full refund, you must cancel at least 24 hours before the experience’s start time.
If you cancel less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time, the amount you paid will not be refunded.
Any changes made less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time will not be accepted.

Cut-off times are based on the experience’s local time.
This experience requires good weather. If it’s canceled due to poor weather, you’ll be offered a different date or a full refund.

Traveler Photos

Featured review

Rachel_G

The views were lovely, our guide was kind and worked hard as we visited with the other ladies in our boat. It was peaceful and definitely an experience you won't get just riding the water taxi. Definitely my favourite experience from Venice!

Reviews

3.5

725 reviews

Total review count and overall rating based on Viator and Tripadvisor reviews

Reviews by Viator travelers.

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Showing 1-10 of 725 reviews

2 tours in One

AMBER_S, May 2024

Tour guide was very knowledgeable. We really enjoyed our trip. We enjoyed the skip the lines and thank goodness for that !

Amazing

Ana_R, May 2024

The driver of the gondola very nice, helpful , and funny , the views during the ride espectacular ,beautiful experience

Expensive experience for 30min

Maria_H, Apr 2024

The experience of being in the gondola and going along the water ways. However, I had expected an English commentary.

Great Gondola experience

Hollie_W, Apr 2024

Great experience in a gondola in venice with my husband & another friendly couple who also spoke english. The gondolier in front of us whistled along the way. Great experience!!

Lots of fun

Giuseppe_A, Apr 2024

Lots of fun. The ride was Beautiful. The experience was wonderful. The only Thing I would do better is have a ride by ourselves and with the singer and musician. Although the couple that shared the ride with us were super nice and we had alotnof talk about

no yelling at other drivers by our driver !!!

Andrew_W, Apr 2024

the gondolier screamed at other drivers and made it impossible for us to record the tour without hearing his yelling.

Very disappointed

Ann_M, Apr 2024

Very confusing at the ticket station. Person who met us was curt and looked angry. The gondolier never once spoke to us. He was speaking in Italian to the other gondoliers. Never pointed out any interesting sites along the way.

To whom it may concern,...

Rekha_K, Apr 2024

To whom it may concern, I am writing to express my disappointment with the gondola ride I experienced on 31st March,2024. I was particularly disappointed with the behavior of the rider, who was rude and dismissive of our requests. At the beginning of the ride, the rider told us that we could take pictures at the end of the ride. However, when we attempted to do so, he rudely told us that he is getting late and pushed us off the gondola before we had a chance to take any pictures. In addition, the ride was shorter than we were expecting. We were told that the ride would last 30 minutes, but it only lasted 20 minutes. This was disappointing, as we had paid for a 30-minute ride. Finally, the rider was rude to my friends and me. I am very disappointed with the experience I had on this gondola ride. I would not recommend this ride to anyone. I also have the rider pic, if you want then I can add it here. Sincerely, Rekha K

Great, Pleasant ride with the family.

Ganesh_K, Apr 2024

We got a separate Gondola for our family, little cold but enjoyable climate. gondolier was amazing and the way they communicate amongst the other gondolier was interesting.

Never refunded money

Faith_a, Mar 2024

Never happened due to rain, wasn't refunded money. Viator couldn't get into contact with the provider and we still haven't been refunded.

Route not as described.

Chris_W, Mar 2024

Bucket list item completed. The Gondolas take 5 people. We had to share with another couple which was fine. The description of the experience says you pass Rialto bridge, Hard rock cafe etc... We didn't go anywhere near them, we basically did a loop around some canals and went back the way we came, I would have been happy with this if this is what was described. Felt pretty stupid telling my wife we were going to Rialto bridge... Also, we did not get 30 minutes we got 20 minutes.

Description not accurate

Amy_F, Mar 2024

Route description is not accurate, does not go anywhere near the rialto bridge. Goes along the grand canal slightly and down a few small canals. Also was 20 minutes not 30.

Bucketlist item achieved

Kristin_A, Mar 2024

Bucketlist item checked off. Me and my mom enjoyed a nice 30min gondola ride down the canal and some side canals. The ride was relaxing and the views were amazing.

Fun ride, difficult to get there!

Amberlynn_P, Mar 2024

The gondola ride itself was amazing - even on a slightly cloudy day it was a fun thing to do in Venezia. The tough part was figuring out how to get the ticket and get onto the boat - you first have to go to an information desk to get your ticket, then meet up with a group and walk over to the gondola dock. There was no communication on how to actually do this process and when I called the company to ask there was no answer. I used the coordinates they gave me and struggled to figure out how. I will say, once we finally got to the gondola dock we almost weren't able to take the ride because we were 10 minutes late. The attendant made it happen for us though!

Good

Sophie_K, Feb 2024

A nice, relaxing gondola ride down the Grand Canal and in to some side canals. We shared with another couple who were able to sit together on the bench, my partner and I sat apart on the random chairs on the gondola. The gondolier didn't talk to us at all but that was fine and he did a good job navigating the canals. You have to exchange your voucher for a ticket at the ticket office then wait there until a lady comes and gathers everyone and takes you to your boat.

Amazing

Jennifer_K, Feb 2024

Worth it! Excellent experience, very fun. Took a minute to find ticket place but easy after that. Five stars

Waste of my money

Alexandra_G, Jan 2024

The ride lasted for around 12 mins tops. We went on one small loop. Around 2 mins in the grand canal. 5 mins at a pause. Then 5 mins on small canals passing 2 bridges. What a waste of money.

Overrated

Caroline_M, Jan 2024

The idea is amazing, however the smell of the canals is putrid. The drivers talked amongst themselves between the boats and it was close up time for some of the other drivers so they were yelling out to them as we went by.

Worst experience

Stephanie_V, Jan 2024

Do not waste your money. Your company rude, stuffed the three of us in a boat with two other people. Uncomfortable seating and boat kept tipping as it had too many people in it. Wished we never booked.

Terrible Experience

alvaradob1979, Dec 2023

Gondola driver talked on the phone for the entire 30 min ride. He got into a shouting match with another gondola driver. We were crunched together with so many people on the boat that we couldn’t get any good photos.

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