Venice

Venice: Romantic Private Gondola Ride on Grand Canal

Venice, Italy

Fall in Love in Venice Romantic Gondola and Typical Venetian Savors

From $81.61

Price varies by group size

Select Date and Travelers

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

30 minutes
Mobile ticket

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Overview

Experience the irresistible charm of Venice, the “Floating City”, directly from the water. Enjoy a private gondola ride down the Grand Canal. Glide past iconic landmarks and turn into romantic side canals as your gondolier rows your traditional gondola through Venice beating heart.

Romantic gondola ride gliding along the Grand Canal and the inner canals
A private ride for a more intimate experience with family or friends
Convenient departure near Saint Mark’s Square on the Grand Canal
Skip-the-line gondola ride thanks to the advance booking

What's Included

Private gondola ride 30 minutes

Hotel pick-up
Commentary

Meeting and Pickup

Meeting points

Select a meeting point

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End point

This activity ends back at the meeting point.

What To Expect

Canal Grande

30 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Teatro La Fenice (Pass By)

Basilica di Santa Maria della Salute (Pass By)

Palazzo Gritti Badoer (Pass By)

Peggy Guggenheim Collection (Pass By)

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Not wheelchair accessible
Near public transportation
Infants must sit on laps

Most travelers can participate
This tour does not operate in case of exceptionally bad weather, high/low tide (in these cases it can be postponed the days after)
On certain dates, most travelers staying outside of Venice who are planning to visit for the day will be required to pay a €5 access fee. For further details (including exemptions) and to learn what days this fee is applicable, please visit: https://cda.ve.it
This is a private tour/activity. Only your group will participate

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

Jason_K

The private gondola ride with serenade, beautiful scenery and hospitality for a nice romantic evening

Reviews

3.5

39 reviews

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

Reviews by Viator travelers.

We perform checks on reviews

Showing 1-10 of 39 reviews

Think twice before booking

Kathy_B, May 2024

The tour location was easy to find if you followed the directions emailed to you. The gondolier was ok and upon return he did tell us a little of what we were seeing. The trip only 20 minutes and it returned you from where you started. Then dinner dorections were only the name of the restaurant. Somehow a separate ticket didn’t come to me. The restaurant refused us and made us walk 10 minutes back to gondolier. He helped us retrieve his paper out of the trash. We then walked that back to the restaurant and this time they took us. You get two courses and a side yes but a very limited selection while people around you had good looking dishes. They you must pay for water or anything to drink with meal. Food was ok but restaurant we small and very busy. Not worth what we paid at all

Lovely

Anonymous, May 2024

Great time! Enjoyable and educational ride to remember! Amazed on how the gondoliers maneuver the gondolas.

Not worth it

Patrick_A, Apr 2024

An hour Gondala and supper was never worth 239 CHF , I thought the gondala would a little not just around the block and Dinner was awful to say the least, not a real restaurant

Romantic and memorable

Jason_K, Mar 2024

The private gondola ride with serenade, beautiful scenery and hospitality for a nice romantic evening

Terrible experience

Pamela_S, Oct 2023

When we arrived for our pre-reserved and paid for ride the operator said there was no boat to take us and he was very rude... we should have been contacted in advance. Then he told us to come back in an hour but we did and he never showed up! We walked a LONG way to the restaurant to make sure we could eat later (and they were very nice) but it was too far to go back when we never got our ride. I had better receive a refund! There are plenty of GREAT gondoliers in Venice... I DO NOT RECOMMEND!!

Response from Host, Oct 2023

Dear Guest, we are deeply sorry for your personal comment, please consider that in case of problems with the reservation, we are always available to assist customers. At your disposal for further information. Regards.

Fall in love with Venice

Earl_G, Aug 2023

The Gondolier was informative, attentive, very accommodating! He did a great job! Took his time, was not hurried and was very informative! The dinner was delicious! Fortunately the gondolier directed us to the restaurant. Google maps does NOT work well in Venice! The dinner was good, but, they did nickel and dime on many items! Finally, again Viator/Trip Advisor really needs to do a better job of communications on the meeting place. Again we had to call in to get specific instructions before we were able to locate the meeting place.

Response from Host, Sep 2023

Thanks for your kind review

Romantic Fun

Michael_N, Jul 2023

The Gondola experience was what my wife had been hoping for and our gondolier was first class all the way. We even forgot our back back and he got the tour operator to call us so we could go back.

Response from Host, Jul 2023

Thanks for your kind review

Enjoyable

Mary_K, May 2023

It was quite enjoyable. The guide was knowledgeable and we had a great time. The guide had great stories to tell.

Response from Host, May 2023

Thanks for your kind review

Gondola in Venezia

Alfredo_P, Mar 2023

The gondola ride was a disappointment. It was short with very little if any conversation with the gondolier. He did not seem interested in showing us a good time. Then, there was no coordination or real help in finding the restaurant. We expected to be dropped off by the gondolier reasonably near the restaurant, that was not the case. However, the restaurant staff and food were superior.

Response from Host, Mar 2023

Dear Guest, we are sorry for your personal comment, please consider that the gondolier is not the guide, but he is like a driver who must take care of his oar. At your disposal for further information. Regards.

Spent an hour looking for the meeting point

Cristi_C, Sep 2022

I which I could genuinely share a good experience but it was not. I was going to surprise my boyfriend with a romantic gondola ride for two and dinner. Instead we wondered around for an hour trying to find the meeting point at the address we were given. I tried texting. No answer. I tried calling the tour operator. No answer. Needless to say I was extremely frustrated and disappointed and now I am out $226. Wish I had another story to tell.

Fake excursion 🚩🚩🚩DONT FALL FOR IT!!!!

Melissa_L, Jul 2022

This was a fake posting. It was a complete scam. Don't fall for it. My wife and I were planning on saying our vows after this romantic gondola ride. Only to wander around for an hour trying to figure out where our departure point was that never even existed. We don't want anyone else to go thru what we did.

Overall good experience but meeting point not clear

Tim_W, Jun 2022

The food in the restaurant was amazing, the ride in the gondola as well but we had many problems trying to find the meeting point. It was not clear and when we tried to call the agency or the tour operator they never answered the phones. When we finally found the meeting point probably 30 min later they charge us 20 extra euros for the gondola ride.

perfect!

Chelsea_P, Apr 2022

We showed up a couple minutes early and took off immediately. The gondalier pointed out sights along the way. It was a perfect evening ride. The restaurant was a short walk away, and the dinner was delicious. The service was excellent. Couldn't have had a better time.

Response from Host, Apr 2022

Thanks for your kind review

Not worth it.

Tracy_O, Oct 2021

The gondola ride was in the middle Of nowhere. Took 15 min to walk there from St. Mark’s. The ride was nothing Special. Dinner was at a restaurant that does not come up in Google maps so We never found it n

Response from Host, Oct 2021

Dear Tracy, I'm sorry for your review. Please note that the gondola landing stage was a couple of minutes walking from St. mark's square and the restaurant is located close to the fenice theatre, in a very central location...the ride is the standard tour as per booking.

Horrible experience

Jason_O, Oct 2021

We had to buy our own bottle of Prosecco we waited an hour to go on the ride the restaurant food was terrible my wife was upset the whole experience

Response from Host, Oct 2021

Dear Jason thank you for your review and I'm sorry for your inconvenience. Please note that in this tour the Prosecco is not included in the price of the activity. Concerning the restaurant, we always provide this kind of tour with dinner in that restaurant and we never received similar review.

Delightful and delicious

Shanna_A, Oct 2021

We were happy with our experience with the gondola ride, aside that the guy didn’t share any details or knowledge of the city. It would have been fine to have had a quiet trip- but aside that, he just talked to the other gondoliers nearly the whole time. It was distracting though we understand seeing friends and co workers. The meal at the restaurant was delicious and pleasant. It was hard to find but we managed and had a pleasant experience once we got there. The food was delicious with a variety of choices and we left with full bellies. I think the whole experience was enjoyable but it was over priced - as we could have paid less individually but we were so happy that it was over all pleasant.

Response from Host, Oct 2021

Dear Madame, we are sorry for your review, please consider the gondolier is not a guide but he is like a taxi driver and he must be very careful to drive the gondola with his oar. Regards.

Not worth the money spent !!! Do Not Choose !!

Shannon_W, Jul 2021

For the price of this experience we were truly expecting more. The gondolier was on his cell phone the majority of the time. The restaurant was subpar (paper napkins, mismatched utensils, prepackaged bread sticks and unappetizing food) which made this the worst experience during our stay in Venice. I do Not recommend.

Response from Host, Aug 2021

Thanks for your kind review, the restaurant has a very good ranking in Tripadvisor, we are are really sorry you weren't satisfied.

Venice Date

DMoala, Feb 2020

Had a ride scheduled for night time, it was perfect! our person was giving us information through out the ride + gave us a blanket b/c it was cold outside. The restaurant that followed was very tasteful! I would recommend to anyone that is having to have a romantic night!

Response from Host, Feb 2020

Dear, thank you for the great review. Best regards

Venice Must

Sunflower216, Feb 2020

Hard to find both the gondola station and the restaurant. You need a working GPS and type in the coordinates listed to get there. Gondola ride was bleh but you’re in Venice so might as well. Dinner was ok.

Response from Host, Feb 2020

Dear, thank you very much for the lovely review. Best regards

Well Worth it!!!

Anita_W, Jul 2019

This is a great excursion to end your trip in Venice or as a special treat for a loved one. I bought this a surprise for my Husband's birthday. The Ride itself was very good and felt relaxed. I chose the Evening Option as we could watch the sunset. The Venetian restaurant was delicious the waitress was friendly and the food came out on time and we both loved the food. I would recommend this

Response from Host, Jul 2019

Thank you for the review!