Venice

Venice Gondola Ride and Serenade

Venice, Italy

From $54.70

Select Date and Travelers

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

  • 30 minutes
  • Paper ticket
  • Offered in: English

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Overview

Experience Venice in the most Venetian way possible: via a shared gondola ride while being serenaded. Choose between an afternoon or evening ride and then hop on the six-person gondola by a gondolier who is clad in traditional garb. Then begin the ride, as part of a group of eight different gondolas, with a singer aboard one of the boats. In addition to the song being sun to you, enjoy the sites of Venice's main landmarks, including the grand Canal and Palazzo Barberino.
  • Ride on a six-passenger gondola along parts of the Grand Canal and smaller waterways
  • Listen to songs from a singer on board one of the gondolas in your flotilla
  • Drift by top Venice attractions such as Palazzo Barberino and Peggy Guggenheim Collection museum
  • Lose yourself in the romantic melodies as you soak up the passing sights

What's Included

  • Shared gondola ride in a flotilla of gondolas (approx. 30 minutes)
  • Serenade from singer aboard one of flotilla gondolas
  • Guide
  • Gratuities
  • Hotel pickup and drop-off

Meeting and Pickup

Meeting point

  • Gondola Station - Santa Maria del Giglio
    Campiello Traghetto, 30124 Venezia VE, Italy

    Meeting point: S. Maria del Giglio Gondola Station

End point

This activity ends back at the meeting point.

What To Expect

You can walk around Venice. You could take a water taxi. But, really, there's only one way to get around La Serenissima, as this city of bridges and canals is nicknamed. And that way is by gondola. Decide to take one of four starting times when you book and then, on the day of the ride, head to the gondola pier at Piazza Santa Maria del Giglio in the center of Venice. 

After your arrival, hop on the shared six-seater gondola and sit back and let to your gondolier, clad in traditional clothing, cruise you through the wide and narrow, popular and offbeat canals through Venice. Each gondola holds six people and you will be part of a flotilla of eight gondolas floating together. See the city's main landmarks, including the Peggy Guggenheim Collection, the Grand Canal and various centuries-old palaces. 

At one point during the ride, a singer will board one of the boats and begin crooning traditional Venetian tunes as you float along the canals. Sit back and let your ears take in the gorgeous songs and lose yourself in the sound and the look of Venice. 

After about 35 minutes of floating through this magical city, return to the pier where your gondola ride finishes.

Canal Grande

30 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Peggy Guggenheim Collection (Pass By)

Ponte dell'Accademia (Pass By)

Basilica di Santa Maria della Salute (Pass By)

Additional Info

  • Confirmation will be received at time of booking
  • Not wheelchair accessible
  • Near public transportation
  • Infants must sit on laps
  • Infant seats available
  • Not recommended for travelers with back problems
  • No heart problems or other serious medical conditions
  • Most travelers can participate
  • A maximum of 5 people per gondola
  • Please note that there is no guarantee your party will be seated together
  • 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 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

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Featured review
LOURDES_G
This tour was the highlight of all our tours. There are many gondola tours offered but this one with serenade was the gondola that everyone was starring at because of how beautiful the man sang and also an accordion player on board ❤️❤️❤️

Reviews

3.5
2,609 reviews
Total review count and overall rating based on Viator and Tripadvisor reviews
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Reviews by Viator travelers.
Showing 1-10 of 2,609 reviews
Average but could have been better.
JASON_O, May 2024
There were 30 people and only one singer. There were 7 boats sharing same singer.Sometimes we could not hear the singer however when we did it was nice. The man rowing my canoe didn’t interact with us and was not friendly. At the end they asked for tips.
Great ride
Resha_G, Apr 2024
Customer service was great. My mom and I enjoyed the ride. The guy on the other gondola sang for us! Will come back
Everyone should ride a gondola
Adele_N, Apr 2024
This was an excellent experience in Venice. Having the guitarist and singer on board was such a bonus.
Not what we expected
Scott_M, Apr 2024
Disappointing. From start to finish was less than 30 min, my wife and I were seated separately on the gondola and we were with many other boats with the individual doing the serenade 3 boats behind. Not what we expected. Felt like a number vs getting an experience.
Disappointing serenade
lisa_w, Apr 2024
The man in charge of the gondolas was very rude and abrupt and when we finally got on our gondola we were nowhere near the man doing the seranade as we were in the first gondola and he was way back near the last. It was not very well organised
Gondola
Penny_W, Apr 2024
Hard to hear the singer unless you were in his boat so disappointing as we paid extra . Staff at dock not very attentive
Not happy didn't get serenade that I paid for.
Norman_N, Apr 2024
Bought a serenade and didn't get one. I asked about it to the gondola operator and he just made a joke out of me to the other operators because there was one gondola with a serenade and he said that's it right there. Went to the office later told them where was my serenade and they said it was a group. Rightly Fd off so that means I paid for everyone else to have a serenade. Not happy. Best to go somewhere else. Bad bad bad experience. Plus there was no english guide. The operator was just talking Italian with the other operators.
Loved it. So beautiful.
MaryEllen_C, Apr 2024
So much fun and beautiful experience. Loved the singing. Navigating through the little canals was wonderful.
The ABSOLUTE best gondola experience.
Ashok_V, Apr 2024
The ABSOLUTE best experience ever in Venice. A special request for a little person on his birthday was also catered for by the serenade singers. Thank you Roberto and Tiziano. The tour operator and the agent from Viator were also super helpful. An evening gondola ride with serenade is a must-do when in Venice. There are lots of gondolas but when the singer is singing, everyone was looking at our boat and clapping! Overall the best highlight of my trip. The ride is about 30mins long but goes pretty quickly when you're enjoying yourself. Kudos to everyone making this possible. Thanks!
Nice gondola but….
Madison_N, Apr 2024
The gondola ride itself was cool, but I was disappointed with the serenade. The singer was on a different boat but our boat was far ahead of him and we could barely hear the singing. At times we couldn’t hear him at all. I wish I didn’t pay as much for a “serenade” because we didn’t even get one. Again, gondola was nice and the workers were nice, but it felt like false advertising in my opinion.
Magical & Musical
Gary_R, Apr 2024
This was the most magical experience we could’ve asked for! It was the cherry on top for our Italian honeymoon ❤️
Europe adventure 24
Laura_H, Apr 2024
Trip took you around the back of buildings with no sites to see. The serenade was on another boat and when I asked they said it says in the statement in surroundings boats. Also other guests had their backs to their surroundings. Dissatisfied. People nice.
Shared Gondola Ride
Anna_N, Apr 2024
Beautiful experience, we got to go in the gondola with the serenade so it was a beautiful experience. Must do when I Venice!!!
Disappointing
Tiersa_R, Apr 2024
Unfortunately this experience ended up being a disappointment. The ride itself was not 30 minutes but 20. Our driver talked loudly during our ride and was dressed in sweatpants and a sweatshirt.(Not the traditional gondolier outfit we saw everyone else in.) The serenade was in another gondola which we could hear off and on. I had high hopes for this experience and it really fell flat.
Enjoyable
Robert_C, Apr 2024
Being serenaded while on the Gondola, in Venice with my whole family. So unreal experience one in a lifetime trip
Amazing experience
Laura_R, Apr 2024
Serenade was in our boat and a romantic time with just the 2 of us - just wish it could have been longer.
Horrible waste of time and money
Brian_G, Oct 2023
Informed was a flotilla of gondolas with shared musician singer. Was not 30 min. 20 around the block. Only 1 couple on boat will have that sit close to each other experience because they need to balance. Understandable. However what was really disappointing was gondalier talking loudly to passing gondolas. Singing was 4 gondolas back and couldn’t hear him. Overall a waste. Book away from grand canal and not with this company. They never stopped and circle singer, never saw him and barely heard him.
Disappointing
Aimee_P, Oct 2023
I am sure it was lovely. The flooding and no gangways impeded us making the destination on Time so we missed it. Not willing to provide a refund though the trip coordinator who lives there barely made it on time. We were there just 4 mins late.
If you’re gonna do a...
Robert_K, Oct 2023
If you’re gonna do a gondola ride , do this one! Trust me, don’t waste your time and money on the other ones.
A Great Night
Hairo_M, Oct 2023
What a great 30min. The serenade was a great touch and had everyone stopping and staring to listen to his great voice.
...

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