Grand Canal Romantic Serenade – by Crafted Gondola

Venice, Italy

High interest

Booked 3 times today.

30 minutes (approx.)
Mobile ticket
Offered in: English

Why travelers loved this

4.0

· Christian_G ·

Oct 2025

Great experience, my parents loved the gondola ride and the short history about them. The host was very nice to guide me where the gondola sails so I could take pictures of them. The singer/serenade was wonderful too! Definitely worth it

· Tanya_D ·

Oct 2025

We learned so much about the inception of Venice and the history of the gondolas! The VR info at the beginning was such a great addition. So romantic and fun.

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Overview

Experience the beauty of Venice from the water with this exclusive small-group gondola ride that includes a live singer and musician for a romantic serenade. Settle on board for an unforgettable ride and relax to the strains of classic Italian ballads while taking in some of the city's most famous sights from the water, snapping keepsake photos along the way.

A picturesque way to explore Venice's famed canals and top sights
Add a touch of romance to your gondola ride with a serenade
Avoid the hassle of hiring a gondola at the last minute in Venice
Ideal for couples or anyone on a first visit to the Floating City

What's Included

30-minute approx. shared gondola ride
Singer and musician on gondola ride
Dinner (if option is selected)

Food and drinks
Hotel pickup and drop-off

Meeting and Pickup

Meeting point

gondola ride
Calle larga de l'Ascension, 1257, 30124 Venezia VE, Italy
**SHARED GONDOLA SERENADE (IF OPTION SELECTED)** Meeting Point: Venice Tours Assistance Point in St. Mark's Square, Calle Larga Ascensione #1257, big grey newsstand. **SHARED GONDOLA SERENADE WITH DINNER (IF OPTION SELECTED)** Dinner: Ai Coristi Restaurant

End point

This activity ends back at the meeting point.

Itinerary

Canal Grande (Pass By)

Teatro La Fenice (Pass By)

Palazzo Gritti Badoer (Pass By)

Peggy Guggenheim Collection (Pass By)

Basilica di Santa Maria della Salute (Pass By)

Campanile di San Marco (Pass By)

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Not wheelchair accessible
Near public transportation
Most travelers can participate
The Gondola Ride does not operate in case of exceptionally bad weather, high/low tide (in these cases it can be postponed the days after otherwise it will be refunded)
Each gondola can hold a maximum of 5 people; the seat aboard cannot be chosen but will be assigned by the gondolier depending on guests' weight
The gondola serenade includes a pair of musicians (a singer and a musician) who will be boarded in one of the gondolas to perform throughout the trip; there are not musicians on each gondola; to permit all participants to listen the serenade, the musicians will board on a gondola in the centre of the row

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
The gondola route may change due to weather, canal maintenance, or tides.
Duration may be slightly less than 30 minutes.
Children must be accompanied by an adult; free under 2 years if not occupying a seat.
Not fully accessible for wheelchair users or those with mobility issues.
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 15 travelers

Supplied by

Cancellation Policy

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

Traveler Photos

Gallery picture 1 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 2 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 3 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 4 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 5 (from a traveler's review)

Featured review

Christian_G

Reviews

4.0

based on 168 reviews

Total reviews and rating from Viator & Tripadvisor

We perform checks on reviews

Great gondola ride

Carolyn_C, Apr 2026

Excellent gondola ride with a singer and an accordion We were in the gondola with the musicians so it was super cool. Definitely recommend.

Due to the forecast of...

Tiffany_K, Oct 2025

Due to the forecast of rain, the office was nice enough to change my reservation to earlier but that caused me not to get a serenade. Unfortunately, they would not refund me the difference. The ride was nice but quiet. The guy didn’t talk at all, so rode around not really knowing what we were looking at

Awesome experience

Christian_G, Oct 2025

A gondola ride and so much more

Tanya_D, Oct 2025

We learned so much about the inception of Venice and the history of the gondolas! The VR info at the beginning was such a great addition. So romantic and fun.

It was not romantic at...

Helene_G, Oct 2025

It was not romantic at all. One singer sang for about 6 gondolas, our "driver" chatted with the other drivers and smoked cigarettes. He didn't even introduce himself to us. What a waste of money although, if you are in Venice, I guess you have to try this once!!

Fun time. Great music,...

James_B, Sep 2025

Fun time. Great music, short and fun. VR intro was awesome. We all had fun. Pick up at the hotel would have been cool.

Do not book with this company- Difficult office to find, not for those with accessibility issues

Michele_M, Sep 2025

We had difficulties finding the office although we had directions and asked multiple locals. Firstly, the best water taxi to get to the area was not highlighted so we ended walking at least 20 minutes in circles. When we arrived, I tried to explain to the tour guide that my mom has some accessibility issues as the walk was way longer than expected;. Although the tour guide, was gracious we were given alternate meeting point to get on the gondola, I was still unable to find that point. As a result, we completely missed the tour and were frustrated as we paid $295 CAD for this. What a terrible and stressful start to the European trip.

Almost a complete Rip Off

Traci_H, Sep 2025

Wish I could give this a zero! The young lady who provided the walking tour prior to the gondola ride was lovely and informative! The only good thing about this tour! The gondola ride. Where do I begin. Our gondolier “John” got on his personal phone with a buddy and talked loudly during our ride. We were to far away from the singer, therefore, with his talking and not keeping up with the other boats we could not hear anything. We had to ask John to get off the phone. The ride was also very short. Very disappointing!!! You are Serenaded! Is a misleading statement!

This was a great...

Memory_T, Aug 2025

This was a great experience. The historical explanation was interesting. Our gondolier was very experienced. The music was beautiful. We were in a large group, so the musician and singer were in a separate gondola that was behind us. Just be aware when booking that this is not a single gondola/private ride. We enjoyed ourselves nevertheless.

Did not get what we purchased

Angela_M, Jul 2025

The tour started over 20 min late. The gondola ride itself was fairly nice. But know that you may not be in the actual gondola with the musicians. We were in the second one & could hear the music but if you were expecting to be up close & personal, you may be disappointed. The musicians were very good though. Biggest issue is we paid for dinner, which we did not get. When we went back to the tour office to find out about the dinner, we found it closed for the day. We have now been told by the tour operator that because we booked through Viator, that is who we must deal with to get a refund. Extremely disappointed!!

Magical Ride

YazanK, Jul 2025

The VR section at the beginning was great. The walk before the ride was very nice. The ride itself was magical. The singer and guitarist were awesome.

The works experience ever

yourtravel_a, Jul 2025

Very bad experiences ! The gondola ride was the most un respectful and mindful person ! He push out my friend and make her feel ! Hey bad mouth

The guide was nice and...

KarlaPlooster_P, Jun 2025

The guide was nice and the VR show before hand however our actual gondolier was not very nice and started our ride by yelling at my husband for not understanding that he wanted him to move a chair. Set a bad tone for our ride. He seems to hate what he was doing. This was a one and done for us.

Not what they promised.

kathleen_w, Jun 2025

Worst tour we went on. Meeting place is no where near the boat and people missed their boats - apparently regularly. We sat in a boat and we were directed to the 2 nice seats while 2 other people sat on stools (I felt so bad) the serenade was 4 boats over- not on our boat. How is that a serenade? I would have been able to hear him if our gondola driver wasn’t yelling the entire ride to gondola rider next to us. When he wasn’t yelling - HE WAS ON HIS PHONE LOUDLY. Honestly horrible. Every Viator tour has been great. I have NEVER written a bad review about anything. I honestly think I might protest this on my Amex. How do you serenade from 6 boats over?

Gondola ride with serenade

Hendrika_R, May 2025

Lovely gondola ride with guitar and vocal from another boat. They were so talented! Disappointed the singer was not in our boat but still a great experience.

Avoid This Gondola Ride!

Julia_C, May 2025

So many things wrong with this tour. The gondola operator was absolutely obnoxious. The musician was not on our gondola (as the description says he is), but was on another gondola nearby. But we couldn't hear him well because our gondola operator talked on his phone the entire time. The entire gondola ride was 17 minutes long. Total waste of money and time. Avoid this one.

The best thing we did in...

Steven_G, Apr 2025

The best thing we did in Venice. Great experience, even the virtual reality tour of the history of Venice to start it off

disappointed

Claudia_C, May 2024

The directions to get to the meeting point were requested them by me about 2 hours before the departing, and they were sent to me 20 minutes before. That made us miss the ride, and the lady at the counter was super rude. We travel from los angeles to Italy and Venice was one of my top destinations on my list. I am so disappointed with this company.

Terrible customer service, would not recommend this to anyone

Charles_R, Sep 2023

This was a terrible experience, as we didn't get to actually take the tour. After booking this tour with viator, it became 1 out of 7 tours booked, where the tour guide never contacted us for the tour. We wound up booking for the wrong date, but could've taken the tour if they had contacted us. Tried to contact the tour guide assigned to this tour but never got a response. I asked for a refund but was refused, even though it said we could ask for one, even though we were never contacted by the guide.

Response from Host, Oct 2023

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

HORRIBLE

Sherri_s, Sep 2023

This was a horrible 1st experience in Venice. WE DID NOT GET OUR GONDOLA RIDE OR OUR MASK. We were lost and texted AND called for help and nobody answered. We were able to fins the restaurant and eat, but the vendor for the tour was very rude and unhelpful. We asked to reschedule and were told 👎no

Response from Host, Oct 2023

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

Awesome

Nicholas_C, Aug 2023

Doing the gondola in Venice is a must! just be aware that the serenade and music is spread out and it’s not in each individual gondola. But they did a wonderful job at but they did a wonderful job at projecting the voice and music. Would recommend and carnival mask that’s included is beautifully made.

Response from Host, Aug 2023

Thanks for your kind review

Terrible experience

Barbara_S, Jul 2023

Unfortunately we did not take this tour. We had a difficult time finding the port to board the gondola. Every gondola spot directed us to an incorrect boarding and consequently we missed the boat. Your company was not at all willing to book us on another ride the next day which was clearly available. You offered a Private ride in which you stated we would have everything the same except for music. This did not happen. We had a silent gondolier, my grandchildren did not receive a mask and it was a most disappointing experience. We also had to pay 3 euros more...for what? we don't know.

Response from Host, Aug 2023

Quite ordinary

ANDRE_V, Jul 2023

Singer who was serenading us was in a different gondola and much too far to hear. Our gondolier was not very friendly. He did his thing and did not engage with any of the passengers during the entire 30 min ride. Venetian masks were handed to everyone at the start of the tour without any meaningful explanation. No one wore them during the ride. In summary. It was a very ordinary gondola ride. The experience did not live up to the expectation or the description on line. Not worth the extra money.

Response from Host, Jul 2023

Dear Guest, we are deeply 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.

Memorable experience

RushdiMohamed_J, Jun 2023

It was a very enjoyable tour with a knowledgeable and pleasant guide who gave us a memorable experience

Response from Host, Jun 2023

Thanks for your kind review

Icing on the cake to my Venice Trip

Sharon_A, Aug 2022

My mom and I were blessed enough to be in the gondola that the serenade duo would perform on which made the experience well above 5 stars. I don’t have an exact number of gondolas in our fleet as I was too enchanted by our serenaders however I would approximate 6 including ours. That said, other tour companies were a part of the reservation too meaning I am not sure if there truly is a capacity cut off. I’m just very fortunate to have the serenaders on my gondola as I’m not sure if the other gondolas could hear them. It was definitely a highlight to my Venice trip and highly recommended as the performers are BRAVA-10 star talent.

Response from Host, Aug 2022

Thanks for your kind review

Disappointing ride!

Susan_M, Jul 2022

There was no serenade. One man 10 gondolas up sang 1 song that we heard the last 30 seconds of. Speaking with Viator rep we were given the impression we would have a singer with us. Even if not, hardly 10 boats away didn’t cut it. Don’t pay extra for serenade!!!!

Too short

Andrea_N, Jun 2022

We thought there would be some commentary about the area. It was pretty short and not very exciting. Would have been nice to have some serenade and some history and a longer ride.

Response from Host, Jun 2022

Dear Guest, we are sorry for your personal comment, please consider that on product page it's clearly written that the audio commentary and the serenade are included in the product. At your disposal for further information. Regards.

Outstanding

Jeff_T, May 2022

Petros P. is a great guide. Took the time to learn what we were interested in seeing. Very easy going and pleasant. He likes to laugh with his customers. Very enjoyable experience.

Response from Host, May 2022

Thanks for your kind review

Gondola ride

Julianne_F, Oct 2019

The boat tour was very nice, the sunset was beautiful against the the water and the buildings. The check in was confusing but we figured it out 👍

Response from Host, Oct 2019

Thank you for the kind review Best regards

So much fun and very affordable!

Cathy_C, Oct 2019

I would say this was the funnest 30 minutes I had in Venice. Singer and music we’re fabulous! We did have a little Gondola traffic jam in one canal, it was actually fun to see how all those boats got past each other. I would definitely advise to do this tour!