Romantic Venice: 30 Minute Gondola Ride with Serenade

Venice, Italy

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Booked 10+ times last week!

30 minutes (approx.)

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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 to suit your schedule and then set off with a gondolier who is clad in traditional garb. Check off key sights, such as the Grand Canal, and for an elevated experience, you can opt for the upgraded package which includes a meal after the gondola ride.

Enjoy an atmospheric shared gondola ride along the Grand Canal
Listen to songs from a singer on board one of the gondolas in your flotilla
Drift by top Venice attractions such as Palazzo Barberino
Lots of great photo opportunities along the way

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 - Traghetto 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.

Operating hours
.6:30 pm

Itinerary

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. Choose from a variety of start times, 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 gondola and sit back and let 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 around 30 minutes of floating through this magical city, return to the pier where your gondola ride finishes, and if you’ve chosen the upgraded package, you can enjoy a meal after the tour.

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
Not recommended for pregnant travelers

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
If you're planning a day trip to Venice and staying outside the city, please note that an access fee will be required on certain dates. For more information, including details about exemptions and the specific dates when the fee applies, please visit (https://cda.ve.it).
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 25 travelers

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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

Natalie_E

This was the highlight of our trip!!! Highly recommend booking the gondola tour with the serenading option. It truly was an experience of a lifetime. The singer’s voice was incredible and the ride felt like a scene out of a movie. My husband and I booked this experience not totally knowing what it meant by “includes serenade” but we are SO glad we chose that option. Made our experience so memorable and romantic. 10/10 would recommend.

Reviews

3.4

based on 2,742 reviews

Total reviews and rating from Viator & Tripadvisor

We perform checks on reviews

Very disappointed

silverton099, Oct 2025

It was my birthday i made it secial to have music on my boat but they did not they had someone on a different boat playing and follow us. Not happy at all very disappointed

We arrived at the start...

shaun, Oct 2025

We arrived at the start point early for our 6pm confirmed ride. The manager organizing the gondoliers was very unhelpful and told us to go wait over there. By 6:15 we were wondering why we were still waiting. A nice young man came over and asked if we had been told the time was changed to 6:30. No. At 6:40 we loaded into the gondola for a barely 20 min ride. Would not recommend this tour.

Worst Experience in Italy

Marta_R, Sep 2025

I would give them a 0 if I could!! The worst experience we had on our dream vacation. My children are I arrived 30 minutes early and we ended up being seated in the last gondola., furthest from the serenade. The driver was completely unfriendly, when we asked a question he shook his head and implied he was on the phone. No descriptions of the sites were given. We were the first gondola to dock but were forced to climb over another gondola which arrived after us in order to get onto the pier. I am 75 years old with a bad knee and this was very scary & dangerous. It was windy & the gondolas were rocking in the water. As we exited, the lead or manager shoved us to the tip jar. Horrible customer service & I am completely disappointed by this experience from beginning to end.

Save your money, go out to a romantic dinner!

Ken_P, Sep 2025

8 gondolas lined up single file going through ally way type canals. Our Gondoliar smoked a cigarette the entire time. Not to romantic.

Romantic Gondola ride hype

Sharon_B, Sep 2025

This was a joke. There was no serenade, I guess in there mind, as long as you are close to gondola with music you are being serenaded. Unfortunately we were only close enough to enjoy for 5 minutes out of 30.

Not as advertised.

Kirsty_M, Sep 2025

Great experience. However paid for a serenade that was shared with 6 gondolas not as advertised . On approaching the meeting point to collect our voucher as per the instructions on viador booking email we were directed to "the boss" who told us abruptly to come back 10 minutes before our time . Once aboard our gondola which was as we hoped , we expected to have a signing gondolier which was instead on a gondola four or five back in the fleet of gondolas that left at the same time while our gondolier spoke to someone in his phone for the first half of our 30 minute trip ! Overall a good experience but definetly not what we paid for.

Don't spend the extra for singing!

Beth_G, Sep 2025

We were a party of 2. About 10 gondola in our time with only 1 singer on another gondola. It is the luck of the decision by the people in charge as to whether you have the singer aboard your vessel. You can barely hear him sing, as all the gondola are spread out. Then our driver was on his phone or talking with a coworker the whole time! A waste of money!

Not real as advertised

Maria_V, Aug 2025

Arrived to the meeting spot and it was confirmed that it would be with music and 30 minutes as advertised… the ride lasted no more than 20 minutes and music lasted 5 minutes from another gondola… not worth it.. seemed like the gondola guys wanted to rush and on top of that asked for a tip… LOL

Romantic Gondola Ride

Faby_C, Aug 2025

There is only one singer in a gondola and all the other gondolas follow, is very cute thought, you have the chance to take pictures of the gondolas love love the experience

Bad experience

Demattia_P, Aug 2025

Our gondola ride in Venice was absolutely awful. The gondolier was extremely rude and rushed the entire experience. He didn’t allow us any time to take photos, and the ride itself lasted barely 10 minutes instead of the promised duration. The serenade we were supposed to enjoy was impossible to hear, completely drowned out and not at all what was advertised. This was honestly the worst experience of my life in Venice. A complete waste of money and a huge disappointment. I would give it zero stars if I could. Definitely not recommended.

Amazing Gondola Ride with Serenade

Vera_M, Aug 2025

This was amazing. We had gone on a gondola ride last time we were in Venice, but having someone singing was incredible. It made it even more special. I recommend it.

Cheap quality.

ChampakNath_I, Aug 2025

The Gondola ride with music was absolutely disappointing. The Gondola with the musicians were very far away from our Gondola. Also our Gondola rider was constantly talking on his phone ruining our ride completely. I want to know now how your company is going to compensate for making our first evening in Venice so sad.

RIP off gondola trip

Keith_M, Jul 2025

First and last time on a gondola . Turned up 3 minutes late as we were brought to the wrong point of meet by google maps. We were greeted by the most rudest man you could imagine to say that the gondolas had gone and we were too late. So my wife said “ my husband would like a refund “. So he replied “ okay then , get on this gondola around here . We were brought Dorito a gondola that had 2 people on it. We booked the serenade trip. We couldn’t hear the serenade as we were so far away . We left at 6:10 sharp and stepped back off at 6:25 sharp. Our driver had a friend with him & I think it was his first time driving or else he was drunk as he crashed into everything we passed. €93:50 was an absolute joke . Worst money I’ve spent in a very long time . And trust me we travel and do these kinda trips a lot. I’d sooner spend my money on a water taxi. They even had the balls to ask for a tip when we got back. Honestly, you’re missing nothing if you decide to keep your money in your pocket. RIP off .

Lovely Serenade Through the Canals

Luke_P, Jul 2025

It was worth the experience. The organizer, gondola driver, and singer/musician were l on time. We started promptly at the correct time. We went around for 30 minutes, and the musician played songs throughout. The singer sang everyone other song. They sounded wonderful and it was romantic. We were the envy of other gondola rides.

Not worth it. Definitely...

Diane_R, Jul 2025

Not worth it. Definitely not romantic. You are grouped with 5 gondolas. The middle gondola has the singer. Not even half way through we were separated from the group. Our gondolier separated us with two boats and couldn’t enjoy the music. I knew we were going to share the gondola on this “tour” but you are better off finding one when you get there for a private gondola by San Marco square for a real romantic experience.

We thought we’re going to...

Mia_D, Jul 2025

We thought we’re going to have serenade in our gondola but it wasn’t the case. The singer was at another gondola for a couple that I believed booked at the last minute so we can only hear her singing from afar. Also it was supposed to be 30 minutes but we were done by 22 minutes. So disappointed. Don’t book this tour if you want actual singer on your gondola.

Great condola ride on the Grand Canal and narrower canals

DavidB_C, Jul 2025

Fantastic condola ride with an accordion and a singer. The ride started on the Grand canal but also cruised thru several small canals.

A lovely trip to celebrate 52 years

Mary_B, Jun 2025

Difficult locating the sail point but local guide assisted. Day was perfect and ride was a memorable experience as we drifted along the area children ran to wave and tourist snapped pictures perfect beginning to a perfect evening with sing along and additional music.

Don’t waste your money or time.

Rachel_B, Jun 2025

This was the worst. We arrived early. No one greeted us. All of the gondoliers were just loitering around smoking cigarettes right next to the waiting area. It was 22 minutes long-not 30 minutes. They let other people go ahead of us. We didn’t get on the gondola until 22 minutes after our reservation. Our gondolier was on his cell phone. Didn’t say a word to us. Was yelling at other gondoliers. Everyone was very rude to us. Then promoted a tip awkwardly. Don’t waste your money. Take a water taxi instead. Definitely not romantic or relaxing. Do better!!!

Way to short of a ride

Robert_W, Jun 2025

For the money we paid, I was expecting our gondola ride to be just us (my wife and I) as it was advertised as a Romantic Gondola ride. How can be with a shared boat. The serenade was a guy playing guitar. Was nice, but expected a song. Our ride was barely 20 minutes and do not feel we got value for our money.

Not the experience I’d hoped for.

Molly_M, Jun 2025

Trip was supposed to last 30 minutes, we started late and were back to the starting point by 23 minutes after the hour—it wasn’t even 20 minutes long! Serenade was 2 American songs—I assumed we would be serenaded with Italian standards. The crew were nice, but I was disappointed.

Can’t tell you as they...

Charles_K, Jun 2025

Can’t tell you as they cancelled at last minute due to boat problems. Looked like it would have been great

Not romantic as it was a shared gondola

Linda_H, Jun 2025

This was advertised by Viator as a private, romantic gondola ride. It was not private when we arrived. We were required to share the gondola with strangers and sit on stools. This advertisement is false.

Not romantic

Richard_J, Jun 2025

If you are looking for something romantic or even an enjoyable couples event, don't do this event. They put you in a boat that you share with two other people. My wife and I were not able to even sit together on the boat. Wife sat on a stool and I sat on a chair, 4 feet away from her and on the other side of the gondola. The serenade is performed by a singer on a boat separate from yours.

Do not book

Nael_A, May 2025

Do not book this, we had to wait for more than 45mnt at the meeting point for them to say because of a lot of people they didn’t realize we wore there. So we can come back the next day, but that was our last day there. We just paid cash and got on. Waiting for the refund

Gondola and music

Perry_M, May 2025

only 30 minutes, at least half is in the "main canal" and remainder is in small canals in town (which are very enjoyable). Serenade was nice and the vocalist is outstanding. Fair amount of money for 30 minutes.

Misleading

Juanaria_A, May 2025

Misleading, it says with companiment of music but it was in different Gandola. Not recommending to any

Underwhelming

gloria_w, May 2025

The experience is underwhelming and over priced Barley 25 minutes in gondola and the serenade gondola was almost out of hearing by other traffic Gondola driver was civil but could not be described as friendly.

It was chaotic when we...

Gina_G, May 2025

It was chaotic when we arrived and had to wait a while. It started 15 minutes late, which wasn’t bad, but ended 10 minutes early. So we only had 20 minutes of an advertised 30 minute tour. The Gondolier never said a single word to us the entire time