Private Venice Tours with Gondola - Tailor-Made: Choice of Guest!
Recommended by 93% of travelers
Badge of Excellence
Venice, Italy
- 1 hour 30 minutes (approx.)
- Pickup offered
- Group discounts
- Mobile ticket
- Offered in: English
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Overview
Make the most of your visit to Venice on a private guided tour tailored to your preferences and interests. Discover famous sights such as St Mark's Square and hidden gems, learning stories of Venice's history and culture. Enjoy a private gondola ride through Venetian canals and convenient hotel pickup for longer tours.
- A perfect introduction to Venice for first-time visitors
- Hotel pickup for 2- and 3-hour tours adds convenience
- A private gondola ride offers a unique view of the city's canals
- A private, customizable tour ensures maximum flexibility
What's Included
- Private licensed tour guide
- 1-, 2-, 3-hour walking tour (depending on option selected)
- Private gondola ride (approx 25 min)
- Pick-up at a location of your choice for the 2- and 3-hour tours
- Hotel drop-offs
- Hotel pick-ups for 1-hour tours
- Food and drinks
- Gratuities
Meeting and Pickup
You can head directly to your preferred meeting point, or request pickup.
Itinerary
Chiesa di San Rocco (Pass By)
Basilica di Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari (Pass By)
San Polo (Pass By)
Mercato di Rialto (Pass By)
Rialto Bridge (Pass By)
Piazza San Marco (Pass By)
Palazzo Ducale (Pass By)
Piazza San Marco (Pass By)
Additional Info
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking, unless booked within 9 days of travel. In this case confirmation will be received within 48 hours, subject to availability
- Not wheelchair accessible
- Near public transportation
- Not recommended for travelers with back problems
- No heart problems or other serious medical conditions
- Travelers should have a moderate physical fitness level
- 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
Supplied by
Cancellation Policy
You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.
Traveler Photos
Reviews
4.8
based on 56 reviews
Sort by: Most insightful
Sebastian did our walking tour and he was phenomenal! We had the best time and got to see parts of the city we definitely would have missed.
This is a great private tour to go over the history of Venice and bypass the high traveled alleyways. ( which were very congested) She was very knowledgeable and easy to be with! The tour ended with a gondola ride through the city. Would recommend this trip.
This was the best tour we have ever done! Our tour guide, Sebastian was so knowledgeable, personable, prompt and well spoken. He gave us information about Venice that you won’t find in tour books. I would highly recommend this tour! The gondola ride at the end of the tour was delightful too.
Response from Host, Sep 2026
Dear Nancy,
Thank you so much for your wonderful review! It truly means a lot to hear that this was the best tour you’ve ever done. Sebastian will be so happy to hear your kind words - he really loves sharing the hidden stories and little details that make Venice so special. And we’re delighted you enjoyed the gondola ride too! It was a pleasure having you with us, and we hope to welcome you back to Venice again someday. 😊
Warm regards,
Magdalena
Vexperio
My husband and I had traveled to Venice and we booked beforehand a tour with a gondola ride. I realized the morning of the tour that I had double booked with another tour. I contacted them right away to see if I could change it for the following day and they said that there were no guides available. So I said I will keep this tour and I’ll just reschedule my other tour. Meanwhile, the tour was to start at 4:30 PM and around 3 o’clock We had a severe weather warning for the area and dark black clouds and terrible lightning started rolling into Venice. I contacted the company again to see if we should continue to proceed to the start point of the tour and they said that even though it was raining and lightning that they were still going to do the walking tour and the gondola boat ride. I said I would keep an eye on the weather, but that I was very concerned about walking with lightning and especially being in a gondola on the open water. Meanwhile, about half an hour before the tour was to start. The weather was absolutely terrible and dangerous and we contacted the company to say that we wanted to cancel and receive a refund that we did not feel it safe to take such a tour. They came back and said that, unfortunately there were no cancellations due to weather and that for right at this minute, they were still planning on doing the tour. I was incredulous that this company would endanger the lives of its clients walking them about an open square with horrific lightning and pouring rain and then putting them in a boat on the water. I told them I wanted a full refund and they refused. They told me they do not offer refunds for Weather and they do not give a refund unless it’s canceled 24 hours in advance. That is all well and good however I did not feel like endangering our lives. I certainly understand a 24 hour cancellation notice as being required but for dangerous unforeseen weather coming in as bad as it was for an outside activity with one being on the water that’s just crazy to me.
Response from Host, Sep 2026
Dear Leslie,
We’re sorry you were unhappy with your experience, but your review unfortunately leaves out some important facts.
You originally booked the wrong date and contacted us only about 2 hours before the tour asking to move it to the following day. We immediately checked, but our guides were fully booked and we could not change the arrangements at such short notice.
When you later raised concerns about the weather, we monitored the situation closely. Tours throughout Venice, including gondola rides, were operating normally, and by the scheduled 4:30 PM start, the weather had improved significantly - it was dry and sunny. We have photographs taken by your guide at that time documenting the conditions, while she was waiting for you at the agreed meeting point.
Despite our 24-hour cancellation policy, we offered you a 50% refund as a one-time goodwill gesture if you preferred not to attend. You declined and instead threatened us with a negative review and a chargeback.
We respect your decision not to take the tour, but we do not appreciate the inaccurate portrayal of what happened. Future guests deserve to know the full context.
Warm regards,
Magdalena
Vexperio
Elena was awesome! She was funny, witty, personable and knowledgeable. She shared historic facts, but also fun trivia.
Fabulous! Guide really gave us a local view of Venice, it's history, and how it used to be. Fun, interesting and our guide was very flexible and followed up with links to places we had seen. So happy we chose this tour!
Genny our tour guide was fantastic! Her English was so clear and her stories about the history of Venice were engaging.
The walking tour with our host Claudia was great. She was very personable and knowledgeable. The gondola ride was extremely disappointing. It did not hold four adults comfortably. There was a hard small child size footstool that someone had to sit on with no padding, armrest or backrest for support in a rocking gondola. It did not fit an adult making it very disappointing and uncomfortable.
Response from Host, Jun 2026
Dear Craig,
Thank you for taking the time to share your feedback.
We are delighted to hear that you enjoyed your walking tour with Claudia and appreciated her knowledge and personable approach.
We are sorry that the gondola ride did not fully meet your expectations. Traditional Venetian gondolas feature fixed seating arrangements that can vary from boat to boat, and we understand that the seating configuration on your gondola was less comfortable than you had anticipated.
We appreciate you bringing this to our attention and sharing your experience.
Thank you again for your feedback, and we hope to have the opportunity to welcome you back in the future.
Kind regards,
Natalia
Vexperio
We decided to start our first day of our firstvisit to Venice with a tour and a gondola ride. Our tour guide Barbara was very knowledgeable and friendly. Our gondolier was very friendly and pointed out many of the beautiful places in Venice
Was a fabulous way to see key parts of Venice. Monica our guide was fantastic. Courteous, knowledgable, friendly and great to work with. I recommend the tour and Monica both.
Wow! Amazing experience with our unbelievable tour guide - Adair! Even before the actual tour began - she reached out to us several times keeping us updated. We immediately felt like Adair was more than a tour guide with her charismatic & magnetic personality! Would highly recommend this tour and ask for her by name!
Claudia is an outstanding guide and host to the city she grew up in, Venice. She knows the history inside and out and is passionate about explaining and sharing it. We especially appreciate her as this is our first visit. We could not be happier with our tour and gondola ride.
We enjoyed this tour so much. Elena was just awesome. She was a wealth of knowledge and very entertaining. The gondola is a must and relaxing. We would recommend this tour.
The tour was great however we had done an hour of walking already and exploring ourselves plus we participated in an additional tour in the morning. Our guide was great and just took us to a place for gelato and then to the gondolas. We were able to skip the line. I would recommend the tour for this and Laos if you haven’t had any tours before explaining the history of Venice.
Sebastian was a great tour guide, knowledgeable, friendly, and the entire experience was enjoyable. He shared interesting insights, we highly recommend.
Fantastic brief tour of some amazing spots in Venice near the port of San Marco. Our tour guide Adair was fantastic !
Elena did a GREAT job with this walking tour. She is born and raised in Venice but also spent some time in the states so there was a lot to talk about! We walked all over the island but didn’t feel rushed at all. She gave us the highlights, recommended a local favorite for lunch & followed up with me to see how the rest of our day was going. 10/10! Pro tip- when getting the gondola as part of the tour, request a gondolier that does not talk loudly the entire time to all the other gondoliers around. Super annoying but not the tour guides fault.
Response from Host, Mar 2026
Hello!
Thank you so much for your thoughtful review! Elena truly is a gem in Venice!
You’re right—Italian people can be loud and expressive, but I’m glad it didn’t take away from your experience. Your kind words mean a lot to us, and we hope to welcome you back to Venice for another memorable adventure soon!
Warm regards,
Natalia
Vexperio
I had been looking forward to the gondola ride cos that’s what Venice is about but I wanted the full experience and my captain refused to take his jacket off so I could have a photo of the official uniform.. he said he was cold. 🤷🏽♀️
He should not captain the gondola if he was cold.
And I begged him a few times to just take his jacket off for 2seconds to have a photo but he refused.
Anyways that was a downer for the ride.
If I am ever in venice again, gondola ride will not be at the top of my list
Response from Host, Oct 2025
Dear Guest,
Thank you for taking the time to share your feedback. We’re truly sorry to hear that your gondola ride did not meet your expectations. Our gondoliers are professionals licensed by the City of Venice, and their primary responsibility is to ensure the comfort and safety of all guests during the ride.
Please note that the gondoliers’ uniforms are official attire and include jackets, especially during cooler weather, as they spend long hours on the water. For health and safety reasons, they are not required to remove their jackets upon request.
We are glad, however, that you were able to enjoy the authentic gondola experience through the canals of Venice — one of the city’s most iconic traditions. We hope that despite this detail, you were still able to take home beautiful memories of your time in Venice.
Kind regards,
Natalia
Vexperio Team
A great entry experience to our first day in Venice. Elena, our tour guide, grew up in Venice and gave us the local view into this unique city, its history & traditions.
The arranged gondola ride was extra special. Elena’s relationship with her fellow tourist colleagues got us right up & in. She also surprised us with photos of us - special & memories forever. Grazie Elena!
What an awesome experience! Sebastian is so knowledgeable about the History of Venice. It was a rich adventure well worth the money!
Sebastian was AMAZING!! He was so outgoing, fun and very knowledgeable! I would request him every time.
For the price, I was expecting more. 1 hr in total is nothing compared to the amount of things to see and learn only in San Marco and Rialto. The tour guide was very sweet, and knowledgeable and our gondola driver was also very sweet and welcoming.
Response from Host, Sep 2025
Dear Carmen,
Thank you for sharing your feedback and for joining our Venice tour! We’re glad to hear that you enjoyed the company of both your guide and gondolier.
You selected the 1-hour option, which is designed as a “taste of Venice” experience — perfect for guests who want a shorter introduction without being overwhelmed. That said, we also offer 2-hour and 3-hour options for those who would like a more in-depth exploration. If you’d like to return to Venice in the future, we’d be delighted to organize a longer experience for you.
Venice is truly an amazing city, with endless beauty to discover, and we’d love to show you even more next time!
Warm regards,
Natalia
The Vexperio Team
Adair was such a great tour guide!! Very knowledgeable and spoke great English!! Our time with her just flew by and our gondola ride was the icing on the cake ! Great experience!
Genny was fantastic! Not only was she very knowledgeable but she knew our group was a bit older and had some limitations so she tailored it to exactly what we needed. She then offered suggestions on how to get around the next day and was super helpful. The gondola was also outstanding. Genny walked us to the gondola and made sure we got the perfect gondolas. I was nervous about this because I had read so many bad reviews about the gondola tours being too short, etc. That was NOT our experience! Ours actually wound up being about 35 minutes and they took us through the most beautiful small canals. The whole experience was truly 5 star!!!
Alice is so knowledgeable and did a wonderful explaining the history or Venice. Such a lively tour guide.
My partner and I had a 2.5hr tour walking tour with Sebastian and within a few minutes it was less like a tour and more like a walk with a friend who knew exactly what we’d be interested in. We had a lot of fun and learned a lot about Venice in an interactive and relatable way. As someone who had grown up in Venice, Sebastian had a real passion for the city, and gave us a fascinating insight that only someone who has lived there could do. Plus we got some great recommendations for places to eat!
Overall a fantastic experience that was a highlight of our holiday. When we come back to Venice we will be spending more time with Sebastian on at least one of his other tours - the trickiest bit will be knowing which one to pick.
Our tour guide was a true local and her pride for Venice came through. Our guide was able to have us do our gondola ride first instead of last as the weather was supposed to get worse as the evening progressed. So glad she was able to rearrange the gondola ride.
Annalisa was a brilliant host. Explained the history & showed us the historical architectures.
Simply brilliant, thank you
Alice was very personable and knowledgeable. The benefit of not having to wait in line for the gondola ride was very satisfactory.
Sebastian F was a fantastic guide! Highly recommend. Very knowledgeable in all things Venetian and a pleasure to have as an escort around this unique city. We hope to return for a longer stay. If so, Sebastian will be our first call or request.
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up to 24 hours before the experience starts (local time)
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