Venice Private Gondola Ride: Explore Hidden Canals And Sights

Fabio was great. He gave us information as we talked to him, and was really pleasant. He gave us choices and was very respectful of our questions.

While the gondolier was great and the ride was relaxing, there were significantly cheaper options all throughout venice. The tour went down quiet canals which was nice. However it was disappointing not to pass through the main canal and under rialto bridge. If given the chance again, I’d book a gondola ride while in venice for cheaper - we were worried but there were many options available

The gondola ride was great! It wasn’t just because we went through canals other than the main area and saw more of Venice that we wouldn’t have seen otherwise.

The description on Viator makes it seem like it’s very difficult to get a gondola ride. This one was located very far away from Saint Marks Square where we were staying and was nothing special at all. Gondolier offered no commentary and it was very inconvenient. Gondolas are readily available everywhere. No need to book this in advance.

What an amazing experience. Going along the main canal you saw the water city and busy part of Venice. Then you wove your way through smaller very quiet waterways seeing where people lived and what daily life was like. Photo opportunities were excellent and your Gondola guide told you about history and buildings as you went. Really loved the Gondola ride, a highlight of a visit to Venice and a must do!

For us 30 minutes was all we needed, some might want more. Something we all have wanted to do - now we have.

Polite knowledgeable gondolier, very friendly! Would highly recommend. The small canals are quiet and intimate.

Nice relaxing tour of venice. The gondola driver was very good. He took us through all the side canals and explained everthing

Leo was not friendly or a good guide. Hd was on his phone half the time and didn’t ask us any questions. He didn’t seem interested in us and didn’t offer to take a picture of us or tell us much about the scenery. He seemed pretty rude and disinterested.

COMPLETELY different city at night. There were some portions of the ride where it seemed like we were the only people in town! The reflecting lights on the canal were magical.

A very pleasant cruise in quiet canals by a lovely young man. My complaint is it was over too quickly. I had booked a 30mins gondola ride but it took only 20mins. Not good value for the price.

We had a wonderful private 30 minute gondola ride. We went to small canals and the scenery was beautiful.

What a lovely way to see the city! We had such a friendly driver. Perfection!! A must-do in Venice!!

The staff are friendly and the gondola ride is peaceful. Be cautious if you converse about changing the time of your ride, because the new time you commit to may not update on the Viator app/ticket. We ran into a disconnect and almost missed our ride. Luckily, the man in charge was able to accommodate our group though we were late due to the disconnect, but this was luck due to another last minute cancellation.

Experience is exactly as advertised. Friendly staff and a smooth, peaceful gondola ride along the route you choose based on duration of ride.

We had a great tour, Fabio was excellent and insightful! We had an hour of peace going through the smaller canals and he pointed out historical buildings and palaces. We definitely recommend!

a nice gondola and guide, but very crowded and difficult to locate. the pick up location

My partner and I booked the 1-hour private gondola ride. I thought from the description of this tour that our gondolier would point out more of the landmarks. He did point out some landmarks, but he also spent time on a phone call. Here are some things I wish I would have known: Finding the exact spot where we would be picked up was a real pain in the butt to find. Venice is a walking city, so we used Google Maps to navigate from our hotel by St. Mark's Square and the directions were pretty challenging. Don't Google the name of the Gondola company (the map will send you to the wrong spot). Instead, enter the address on your booking confirmation. Also, if you get even the slightest bit motion sick, take some Dramamine beforehand. Our hotel in St. Mark's Square was quite a distance from the gondola pickup spot for this tour. we had a gondola pickup right outside the front door of our hotel. If we'd have known better, we wouldn't have booked this tour and we'd have just left from the hotel.

We had an amazing time on this trip - the city of Venice is stunning and a gondola is by far the best way to experience it. That being said, this was a little overpriced in my opinion, and it wasn’t really a “tour”. The gondola (driver?) was very pleasant and helpful, but he didn’t really tell us much about the city. I think he spoke 4 or 5 times over the hour, and we struggled to hear him over the engines from other boats. It seemed like every building was a former palace, so perhaps we didn’t miss much. I would recommend this if you need the certainty of a particular time slot, but if not, I would just find a gondola during your visit.

The 40 minute gondola ride with Nicole was great. We went at 7pm on a late Septemday so the canals were quiet and the sun was low. It was a beautiful way to see the city. The thirty minute ride was relaxing and just the right length of time. Highly recommended.

You cannot vis Venice and not take a gondola ride. It was a wonderful experience. We saw beautiful parts of Venice o this trip. Our gondola operator was very peronable and knowledgeable.

It was lovely, we travelled through the much quieter canals and it was lovely to hear about some of the historical parts of Venice including the architecture and the previous residence that lived there.

Easy, peaceful and off the beaten track as well as the classics! Gentle commentary and recommend the 1.5hrs

We were 5 minutes late due to another Viator issue. But they still honored it. Our guide did give us some history. We only did the 30 minutes, which I would suggest doing a longer one. We didn’t get to see some of the more well known places.

Easy meeting spot. We got there early and it was not a problem. Nice driver. Romantic. Very nice ride. Highly recommend.

Great experience….Thanks A+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Eh. We booked the hour long tour and saw none of the major sites and received no information from the gondolier. He also dropped us off a couple minutes early.

Was great. The only one longer than 30 mins I could find. Our 90 ride covered all neighborhoods.

Person rowing the gondola was our guide. I felt disrespected when he made fun of incorrectly pronouncing my name. His English was not good. There’s no explanation for the e sites being visited during the gondola ride. Waste of money, I would not recommend.

Disappointing. Not happy with the experience. Price is too high compared to the service! Not worth it.

What an incredible experience. So beautiful and so knowledge about where we were and the history. Loved it would even do it again

I am in Venice for my 30th wedding anniversary. We spent almost $400 on this beautiful anniversary gift to ourselves. Our driver did not fit our expectations of what this would be. He wasn't wearing the hat like every other gondola driver was on the he was almost just in a robot motion,he stood behind us smoked cigarettes the whole time talked on his cell phone that we kept hearing ringing, and it was very loudand did not do anything to make it seem romantic. It was very disappointed and I feel like we were robbed.

Good day for gondola experience, although I was expecting better Italian experience about singing Italian songs or more vibes around the city with more facts about the area or city

They didn't show. We followed the directions that trip advisor gave us. We were on time and no gondola.

This was a great experience. The gondola captain was so knowledgeable. It was a beautiful 2 hour tour.

Conned into thinking this gondola ride saved money it’s cheaper to book at the canalside. We were 5 km from the main drop off from Punta Sabbione we could not possibly walk that far I have recent two hip and knee replacements. I had to pay again 130 euros to get the same Gondola ride. Don’t use Viator I was misled

Horrible! We waited and there was nobody there.and when he did show up, he said we were on the schedule for 5 even though our ticket said 6! Tried calling the customer service number but there was no response.

I would skip this next time. Our guide was on the phone the whole time, barely pointed out things to us and was making fun of us to passersby. Not a great experience.

The ride was calm and enjoyable. It was a wonderful experience with my family. It was an easy process.

We took the 2 hour gondola ride, and it was worth it. If we had taken a shorter ride we would have missed a lot of Venice history.

It was not as advertised. It was a basic gondola ride down the main thoroughfare without any commentary.

He was huffing and puffing majority of the time, he didn’t really tour anything other than if we asked questions and he seemed to be making rude comments about us to other people.

The meeting place was 45mins away because its NOT centrally located in Venice. We paid £70 each for 30mins but on arrival we were told that we could have paid €90 for both of us without booking!!! We only had 20mins ride!

Just a ride. No commentary included, which was disappointing! Would have liked some histor on our ride through the canals. The operator was friendly and courteous

We were able to relax and learn about the history of Venice. The gondola ride was smooth and pick up location was easy to find.

The gentleman who guided our tour / led us in the gondola was lovely and happily answered our questions and took our picture. However, this experience felt like a bit of a tourist trap, as it was almost $200 for two people for only 30 minutes. If we had just gotten a private gondola ride on the spot, it would have been a lot cheaper.

It was very nice not too crowded. Only downfall is our guide talked alot on phone to fellow gondola guides

Very disappointing experience. It was pouring rain, making it unsafe and impractical to reach the gondola. I was unable to get across the canal and, even if I had, I would not have taken the gondola ride in such heavy rain. I requested a refund because the experience could not reasonably be enjoyed in those conditions, but they refused, stating that they operate the gondola rides in the rain. That policy is extremely disappointing and shows very little consideration for customers. I would not recommend booking this experience, especially when weather conditions can make it impossible to participate.

What a scam. Could have gotten a better, cheaper gondola ride right out side our apartment. Long walk to the gondola station. No one really cares that you have a reservation. “Hidden gems” is just ugly side canals and the gondolier said nothing for an hour. Really ruined our first night in Venice.