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Venice Gondola Tour: Grand Canal History
4.0
142 Ratings
Venezia
Experience the charm of Venice on a private gondola tour. Float along the Grand Canal, learn about the history of gondolas, and admire iconic landmarks. Book now!
Experience the charm of Venice on a private gondola tour. Float along the Grand Canal, learn about the history of gondolas, and admire iconic landmarks. Book now!
Duration:
30 minutes
Cancellation:
24 hours
Highlights
- Gondola Station - Santa Maria del Giglio - This is the meeting point for the tour and also the drop-off location.
- Canal Grande - Experience a truly unique and magical 30-minute gondola guided tour of Venice’s waterways, offering guaranteed breathtaking views of the city from the water. After meeting with the expert guide, enjoy being steered…
- Gondola Station - Santa Maria del Giglio - This is the meeting point for the tour and also the drop-off location.
- Canal Grande - Experience a truly unique and magical 30-minute gondola guided tour of Venice’s waterways, offering guaranteed breathtaking views of the city from the water. After meeting with the expert guide, enjoy being steered in style by a personal gondolier along the incomparable Grand Canal.
Simply sit back and relax, taking in the surroundings while the informative guide entertains with stories and anecdotes about the city, explaining the history behind La Serenissima and its stunning palaces.
The guide will also share insights about the gondola, its unique structure, and the traditions of the Venetian gondoliers, which are exclusive to Venice.
This tour is an excellent way to combine an informative and engaging guided commentary with an essential gondola ride, making it a must-do experience!
- Punta della Dogana - Punta della Dogana is included in the itinerary.
- Basilica di Santa Maria della Salute - Basilica di Santa Maria della Salute is included in the itinerary.
- Palazzo Dario - Ca’ Dario is included in the itinerary (please confirm with the gondolier first).
- Peggy Guggenheim Collection - The Peggy Guggenheim Collection is included in the itinerary.
- Palazzo Cavalli-Franchetti - Palazzo Franchetti is included in the itinerary.
- Ponte dell’Accademia - The Accademia Bridge is included in the itinerary.
What's Included
- Private guide in English, French, German, Spanish and Italian
- Private 1 hour gondola ride
- Private guide in English, French, German, Spanish and Italian
- Private 1 hour gondola ride
What's Not Included
- Gratuities
- Hotel pickup and drop-off
- Food and drink
- Gratuities
- Hotel pickup and drop-off
- Food and drink
Additional Information
Experience a serene 30-minute private gondola ride through Venice, and discover the rich history of the iconic Venetian gondolas! As a skilled gondolier steers the boat along the renowned Grand Canal, unwind and enjoy engaging facts and trivia about the gondolas and the city from a knowledgeable local guide. The classic gondola is compact yet…
Experience a serene 30-minute private gondola ride through Venice, and discover the rich history of the iconic Venetian gondolas! As a skilled gondolier steers the boat along the renowned Grand Canal, unwind and enjoy engaging facts and trivia about the gondolas and the city from a knowledgeable local guide. The classic gondola is compact yet comfortably accommodates up to four passengers, along with the guide and gondolier.
- Infants aged under 2 years will be seated on the lap of an adult;
- There is a limit of 4 people + 1 guide per gondola
- 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
Location
Gondola Station - Santa Maria del Giglio
Campiello Traghetto
Meeting point: 15 min before the departure time at the gondola station of Santa Maria del Giglio in front of the Gritti Palace Hotel.
Please look for your guide with a sign with your name on it!
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Customer Ratings
4.0
(142 Ratings)
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Ron_d
Sep 4, 2024
Great historical ride - If you want a romantic trip as a couple, this is not the way. If you want a gondola ride with a knowledgeable guide to teach you about the history of the city and gondola rides. This is the way.
Review provided by Viator
Craig_e
Jun 22, 2024
Just do it. - This is a Venice essential, and taking the trip with a guide is sooooo much better than alone with the gondolier or with musicians. Our guide was excellent. The trip was both fun and interesting.
Review provided by Viator
Clawing
May 16, 2025
Not worth the money - The ride wasn’t what I expected. I booked a grand canal ride for my sister and I and your pick up and drop off point is the only place on the grand canal that you see. We spent most of our 30min ride stuck in traffic jams in the small canals and waterways of Venice. Spending more time waiting in a que to get going again. Definitely not worth the £125 that we paid for the experience. We had booked before we got to Venice but could have got it cheaper if we had waited till we got here. The gondolas are EVERYWHERE!! Was still nice to say we’ve done it though.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Brent_f
Mar 11, 2025
Disappointed to say this is the first poor review we have ever left. - We never have a bad word to say in any review but we were disappointed.
We arrived 15 mins early, as requested, to meet our guide - the guide wasn't there (although she did arrive at the end of our tour to say hi). We had read the reviews and were really looking forward to the gondola ride. A lot of time spent turning the gondola round as opposed to actually going anywhere - appreciate there is other traffic - the tour was very short and we didn't really see much at all. We felt this was extremely expensive at £276. I was proposing to my partner and so not only did this experience not make the trip special, it actually detracted from it. Sorry!
Review provided by Viator
Amit
Mar 1, 2025
Waste of time and money - We booked for a private tour, we reached late due to delayed flight and hence on the way we called the local tousist office for possibility to reschedule, she said it is possible onsite to reschedule but when we went there. The onsite guy told me it is not possible to reschedule for a private tour. Our money will not be refunded or reused for a new ride. Still, we booked with another tourism group, but after going through the ride, we felt like waste of money and time. If you have already been to water-based rides, then this experience is not worth it. They take you out of smaller cannel route and then return you back in no time.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Sandra_f
Oct 16, 2024
Misleading Experience - What was supposed to be the highlight of our Venice visit was the most disappointing! I guess the most memorable experience was when the guide was the first one off the gondola and left! No goodbye, no thank you - obviously no tip! The second most memorable experience was when she made no attempt to find us upon arrival as she stood eating a candy bar. Thirdly, our impression was that we were going on a PRIVATE tour and the gondolier would be giving any tour needed, not a total stranger with absolutely no personality who invaded our privacy and talked about various people who died in a house and how Venice was built when she wasn’t speaking Italian with the gondolier who we had no interaction with at all.
Don’t waste your money on this tour - opt for a $90 30-minute experience and call it a day. Ours was a colossal waste of money!
Review provided by Viator
M5596uemarcom
Oct 11, 2024
Disappointing experience - We booked this gondola ride as a couple and had completely different expectations. We booked us a 60-minute ride, a single gondola with a German-language explanation.
We thought the gondolier was telling us something during the ride. In fact, the gondolier did not say a word and a so-called German-speaking tour guide got on board. So we were no longer alone in the gondola. We had already read the bit she had to say about Venice in the cover text of our guide. Nor has she always really understood or been able to answer our questions in concrete terms. Then the journey ended after just under 45 minutes. When asked about the reduced time by a quarter, we were told that there was still another appointment. Afterwards I contacted the tour operator. The answer was very unsatisfactory. They say the tour guide didn't realize the trip was shorter than booked. In addition, we were referred to a completely foreign contact (without exact contact details) to discuss the matter further. A pro rata refund of the high price was refused.
Our conclusion: Next time you visit Venice, go directly to one of the gondola stations not located directly at the main attractions and book a single gondola for one hour by arrangement. Costs less than half of our experience and is certainly a nicer experience as a couple.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Susan_b
Jun 15, 2024
Horrible treatment - The gondolier was talking on his cell phone the entire time, and our tour guide had a cold personality, was impersonal, and all about business. When our ride was over, the guide got off first and fled with only saying goodbye to one person in our party due to the rest of them being still in the boat.Our gondola ride was also cut short by 15 minutes without explanation, even when we paid for an hour. Definitely not worth the price, I travel often and I’m not shy about paying good money for a quality private tour. This tour was barely enjoyable.
Review provided by Viator
Simon_i
Jul 27, 2024
Don’t waste your money. - Terrible. Paid for an hour. It was hot so we decided 40 minutes would be fine. In total he returned us after 15 minutes. NO GUIDE. And rude . My husband asked if he could sing happy birthday to me and he responded “I’m not a clown”. When I spoke to lady in office, she didn’t refund for time that was cut short.
Review provided by Viator
Holly_m
Jun 15, 2024
Scam!! Do not purchase this terrible tour - This is a complete scam!!! Do not waste your money or time!! We paid $450 for a one hour guided gondola ride and they shortened it to only 30 minutes at the start! Appalling. So, then, we actually paid $450 for 30 minutes! The going rate is 90 euros for 30 minutes. So that’s some terrible math. A total ripoff and scam. We are not the first to be ripped off on this tour.
TripAdvisor, this tour should be removed ASAP! Look at the many other terrible reviews, and others have mentioned it was only 30 minutes. It’s a tactic. I really wish I had read the reviews before purchasing.
At the very least TripAdvisor should have reimbursed for 1/2, which they refused, and it was a total pain to work with them on it. Ruined our first day in Venice. We will be taking this up with our credit card company for a refund, rest assured.
Do not purchase this tour! The travel company TripAdvisor uses for this gets away with murder, cutting the trip in half and keeping the money! You are better off going to a gondola station (St Mark’s square between the two columns for example) and paying for a ride there. Beware of this tour. The guide didn’t add much either.
Review provided by Viator
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