Tours, sightseeing tours, activities & things to do | Viator.comVenice Gondola Ride and Serenade with Dinner
based on 89 reviews of Venice Gondola Ride and Serenade with Dinner
Read what other Viator.com travelers think about the Venice Gondola Ride and Serenade with Dinner. What they loved, what they liked and what they think could be improved, it's all here to help you make the most of your next trip.
What a magical evening! Our serenade singer was absolutely wonderful and fulfilled the romance of an evening on the Canals of Venice. I want to do it again and again! The meal following was excellent. Great service, delicious food. Best tiramisu I have EVER had! All served under a Venician moon.
One comment: the gondoliers seemed unsure of where to send us after the ride, simply pointing toward the restaurant. Could have been a little better organized there, but still, a wonderful evening! Thank You!
The gondola trip was excellent. Having read other reviews, we were prepared for the fact that we were in one of a number of gondolas with the singer and acordian player in another. The second part of the ride was in the narrow canals, and the atmosphere was very good. The meal was, I have to say, largely forgettable. The menu offered as part of the trip was not the restaurant's standard menu. It was extremely limited, and very plain. However, the gondola ride made the evening memorable.
Reviewed by: Paul B, United Kingdom, June 2009
If you want a romantic gondola ride, this is not for you, there are four other people on the boat and there is no guarantee that you will sit together. The actual experience was great and we got 40 minutes on the water. The restaurant was not so good, very limited menu, though they did give us a complimentary sweet and drink. Service was slow and vegetarian options limited.
Reviewed by: Anonymous, United Kingdom, May 2009
An essential on visiting Venice!
Reviewed by: Douglas S, United Kingdom, October 2008
The gondola trip was good, though like everything in Venice, if you have difficulty in getting in/out of boats I would not recommend this as you need to be pretty agile. The restaurant food was not that great, and though there were three courses, the quality was very average. However, in the context of the food that was served in Venice at this price it was no better or worse. In summary, I would recommend the trip if you want a cost-effective tour.
Reviewed by: Tony P, United Kingdom, October 2008
Map out your trip from your hotel first, so you don't get lost in one of the 18 streets in Venice that all share the same name, it can be a maze of streets/bridges that all look the same, so before you travel to Venice, get a GOOD MAP! Also, there are many gondola stops, make sure you go to the correct one don't remember as it was night and we were running to try to catch it. Also, be sure to take the map that they give you for the restaurant, it was simple, but easy to read and got us there, while other travelers got lost and didn't show up until 40 minutes later. IF YOU ARE THE FIRST TO ARRIVE AT THE GONDOLA SITE, YOU GET THE BEST SEATS ONLY ONE WHERE YOU CAN SIT TOGETHER. The restaurant is a fixed price fare, but the service is great. They do charge you for bottled water though, so if you don't want to pay for it, don't order water. The food was not bad, simple, but not bad. The gondolas are also rather simple and the gondoliers are not dressed traditionally, but give you a great ride through impossibly narrow canals and the singing is great. The people who live along the canals open their windows to listen and watch the flotilla of gondolas go by. More romantic at night, but you can't get good camera shots like you can during the day, so depends on what you like. Next time we are in Venice, we'll rent one of the more fancy, romantic gondolas with the dressed up gondolier just for the heck of it, but this was definitely delightful and I highly recommend it for anyone who wants the Venice gondola experience with dinner without the ridiculous price.
Reviewed by: Laura G, United States of America, October 2008
Gondola ride was excellent; dinner not worth adding. We had trouble finding the restaurant. We were just left to our own devices. No other gondola passengers had the meal included. Pleasant restaurant, but tasteless food. Tourist menu - drinks extra. Very poor value. Best to take gondola ride without meal.
Reviewed by: Anonymous, United Kingdom, October 2008
You can't go to Venice and not go on a gondola! The ride was definitely worth doing and the quality of the serenade was excellent -much to my surprise. I was however disappointed with the meal. The choice was extremely limited, the food was so-so and the restaurant was difficult to find.
Reviewed by: Jennifer L, United Kingdom, October 2008
This was a nice end to our Venice holiday. All went well until the end of the trip, when the operator couldn't locate our voucher for the included dinner. There was some confusion, but it was finally recovered. It would be nice if dinner patrons were given a map to locate the restaurant...we eventually found it, and the meal was excellent.
Reviewed by: Bradley H, United States of America, October 2008
Gondola ride is a must in Venice. The restaurant was very nice, and we had a great meal.
Reviewed by: Lorraine M, Canada, October 2008
The gondola ride was everything I hoped it would be, except that we never got the dinner that was supposed to be included. The "serenaders" were excellent and really helped to set the mood.
Reviewed by: Rosemary K, United States of America, October 2008
Really enjoyed the gondola ride. It was a lot of fun, and nighttime is the best--less crowed. The dinner was good, but it was hard to find the place. You want to find it before dark, that's for sure. But it's a must-do when in Venice at least once in your life. But I have to agree with one of the other reviews that a map would be very helpful...have you seen Venice?
Reviewed by: Alicia S, United States of America, September 2008
I think that since not everyone takes the dinner that you should put those that have the dinner together in a boat. We had no idea where the restaurant was and directions from the crew would have been helpful. As it turned out one of the couples in our boat was having dinner and thought they knew where the restaurant was. When we got there the proprietor wanted our vouchers, but they had already been taken by the tour people. He let us eat there anyway, but it caused some concerns.
Reviewed by: Thomas S, United States of America, September 2008
Nice, but too many people on each gondola, should be limited to four. But it was a good deal for the money. Everyone was right about having a difficult time looking for the restaurant. But people were very friendly along the way and they help indicating were to go.
Reviewed by: Anonymous, United States of America, August 2008
The gondola ride and serenade was amazing! Well worth the price! The serenade made the gondola ride. The dinner wasn't great, the food was definitely not worth the price, and not enjoyable at all. We would have preferred to have dinner somewhere else after the amazing gondola ride.
Reviewed by: Anonymous, South Africa, August 2008
