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.
When this excursion was finished, my wife and I both said how fortunate we were to have experienced something so beautiful and unforgettable. Every turn in the canals is like a painting to behold. The singer and accordian player set the mood, and made the gondola ride thrilling. This vacation was to celebrate our 35th wedding anniversary. This gondola ride, serenade and dinner were a beautiful, romantic way to end our vacation. Thank you Viator for delivering what you said you would.
Reviewed by: Daniel F, United States of America, August 2009
This was worth the whole trip to Venice. Gondoliers and singer were wonderful.
Reviewed by: Earl R, United States of America, June 2009
The gondola ride and serenade was beautiful, everything we expected it to be. I'd advise just doing the gondola on its own as the restaurant included in the dinner package wasn't great. It was a French restaurant, and the wine list was one of the most expensive we saw in Venice. The food was OK, but we felt there were many other restaurants in the area where we would have had a nicer, more affordable Italian meal. All in all though, the gondola ride is a must do! The singer and accordion player made it perfect.
Reviewed by: Anonymous, Australia, June 2009
Gondolas and Venice go together to cement a magic picture, and the serenade made it all the more special. The restaurant served excellent food in a great atmosphere. My wife and I had a great night.
Reviewed by: James P, Australia, June 2009
We did this on the first evening in town and it set the tone for the whole week. Excellent! A problem was that the gondolier did not know anything about escorting the group to the restaurant. It was a good thing that we had a map and went on our own with another couple to the restaurant. The restaurant owners knew about the tour and accommodated us without problem. Besides that, the food was superb! The spaghetti with clams was the best we found in the city.
Reviewed by: Jane B, United States of America, April 2009
Great planned night-out.
Reviewed by: Anonymous, United States of America, January 2009
We four women traveling together did this the last evening of our two-week vacation. I thought it would be cheesy, but it was wonderful. The music was fantastic - our serenader had a terrific voice, and he was accompanied by an accordionist. The sounds going through all the small canals were incredible. Although we had a little trouble finding the restaurant and asked for help at several hotels and restaurants along the way, it was worth it. We made new friends from Vancouver and Washington, DC, and had a wonderful meal together. We highly recommend this to anyone and would definitely do it again. Remember to print out TWO confirmations - one for the gondola ride and one for the restaurant. Have fun!!!!!
Reviewed by: Susan B, United States of America, November 2008
I selected this tour because of all the wonderful reviews. It is a MUST DO when in Venice overnight. The place to meet the gondolas itself was worth the experience. A gondola parking lot on the side of a square deep in the maze of Venice. We paddled through the various canals as an operatic singer sang to us in Italian. MAGICAL!!!! We passed by people eating dinner who were thrilled to share the experience with us. The singer was accompanied by an accordion player, which was a huge addition, but honestly, this guy was great!!!! The entire experience was WORTH EVERY EURO!!
I do have one not so good comment. I was under the impression that the total passengers in a gondola was 6, but we had 8. Isn't a big deal, but want to be honest.
Dinner is in a small restaurant, a treasure hunt from the gondola dock. I love the labyrinthine style of Venice, so I appreciated the mission. But you need to be savvy and on your game to find it. We were seated in the corner below very dusty bottles of wine that clearly hadn't moved for years. The service was wonderful and gracious, and the food was excellent.
We loved the gondola ride, it's actually great fun to ride in the flotilla and have the serenade alongside you. It is also a much more value for money way of enjoying a gondola experience. We were on the 7.30 pm gondola which was lovely as we experienced the sun setting and Venice becoming lit up as we sailed round. The local tour company were also extremely helpful as we were due to do the tour the evening before but missed our flight, but they just changed the tour over to the following night for us. The restaurant is very difficult to find! We knew this from previous reviews so printed off several maps, including the one from their website but still struggled to find it!! The food was delicious though and we got a four course meal when we had only been expecting two. We would definitely recommend that anyone going to Venice take advantage of this tour.
Reviewed by: Catriona G, United Kingdom, September 2008
Gondola ride was fantastic. Our gondolier was very funny and entertaining. We had a good group, BELLISIMO!!
Reviewed by: Rose T, Australia, August 2008
The gondola ride was excellent. We made some new friends with a family on our gondola ride and ended up sharing dinner with them. The service at Hostaria Ai Coristi was impeccable and the food melted in my mouth. I would highly recommend this tour. Scout out how to get from the gondola to dinner as it is confusing trying to find the restaurant from the gondola.
Reviewed by: Chris P, United States of America, August 2008
Everything was great! I would do it again. Be sure to scout out the restaurant location ahead of time. It's quite a ways from the gondola dock and can be difficult to find.
Reviewed by: Calvin H, United States of America, August 2008
The gondolier singer was good. This was something that had I not read other reviews, I would've been disappointed. But I knew what to expect, so everything was pretty good.
Reviewed by: David H, United States of America, July 2008
It was wonderful. Instructions were very clear about how to find the gondola ride. The gondola ride was about forty five minutes. The music was wonderful. One comment: you could include a small map on how to find the restaurant, as Venice can be very confusing. The meal was wonderful. Thanks for a great experience.
Reviewed by: Mel C, United States of America, June 2008
We were very happy with this tour. Our 35 minute gondola ride was actually one hour long, not bad at all. We traveled in a fleet of at least 6 gondolas through the Grand Canal and smaller but very beautiful side canals. As you'll read in the description of this experience the gondola is shared with two other couples, but it was still fun and definitely worth the cost. Dinner was also very good. Considering Venice dinner prices this trip was worth it just for the meal. We would do it again without hesitation. My only recommendation is that you figure out how to get to the restaurant before the gondola ride and before sunset. When we asked for simple directions on how to walk to Hostaria Ai Coristi the previously very friendly gondolier became very very aggressive, abrasive and was less than helpful that's being polite. But, once we wandered around for about 30 minutes on our own we were able to find the restaurant and the service there was very good. Overall, it was a very good experience, well worth the cost.
Reviewed by: Anonymous, United States of America, May 2008
