Tours, sightseeing tours, activities & things to do | Viator.comVenice Gondola Ride and Serenade with Dinner
based on 80 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.
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, 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, 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, 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, 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, May 2008
A must-do while in Venice. The music and gondola captain were quite entertaining. Quite fun. We felt Viator should have a detailed map of how to get to the restaurant, though.
Reviewed by: Faye S, United States, May 2008
However, we were not aware that we needed to have two vouchers one for the Gondola and one for the dinner. Unfortunately the gondolier was quite rude to us and we felt embarrassed by the way he spoke to us in front of the other tourists. Once we were on the gondola we had a magical experience.
Reviewed by: Phil D, Australia, November 2007
This was the highlight of the entire trip. Five gondolas traveled together...one held an accordionist and a marvelous male singer whose voice echoed across the water. Venetian residents were out on their balconies and on the bridges to listen. The gondolas turn into impossibly narrow canals, and you get to see the private homes! The dinner was excellent also. I highly recommend this treat. I fell in love with Venice and would go back tomorrow.
Reviewed by: Doris J, United States, November 2007
We followed the suggestions that we read on the website. Arrive early, bring two vouchers, and we were delighted. The 50 minute ride gave us a great view and the music never stopped. We were equally impressed with the restaurant and its friendly, order right off the menu service.
Reviewed by: Thomas B, United States, October 2007
This is a really great thing to do. There were 6 in each gondola, and we went in a flotilla of about 4 gondolas. This was great as I fancied a gondola ride but with just the two of us and the 'driver' it would have been a bit quiet. It was really atmospheric, the tenor we had was REALLY good. The restaurant was very good - quite high end food, you get a starter OR primi platti, a platti secondi and a desert 3 courses. But no restriction on each one and it WAS delicious. Try the spaghetti 'beatrice' style if it's on. My steak was perfectly rare as I wanted and was melt-in-the-mouth. We will highly recommend this to anyone going to Venice!
Reviewed by: Richard K, Ireland, October 2007
Very well organised. This is not a private Gondola but its still worth doing and its value for money, there is also music playing as you travel down the canals. The meal was also very nice you can chose anything of the menu which is included in the price but the drinks are quite expensive so its recommended to have a few drinks elsewhere first but the surroundings are very romantic.
Reviewed by: Darren P, United Kingdom, October 2007
It was our last night in Venice, and it brought our vacation to a fabulous end. The ride was great and the food was delicious and the service was exceptional.
Reviewed by: Ronald L, United States, October 2007
