Venice Gondola Ride and Serenade with Dinner

Venice, Italy

For the quintessential Venetian experience, take a serenaded gondola ride on the canals of Venice, followed by lunch or dinner – depending on your afternoon or evening selection. You'll swoon to the magic of Venice on your 35-minute gondola ride as you coast down the Grand Canal. Then, wend your way through the city’s romantic minor canals while listening to the serenade. Enjoy a two-course meal at Hostaria Ai Coristi Restaurant, located near Teatro La Fenice (La Fenice Theater).

Likely to Sell-out! Serenaded gondola rides on the canals of Venice regularly sell out weeks in advance. Book ahead of time to avoid disappointment.

USD $100.00

Traveler Reviews

Review by:   kcthalman,    June 2018
Not at all what was promised. We arrived at the meeting point and found a line to the Gondolas, looked for our tour contact and was eventually told we could ride the gondola with our printed voucher, so we stood in line, about 20 minutes and were put on a gondola, we were in dress clothes and they filled the gondola to the point we had to sit on the steps. Thankfully we rode the gondola earlier in the day on another Viator tour and thoroughly enjoyed it, because this would have soured us on Venice. We were the lead gondola and somewhere about 6 gondolas back there was music, but we could only hear it when we were on the Grand Canal in a straight line because we were so far ahead of the music we would loose it. This was about a 20 minute gondola ride, exactly what you get for 40 Euros for a family of 4 if you walk up, stand in line and pay the Gondola. After the Gondola ride we asked about dinner and no one seemed to know where to go or anything about it. I called the company on the voucher and the number was disconnected. We never found the restaurant and ended up eating at another wonderful restaurant. Don't waste your money on this tour.

Review by:   canningidt,    June 2018
The Venice Gondola Ride and Serenade was the highlight of our Venice vacation! The 5 stars are for the Gondola ride with Serenade ONLY...NOT the dinner. When we arrived at the restaurant after the gondola ride, we presented our Viator voucher receipt to the manager/waiter. He was rude, very skeptical and accused us of giving him a Fake receipt. He wanted the voucher which the gondola ride operator had already taken PRIOR the gondola ride. He was extremely unpleasant, making us feel as though we were there for a free meal even though we paid for it several months prior when we booked this event. The waiter claimed I never received an Email from Viator about you/this reservation. After bickering with him, he finally decided to seat us. The food was fair, nothing that we would ever return to with all of the many wonderful restaurants in Venice. While eating, another couple entered the restaurant, and we witnessed the same cold reception and accusation of a Fake receipt, when they also presented their post gondola ride receipt voucher. He gave them such a difficult time, the young girl was almost reduced to tears. We intervened on their behalf and the waiter finally relented and decided to seat them as well. Viator should NOT USE the current restaurant, HOSTARIA AI CORISTI, for dinner with this tour. STOP using a restaurant that appears to be failing based on the lack of patrons inside and outside when most of the other restaurants were filled to capacity, low quality of food, and waiter/manager rude, ungrateful, and almost ruined our wonderful experience. The serenade gondola ride was great, the professional singer and musician we had was wonderful...book the other tour WITHOUT the dinner!! It is less expensive and you will not regret it.

Review by:   thomas c,    April 2018
This tour was certainly not worth the price. We were one of 7 gondolas in the group, a group of strangers. There was a serenade in the second gondola which we almost entirely could not see or hear. The ride was brief 20 mins and our boat was swamped with water in the main canal.

Review by:   Robert S,    April 2018
The only reason it go 2 stars was because the dinner was awesome. The Gondola ride itself was HORRIBLE, 8 Gondola's following the singer who was in his own boat. If you were in a back boat you could barely hear the singer and to make it worse all the Gondoliers were talking and that made it worse. Have taken a lot of tours via Viator over the years, but this by far the worse I have ever been on

Review by:   Elizabeth Z,    April 2018
It was indeed an amazing ride. The only comment I have is that the advertisement might be a little misleading thinking the dinner is close or at port, it's actually a little ways apart. But food was amazing at restaurant.

Review by:   Roxana G,    April 2018
Gift tour

Review by:   Aryn F,    April 2018
Venice navigation is a nightmare...picture Diagon alley in HP.The ride was short and they made fun of my mom. The singer was on 1 boat and the we were near to listen. The drop off point was a 10 min walk from the dinner, if you knew where to go. The best part was dinner. Food and service AMAZING.

Review by:   Tony-Erin S,    March 2018
I was not impressed. I realize they do this all day out but it was a once in a lifetime thing for me and they really should find a way to treat each guest as if they are their only guest. False advertising that each boat had musicians. I’m a travel agent and will not recommend this tour.

Review by:   colin m,    February 2018
Very romantic, like being in a movie.

Review by:   Keri B,    January 2018
Touristy activity and dinner wasn't great.

Review by:   Deketa S,    January 2018
Such an amazing experience. The food and the included restaurant was so good. Definitely bang for your buck with this tour.

Review by:   BigFish,    December 2017
WOFTAM

Review by:   cruisebabe13,    November 2017
We thought we signed up for gondola ride where we were serenaded, and then would be dropped off at restaurant. It was nothing like that. 54 people showed up, we were crammed into 9 or 10 gondolas, and only one had an accordianist and singer. We could barely hear the music that was in a boat waaaaayyyy behind ours. Additionally, our gondolier and the next one talked the whole time and made it even harder to hear music. Then they brought us back to where we started from. We asked about the included restaurant. They gave us directions to walk halfway across Venice. We got lost, kept asking people, and finally found the restaurant in an alley. THIS TOUR WAS NOT AS PORTRAYED for sure. Do not recommend it.

Review by:   Fabio Z,    November 2017
We loved the Gondola Serenade and will do it again next trip!!

Review by:   Allan J,    November 2017
The sunset gondola ride was a disaster! What we thought was a group of 6 on our boat, was also a group of 6 boats cruising together. It felt like we were on a ride at Disneyland! The singer was only in the first boat when I asked our gondolier if he was going to sing, he said, Oh I'll leave that to the professional. The gondoliers were talking to each other, not paying any attention to the passengers. There should have been someone on the dock to help passengers into and out of the boat and to steady the boat, not just the gondolier in the boat, since the boat was swaying. When boarding, the gondolier pulled on my wrist to get me in and sprained it. If my husband hadn't caught me from behind, I would have fallen in! In the gondola next to us, a woman fell face first into the gondola! Later, at dinner, we met a man who literally did the splits when trying to get out of the boat after the ride!_br/_ The dinner was fair. When we walked in, the man at the front wasn't very welcoming, and the food was just OK. He made sure that we understood that gratuity was not included, repeating that 2 or 3 times._br/_ The romantic evening that I had waited 25 years for was a joke. SAVE YOUR MONEY. This was misrepresented by Viator!

Review by:   Todd W,    November 2017
Beautiful ride with amazing seats from Viator! The serenade was fantastic and made the whole experience even better. DO THIS TOUR!!

Review by:   David R,    November 2017
From beginning to end, this was fantastic! We had a beautiful night for the gondola ride, the gentleman singing was outstanding, dinner was very good at Ristorante Ai Coristi, and the service across the board was awesome! HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

Review by:   Susan V,    October 2017
enjoyable Tour

Review by:   FERNANDA D,    October 2017
Not what I expected at all , not organized . Dinner was included , however they did not have any recollection of that . _br/_ No guidance to where the Restaurant was , difficult to get to it ._br/_ Food just ok ,nothing to write home about .

Review by:   Ken U,    October 2017
I booked this to start our 25th anniversary trip, and couldn't ask for a more romantic way. We joined another couple from England and we exchanged photos all night. The weather was perfect and we travelled on the Grand Canal and through some backcanals. Our gondolier was courteous but not talkative heard that's to be expected but one of the boats in our group of 6 gondolas had an accordion and singer, so we all enjoyed the music. Our package included a dinner after the ride at a good but not great restaurant. Order house wine wherever you go. It's less and still great!

Review by:   cynthia p,    October 2017
I AM ONLY GIVING THE GONDOLA RIDE WITH THE SERENADE THE 5 STARS!!!! IT WAS GREAT AND GOING IN THE EVENING TIME WAS VERY ENJOYABLE.. THE SUN WAS SETTING AND LOTS OF GONDOLA'S WERE OUT.. _br/_ THE GENTLEMAN THAT DID THE SINGING WAS REALLY GOOD AND YOU COULD UNDERSTAND AND IT WAS FUN.._br/_ I WOULD DO THIS AGAIN BUT WITHOUT THE DINNER AND HERE IS WHY---_br/_ AFTER THE GONDOLA RIDE THERE REALLY WAS NO GUIDE TO SEE WHO HAD THE DINNER WITH THIS BOOKING.._br/_ IT WAS LEFT UP TO ME TO FIND MY WAY TO THE RESTAURANT WHERE I WAS TO HAVE DINNER. IT TOOK ME A WHILE TO FIND THE RESTAURANT _br/_ AFTER ASKING A LOT OF PEOPLE I FINALLY FOUND THE RESTAURANT AND TO MY SURPRISE WHEN I WENT IN AND THERE WERE NO OTHER CUSTOMERS IN THIS RESTAURANT HAVING DINNER BAD SIGN. BUT I WAS SEATED AND TOLD WHAT I COULD CHOOSE AND I PICKED A PASTA DISH AND I WAS GIVEN A GLASS OF WINE WITH WATER.. THE PASTA WAS JUST OKAY.. THE WAITER'S WERE VERY NICE BUT IT WAS WEIRD TO BE THE ONLY PERSON IN THAT RESTAURANT.. MY SECOND DISH WAS SALMON BUT I ASSUMED IT WOULD COME WITHOUT THE BONES IN IT AND IT DIDN'T AND I COULDN'T EAT IT.. THE WAITER DID OFFER ME SOMETHING ELSE BUT BEING THE ONLY CUSTOMER MADE ME UNCOMFORTABLE _br/_ SO I POLITELY EXCUSED MY SELF AND LEFT.._br/_ I HOPE VIATOR DOES A BETTER JOB CHECKING OUT THE RESTAURANT THAT GOES WITH THIS TOUR AND BE SURE IT IS A QUALITY RESTAURANT THEY ARE SENDING YOU TO AND KNOW THAT THE FOOD IS QUALITY ALSO AND HAS A GUIDE THAT CAN DIRECT YOU TO THE RESTAURANT FOR THIS TOUR AND NOT LEAVE IT UP TO YOU._br/_ DEFINITELY GO FOR THE GONDOLA RIDE FOR SURE!!!! YOU CAN ALWAYS FIND A NICE RESTAURANT NEAR BY TO EAT AT AND HAVE A BETTER EXPERIENCE... _br/_ CINDY FROM NORTH CAROLINA

Review by:   libertybm,    September 2017
When it says serenade,it is not necessarily in your gondola. The boats cluster in convoy and the serenade is heard by everyone as you go around.A gondola is shared by up to 6 people. Be aware that very long lines occur and finding the restaurant is not easy. Very little assistance. Somewhat disappointing and much confusion.

Review by:   Marg K,    September 2017
A bit disappointing with the serenade - There were 4 of us gondola's and we travelled together with only 1 serenade in 1 gondola, to serenade all 4 gondolas. I expected the gondolier to be singing not go in a group.

Review by:   Marg K,    September 2017
A bit disappointing with the serenade - There were 4 of us gondola's and we travelled together with only 1 serenade in 1 gondola, to serenade all 4 gondolas. I expected the gondolier to be singing not go in a group.

Review by:   Judy H,    September 2017
Very unorganized when we arrived at the location. Was not the length of time indicated and the dinner was very poor.

Review by:   traci,    September 2017
If we could, we would give this tour zero stars. The tour operators were short and rude, the crowd line was long, the gondola ride was a joke. We were in a group of 4 boats with 6 people in each boat. The serenade was only in one of the boats that was way in the back of the procession line, so our boat could barely hear it.

Review by:   shelbert2002,    September 2017
GONDOLA RIDE 1/2 star, RESTAURANT was 4 before we needed to go._br/_ We viewed a you tube video attached to the info of this tour before making our decision. The gondola ride was overbooked, the vendor was rude and unhelpful, muttering obscenities and not communicating well with those of us in line. Our gondola drivers were so busy talking to each other that we could barely hear our singer, who was good. Our gondola navigator even flipped off someone on shore as we departed and then found amusement in attempting to T-bone another gondola. The tour took us on some smaller canals, many which had rotting smells and again our navigator stepped it up a notch causing us to rock in the boat. I would not recommend this gondola service. The restaurant was difficult to locate and we were going to bite the bullet and go elsewhere until we stumbled upon it. It had no outdoor seating as evidenced in the video but the staff were EXTREMELY nice. we did have some wine and water, but due to allergies had difficulty finding something I could eat. unfortunately since our ride was so terrible I was feeling unwell and we needed to leave before we could order dinner. We both felt the video was a big sham and not the romantic and authentic Venetian experience we both thought we purchased. The description of this tour was even less helpful.

Review by:   Dewald R,    September 2017
The staff was friendly. The tour was not described properly. This is several gondolas filled with 6 visitors each and then one gondola with a singer steering in front. Please note the man steering the gondola does not sing. Dinner afterwards was good.

Review by:   Geoff P,    September 2017
This most disappointing poorly organised rip off experienced_br/_ Shoved into a boat to_br/_ Make up numbers not even siting together , the seranade was pityfiul and could not be heard , one singer for seven_br/_ Boats_br/_ The gondola manager was rude and disinterested about where we where to go for a meal even

Review by:   Maria C,    September 2017
I thought that we were taking a gondola ride to and from dinner, instead we took a gondola ride with several other gondolas around the river and through the town area - it was very nice - the singer, who was great, was in a different boat, but you could hear him the whole time._br/_ If you have the dinner scheduled make sure that you get your voucher stamped_br/_ You are dropped off at the same location that you load the boats from._br/_ We were confused as to where the restaurant was and had to ask for the actual location once we got off the boat, the restaurant was about a 15 min walk away._br/_ Your provided a tour menu of 2 separate dishes to choose from and not given the regular dinner menu, the food and service was good.

Review by:   gorringe_gang,    September 2017
We enjoyed our gondola ride very much. Would recommend to anyone .

Review by:   krisgary1,    September 2017
There were 8 boats. We were not able to even hear the serenade. They go single file down the waterways which makes about 150 behind the singer. The dinner way alright however, no one tells you where it is or explains that you are on your own to find it. We assumed from the way it was marketed that the gondola ride would take us to the location. We have to map it and walk 20 minutes to find it.

Review by:   Tammy J,    August 2017
Great Ride on the river, Dinner was just ok

Review by:   Michelle E,    August 2017
This is the second time I have done this journey in 4 years. Something was very different about the whole thing. Not as much fun, not as long, and this time, we chose the dinner afterwards. Frankly, wish we had not bothered. It took forever to find the restaurant and when we did, it was as if we were invaders even though there were only 3 couples in the whole place. At the end the waiter reminded us that the service was not part of the voucher!_br/_ Very disappointing especially after such a wonderful experience four years ago.

Review by:   curren.krishnan,    August 2017
I definitely recommend a gondola ride and overall that portion was good. But it was a little disorganized when they got us in the gondolas and we had to share ours with strangers which can be a little odd as you are all packed in pretty close. The serenade was fun. You pretty much have to find the restaurant yourself after they drop you off they don't tell you that so it is really two separate things ride and dinner and neither company coordinates with each other. So my recommendation is to avoid this package deal and consider booking a private gondola ride if possible.

Review by:   James S,    August 2017
The area where the ride took off from was east to find. the head person was not very helpful. We had a nice ride for 30 minutes. hint 1 singer per group of 5 gondolas. When we asked where the restaurant was , we were casually waved down there. We had to walk 10-15 minutes asking along the way where it was.Food was fair and waiter was overworked and slightly surly. all in all a Fair. Should have had the ride end at the restaurant!

Review by:   Michael T,    May 2017
Looking at the entire package you probably get a decent value on the gondola ride factoring in the dinner portion as gondola rides by themselves are 80 euro all over the city. When you board the boats you get in groups of 4-5 boats with a singer in one of them. We were put in the last boat and could not really hear the singer. Dinner at the restaurant was okay as well, it was a bit hard to find the restaurant even with google maps. We both enjoyed the pasta but neither of us enjoyed the main meat dishes we ordered chicken and veal.

Review by:   Loretta K,    May 2017
The tour was amazing it was my birthday so a fantastic way to celebrate it._br/_ I always recommend Vistor to all my friends and anyone who asks what to do on vacation. _br/_ Viator made my 65th birthday special._br/_ Thank you _br/_ Loretta Keesee- ohio

Review by:   Jane G,    April 2017
It was a great Ride with a Gondola Group a bit away from the square and big crowds ! The trip with the serenade was very special and well done. We enjoyed the short walk from the square to the Gondola station. The dinner was was amazing in a small family owned restaurant. Great service, great food. The only small thing would be some better directions to the restaurant from the Gondola. It really was a 5 minute walk, but took us 30 minutes to find. However being lost in Venice is part of the experience as we learned in our few days there :-. Thank you ! Would recommend to anyone !

Review by:   Dolph L,    April 2017
All in all a good time little issue finding the restaurant after the Gondola ride.

Review by:   Dolph L,    April 2017
All in all a good time little issue finding the restaurant after the Gondola ride.

Review by:   Emma A,    April 2017
It was very misleading. The serenade is not for individuals. There was one guy singing for like seven boats. The ride consist of literally going around the block with not much to see. The food at the end was horrible and the fish didn't smell fresh.

Review by:   Cushla,    April 2017
The Gondola ride and singer were only OK but the dinner made up for it, hard to find the restaurant, (you might want to check out where it is first) but well and truly worth the effort when you get there

Review by:   lkitt,    April 2017
Amazing!!!! There were around 10 gondolas travelling with 6 tourists in each with a singer and a gentleman playing the accordion in the lead. We toured around the grand canal and then down the lagoons while being serenaded. So much fun ... an absolute must do when in Venice. Dinner was delicious. A perfect way to end our visit to Venice.

Review by:   Asad L,    April 2017
How can I forget this lovely ride, it was magical just like the entire venice. The shared gondola ride was just amazing and the people whom I shared this ride with were all mature and lovely. The dinner however was not as great as I would have expected. Except for the wine, which was great, the vegetable soup and salmon in the main course were just average, nothing to write home about.

Review by:   jasonbrack,    March 2017
The Gondola ride was really enjoyable but the Serenade was not on our boat. We just pulled up to another Gondola who had someone singing on it. The dinner was very nice but we were not aware that the restaurant was so far away and you could not eat immediately after the ride, we had to wait 2 hrs. In the end not the end of the world but it would have been preferred to have the location of the restaurant and time of dinner stated on the voucher so we could have planned better.

Review by:   Reynie A,    February 2017
We did the Gondola Ride at 3:30PM, completed around 4:15PM. We did not get any good directions nor a voucher for the restaurant. We arrived at the restaurant around 4:45PM because it was difficult to locate, and the restaurant was closed. We waited until 5:15PM and it was still closed. We had prearrange plans for after the dinner, so could not wait longer. Very disappointed, ruined our anniversary evening!

Review by:   Di,    January 2017
This was the most cheesy, romantic, wonderful experience! I highly recommend it!

Review by:   Richard A,    January 2017
We were late and unable to redeem our voucher at that the time, but the Viator vendor worked with us and allowed us to redeem for the next the day without any penalty or extra cost. Thanks a lot for understanding. I suggest not being late though, arrive at least 15minutes early._br/_ Adriano, our gondolier was most entertaining and very knowledgeable about Venice. Showed us some of the more ancient buildings and even where some of Venice elite live.

Review by:   Bryan T,    January 2017
The gondola ride was excellent, and the singer was great, but the dinner was a bit mediocre. If I were to do this again, I would probably just go for the ride with the serenade.

All Traveler Reviews...