Venice Private Gondola Ride on Grand Canal: Romantic & Unique Experience

The experience itself was great, but my dissatisfaction came from how the experience was listed. It described that gondolas could hold up to 5 people, but did not clearly explain that includes the two musicians. We booked intending to have our party of five enjoy the experience but were forced to only have three take the ride while the other two stayed back due to space limits. Had we known that we could only get three on there, we would've booked a different experience.

Everything went very smoothly—the starting point was easy to find, and the staff at the reception desk were very helpful and attentive to our needs. The only downside is that you don’t really know what route you’ll be taking, and I found ours to be a bit off the beaten path from the major tourist attractions. Otherwise, cruising through the small canals was absolutely charming.

We had reserved two gondolas for up to five people. We had two tickets. When we arrived, the gondolier said he did have a reservation in our name, but it was for two people. We had to argue with him. After 10 minutes and a few phone calls, we were finally able to board. However, our gondolier didn’t say a word during the ride. Still, a tip would have been appreciated. Also, book on-site—the prices are lower.

Even after checking with the customer service chat, the tour was supposed to include more than just a basic gondola ride—the kind you can get on every corner in Venice for €90. If they’re charging €130–150 here, there has to be more to it. The promised audio guide wasn’t provided, and the gondolier hardly explained anything. Overall, disappointing for the price! Unfortunately, customer service wasn’t really willing to help either.

Cicilia our Photographer was super accommodating and even took the time to show us around the square and gave us extra opportunities for photos at hidden gem locations! The whole experience was wonderful and when we finally boarded the Gondola it was fantastic! Our Captain gave us a free tour and we heard a lot of the history of Venice and Covilia took some more beautiful photos of my husband and I capturing this magical time. We would highly recommend this experience!!!