Gondola Rides & Days Out: 15 Worth the Fare

1.Venice Walking Tour and Gondola Ride

★★★★★★★★★★3.5 · 3,630 reviews · 2 hours 9 minutes to 2 hours 27 minutes (approx.) · from $72Our pick

Start near St. Mark’s Square with a guided walk through Venice’s back streets, passing La Fenice, Scala del Bovolo, and the Rialto area. Then take a 30-minute gondola ride through the Grand Canal and smaller canals. Guides such as Nadia, Christina, Elena, Francesca, and Federica have earned praise for clear, lively storytelling.

“Our guide was a real gem! He was so knowledgeable, always sprinkling in fun facts and light humor. Lots of fun!!”

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2.Venice In a Day: St Mark’s, Doges Palace Gondola Ride & City Tour

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 3,588 reviews · 6 hours (approx.) · from $124Top rated

Walk from Rialto Bridge to the fish market, ride a shared gondola through the Grand Canal and back canals, then tour St. Mark’s Basilica and Doge’s Palace with an English-speaking guide. The 8:30am option lasts about six hours, includes a break, and limits the group to 20 people.

“What do you hope for on a tour? Your money’s worth, with interesting sites, and a knowledgable guide. Robbie/Roberta was exactly this, with the added flair of being an open, honest, engaging, and humorous local. If I could have Robbie as a guide everywhere, I would never stop traveling. In addition to detailed knowledge about the specified sites, she also provided insight to various random sites, answered any questions we had, and had intimate knowledge of the city in which she lives. The tour itself was very well organized with privileged access to the sites /activities mentioned. Our money was well spent.”

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3.Doge’s Palace and St Mark’s Tour with Gondola Ride

★★★★★★★★★★4.6 · 677 reviews · 3.5 - 9.5 hours · from $46

See Venice’s gilded basilica and the grand halls of Doge’s Palace with an English-speaking guide, then take a 30-minute shared gondola ride for up to five people. Guides such as Marco, Grazia, Elena, and Nico are praised for clear stories and humor. Choose the longer option to add Murano glassmaking and Burano lace.

“This tour was fantastic. The guide was very informative about the history and complimented this with a friendly and entertaining personality.I would highly recommend if you want to see the sights and get a great local feel of the history of Venice”

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4.St. Mark’s Basilica Tour with Priority Entrance + Gondola

★★★★★★★★★★4.7 · 643 reviews · 45 min · from $69

Enter St. Mark’s Basilica through a priority entrance with an English-speaking local guide. In about 45 minutes, you’ll learn how Venice’s golden mosaics, symbols, and artworks tell the city’s story. Guides such as Lara, Rita, and Francesca are praised for clear explanations and humor. Add the optional gondola ride when booking.

“Lara was an excellent guide including sufficient historical context yet keeping the interest up and your moving. Highly recommended her!”

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5.Gondola Tour under the Bridge of Sighs & Audio Guide

★★★★★★★★★★3.9 · 617 reviews · 30 - 50 minutes · from $42

Join a shared gondola near Saint Mark’s Square for a 30-minute ride through Venice’s canals and lagoon. You’ll pass beneath the Bridge of Sighs when weather and tide allow, while an app explains nearby buildings. Choose standard seating for up to five people, or add an introductory walk with a bilingual English and Spanish guide.

“Amazing gondolero that explained even when it was not included !”

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6.City Center Walking Tour & Iconic Gondola Ride

★★★★★★★★★★4.3 · 500 reviews · 3 hours · from $63

Spend three hours with a local guide such as Valentina, Paula, or Francesco, walking from San Marco through lesser-known calli and campi to Rialto, then enjoy a 30-minute gondola ride and a Venice-themed VR presentation. Expect a moderate amount of walking, a possible bilingual tour, and a gap before the boat ride.

“It was good. Although it would have been better if there were written information of the places we were seeing. Walking and listening at the same time tends to be a little distracting”

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7.St. Mark’s Basilica Guided Tour with Venice Canals Gondola Ride

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 467 reviews · from $80

Walk through Venice with an English-speaking guide, enter St. Mark’s Basilica with reserved access, and finish with a 30-minute shared gondola ride. You’ll see Rialto, Marco Polo’s former home, the Bridge of Sighs, Santa Maria della Salute, Fenice Opera House, and quiet canals near Santa Maria Formosa.

“My Guide, “Monica” was excellent! She was probably one of the best Guides I’ve ever had with Viator. You’ll love this tour!”

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8.Walking Tour and Shared Gondola Ride

★★★★★★★★★★4.1 · 466 reviews · 2 hours · from $75

Spend two hours with a live guide exploring Venice’s churches, palaces, alleys, and quieter squares, then share a 30-minute gondola ride for up to five people. Guides speak English, Italian, French, German, or Spanish. An app-based audioguide provides commentary on the water.

“Myself and my two daughters had an amazing guide who knows Venice inside out. We occassionally had slight difficulty hearing our guide through our personal audios. The backstreets of Venice are both peacefuland beautiful. The tour finished with a wonderful gondola ride which was the highlight of our trip to Venice.”

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9.Secret Venice & Gondola Tour

★★★★★★★★★★4.3 · 458 reviews · 2 hours · from $71

Starting near San Marco, a multilingual guide leads you through quiet piazzas, canal-side lanes, San Fantin Church, La Fenice, and Palazzo Contarini del Bovolo. Guides such as Andre, Mateo, Monica, and Francesca have made this tour especially engaging. You finish with a shared 30-minute gondola ride, though some departures run closer to 20 minutes.

“the walking tour was very informative and the gondola ride was icing on the cake”

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10.Welcome to Venice Group Tour St. Mark’s Basilica & Gondola Ride

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 435 reviews · 3 hours (approx.) · from $81

Spend three hours exploring Venice with an English-speaking guide such as Alessandro, Roberta, Filippo, or Valentina. Walk from Rialto through Castello, visit Acqua Alta bookstore, enter St. Mark’s Basilica with reserved access, then ride a gondola for about 30 minutes. It is a brisk, useful first look at Venice for visitors short on time.

“Filippo made this tour a fun and truly enjoyable way to see and learn about Venice. He was both informative and funny and had a good knowledge of the history of the city. We definitely recommend this tour.”

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11.Doge’s Palace Guided Tour with Optional Gondola Ride

★★★★★★★★★★4.6 · 362 reviews · 2 - 2.5 hours · from $81

Meet your English-speaking guide beneath the winged lion in St. Mark’s Square for a two-hour tour of Venice’s Doge’s Palace, Bridge of Sighs, and New Prisons. Guides such as Claire, Christina, Sara, and Alessandro are praised for lively storytelling. Add a 30-minute shared gondola ride for a classic canal view.

“Really good introduction to Venice, lots of general Venice history as well as information specific to Doge's palace”

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12.St. Mark’s Basilica and Gondola Morning Tour

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 351 reviews · 1.5 hours · from $99

Start at 10:45 with a multilingual guided visit to St. Mark’s Square and Basilica, including the terrace and advertised access to the famous horses. After several free hours, return at 3:00 for a 30-minute shared gondola ride. Bring your voucher twice, dress modestly, and leave large bags behind.

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13.St. Mark’s, Doge’s Palace, Rialto, and Gondola Tour

★★★★★★★★★★4.7 · 320 reviews · 30 minutes - 6 hours · from $46

Join an English-speaking guide for Venice’s essential sights: timed entry to St. Mark’s Basilica and Doge’s Palace, a walk to Rialto, and a 30-minute shared gondola ride. The full option lasts up to six hours, while a gondola-only choice takes 30 minutes. Guides such as Marco, Roberta, and Elena bring local stories and practical tips.

“Great tour with entertaining and informative guide. Well organized tour. We were able to skip the lines at both the Basilica di Marco and Doge's Palace. The guide included a great deal of insight to the history of Venice. The six hour tour included about two hours for lunch and free time.”

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14.Venice Walking Tour and Gondola Ride Combo

★★★★★★★★★★4.4 · 266 reviews · 3 hours · from $80

Join an English, Spanish, French, or German guide for a 1.5-hour walk from St. Mark’s Square to the Rialto area, then take a 30-minute gondola through Venice’s smaller canals. You’ll see Marco Polo’s former home, the Mercerie, La Fenice, and Basilica della Salute. Winter tours are bilingual, and the gondola has no commentary.

“Our tour guide Gina was amazing. She was funny yet informative. Would recommend.”

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15.Private Tour: Venice Gondola Ride with Serenade

★★★★★★★★★★4.0 · 207 reviews · 30 minutes (approx.) · $439 per gondola, seats up to 3

Take a private gondola from central Venice through the Grand Canal and quieter side canals, with a licensed gondolier and live Italian serenade. The ride lasts about 30 minutes and visits views near Peggy Guggenheim, Accademia Bridge, Santa Maria della Salute, and Palazzo Barbarigo. Confirm the meeting point and group price before booking.

“We had some difficulty finding the meeting point and the correct person to talk to. The information provided is not perfectly correct and we did become a little frustrated and anxious that we would miss our timeslot. I do think this could be easily rectified by the provider. However once we had successfully checked in the activity was seamless…. It was everything you would expect it to be, my husband was mildly amused at the cheese factor of it all, but in all honesty all the other gondola’s passengers were taking videos of our’s instead! I think the music makes the ride so much more fun and romantic, both the…”

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