Grand Canal: Tours & Tickets

Venice was a truly amazing city to visit. From the beautiful views to the gondola ride we thoroughly enjoyed our time there. However, there are a few points that were misleading; Surprised that the tour guide only got us to the train station and left us to ride on our own to get there. We had to meet another guide when we got off who was hard to find - he wasn’t easy to spot in the crowds. After the water taxi ride, we were then passed to another guide for a walking tour of Venice and skip the line of St Marks - this element of the trip was lovely and enjoyable. What shocked us was we were then handed our return train tickets, water taxi pass and told we had to find our way back to the station, board the correct train and get off at Florence - the train was headed for Rome! It gave us 3 hours to explore Venice. This was not made clear during the itinerary. we booked this for the added security of them getting you back home. We got home with no issues but felt abandoned at the end.

A really good tour with a great guide. Disappointing after a ‘luxury’ speedboat was advertised to find a plain old average water taxi was used. Definitely not luxury as the advertising and ticket guaranteed. We felt misled and particularly as there are some more luxurious water taxis in Venice than the two used in our tour. The first was very average and small which ferried the group to the island to go up the bell tower. The second boat for the remainder of the tour was also not a luxury speedboat. One other disappointing factor was the advertised tour set a maximum of 9 persons but 10 were booked. For the price of this tour what is advertised and promised should be met. A really good tour that could have been great if the boat was as advertised and the stipulated maximum number stuck to.

The tour was described well. The meeting spot was easy to find. The cost was affordable for a family to take a gondola ride. Expect to get a ride and not a description of where you are or what you are seeing. The gondolier did not speak to us at all but overall this was a fun experience.

We loved this. Great food and service and a special experience. We would have liked to be told which islands and parts of Venice we were passing, to enhance the experience. The waiters did point out some landmarks for us when we asked.

Giovanna was an excellent guide, very informative and very friendly. This was a great experience, it is worth every penny. We had a taste of wonderful food and wine as well an explanation of local history and customs.