Give the gift of an unforgettable gondola ride to celebrate retirement. The experience includes photos from the tour, a bottle of Prosecco, personalized service, and a quality guarantee. For over 20 years, we’ve been organizing these very special gondola rides for our customers. We „invented“ them, so to speak. So here on our website, you’re visiting the original.
You can count on our excellent support and many years of experience. After all, this is supposed to be a very special gift. Venice.com, is the official sales platform for all of Venice's gondoliers. We work directly with the Venice Gondoliers' Consortium. We handle all gondola bookings on behalf of the gondoliers.
Highlights of the package:
- An Adventure on the Water: A 30-minute private gondola ride through the historic center, including a trip along the magnificent Grand Canal.
- Professional Photography Services: An experienced photographer from Venice will accompany your cruise from the shore to discreetly capture the most beautiful moments in high quality for posterity.
- Stylish Indulgence: A bottle of premium Prosecco awaits you on board for a toast.
- Personalized Full Service: We're here for you every step of the way. From the warm welcome at the meeting point to accompanying you to the gondola and saying goodbye, we're personally here for you.
- The big surprise: As a highlight, we'll display a banner on a bridge that can be seen from far away.
- Standard text: „Congratulations on your retirement. Enjoy your life!“
- Customization: Upon request, we can create a personalized banner for you with your own text.
Why Venice.com?
Trust the original. Venice.com is the pioneer behind this exclusive retirement celebration package. Our many years of experience and local network guarantee you a seamless experience and the professionalism that such an event requires.
Congratulatory Banner for Retirement
We will hang this banner for you on a small bridge under which the gondola ride passes. The banner will remain in our possession after the ride.
Custom Banner
Of course, we can also create a custom banner for you. Please contact us if you're interested. The company that prints our banners here in Venice, Requires approximately 4 business days' lead time. She charges €60.00 for a custom banner. The custom banner will be given to you after the ride, and you can take it home with you.
Description
Venice and its gondolas are the epitome of romance. The magic of a gondola ride through the enchanting canals of this unique city is an experience that makes hearts race.
For over 20 years, we’ve been helping people plan, prepare for, and carry out this very special moment. With great attention to detail and a knack for making things special, we ensure that your surprise turns out perfectly.
The Process: Description
Your gondola ride is guaranteed to take place right in the heart of Venice, in the San Marco district. As the tour operator, we are in direct contact with all the major gondola landing spots here. We’ll select the landing spot for you that guarantees an available gondola on your desired date.
In most cases, several gondoliers are organized into a consortium. The advantage for you is that there will definitely be a gondola waiting for you.
Once you've boarded, you'll first need to get your bearings in the gondola. You'll see for yourself that the whole thing is a bit wobbly. Which way is the back, and which way is the front? Where does the gondolier stand?
That's why the ride begins by taking you through quiet, romantic canals right in the heart of Venice. First, you can enjoy the peaceful, dreamy gondola ride together at your own leisure.
Now here comes the big surprise!
During the tour, the gondola suddenly turns left around the corner of a house and heads straight toward a small bridge. There, you'll see a banner with the message you chose. Now the big moment has arrived.
Of course, we'll hang the banner for you. Please discuss the wording with us in advance.
We'll have the banner made for you, and it will be hung on the bridge just as your gondola passes underneath. Use it to surprise the person(s) in the gondola. Of course, custom messages are also possible. It's best to address them by name.
The Emotions
That sounds like a truly magical moment—a gondola ride in Venice is already picture-perfect, but when it serves as the backdrop for a retirement celebration, it becomes the perfect memory. The idea of charmingly describing how the plan came about is clever and ensures that the magic remains entirely yours. But there’s more…
The Grand Canal and its „O Sole Mio“
With a little luck, there will be another gondola with music and a singer ahead of or behind you. You can hear him singing „O Sole Mio,“ „Volare,“ or „Che sara“ from far away through the canals. Of course, you can also book music and a singer for your own gondola. Almost anything you can imagine is possible.
You wish time would stand still right now and that the gondola ride would never end.
Good Timing
The timing of the gondola ride is precisely and perfectly planned. First, after boarding, you’ll both have a moment to relax. Only then comes the surprise moment with your retirement congratulations. This happens roughly halfway through the entire tour. So it’s neither too early nor too late, leaving you plenty of time to make the gondola ride a truly special moment.
Can you think of a better time to send congratulations?
Only the most beautiful routes
Many of our customers would like a gondola ride that goes only through the Grand Canal. However, that’s impossible. The gondoliers here don’t offer that. There are about 400 gondolas in Venice. If they all traveled through the Grand Canal, it would completely block the entire canal. Public transportation via water buses would then no longer be possible. Nor would private transportation via water taxis. And tradespeople would no longer be able to reach their customers with their boats.
The fact is: All gondola tours here in Venice take you partly along the wide, grand Grand Canal and partly along quiet, peaceful, romantic canals.
We’ve selected only the most beautiful gondola routes through Venice for you. Right in the heart of Venice’s historic center. Of course, the popular Grand Canal is also part of the route. The gondola ride along the Grand Canal is long enough for you to soak up the special atmosphere and charm, but not so long that you’re unnecessarily exposed to the smelly diesel fumes from the vaporetto and the strong waves on the canal.
Incidentally, like our other customers, you’ll especially enjoy and take in the ride through the quiet, idyllic canals and under the numerous small bridges.
Up to one week of preparation time
The photo shows the bridge with the banner. Copyright: Engelbert Steinbach
Some customers know exactly what they want. They book the ride, send us the text for the banner, pay right away, and we order the banner immediately. Then everything is taken care of within a few days.
However, there are also customers who are still undecided. They don’t yet know exactly which day or what time they want to take the gondola ride. Some customers are also still undecided about the text on the banner. This leads to several emails going back and forth between us and the customers, and valuable time slips away.
That’s because we don’t send the banner to print until payment has been received. And the company simply needs a few days to produce and deliver it. The only scheduling bottleneck is the company in Venice that prints the custom banner. Unfortunately, this has been the case for many years. Although we keep trying to speed up production, this bottleneck persists. So far, it has always been possible to secure an appointment with us and a available gondola.
Reliable Support
You can count on our excellent support and experience. After all, it’s supposed to be a truly special and beautiful moment. Venice.com is the official sales platform for Venice's gondoliers. We work directly with the Venice Gondoliers' Consortium (Gondolieritravel). We handle all gondola bookings on behalf of the gondoliers.
The Best Time of Day—The Best Light
Every gondola ride here in Venice also takes you through narrow, romantic canals. Two meters wide and three stories high. The later it gets in the evening, the darker it becomes. And in the dark, the camera’s automatic settings respond by using a wider aperture and slower shutter speeds. A wider aperture results in a shallower depth of field, and a slower shutter speed leads to blurry photos.
The later it gets, the worse the picture quality.
We strongly advise you not to start your trip too late. Here in Venice, it gets dark at the same time as it does where you live. So use the lighting conditions back home as a guide. And starting at 6:00 p.m., gondoliers charge a 20€ surcharge.
Sunset
It's best to plan the time of your gondola ride based on the sunset.
To that end, the website www.sonnenverlauf.de The following information for Venice:
Dec. 21 – 4:30:34 p.m.
Jan. 21 – 5:02:19 p.m.
February 21 – 5:46:53 p.m.
March 21 – 6:24:53 p.m.
April 21 – 8:04:57 p.m.
May 21 – 8:41:37 p.m.
June 21 – 9:03:13 p.m.
July 21 – 8:51:17 p.m.
August 21 – 8:08:13 p.m.
September 21 – 7:10:21 p.m.
October 21 – 6:15:13 p.m.
Nov. 21 – 4:35:23 p.m.
And please keep in mind: At these times of day, it's already too dark to take good pictures.
The Weather
The gondolas run year-round. In any weather. Even when it rains.
If it rains, you have the following options:
- A Ride Despite the Rain: Enjoy the ride as planned. An umbrella or a rain poncho will keep you dry and comfortable.
- A delay of a few hours: Depending on the weather forecast, you can start your trip earlier or later on the same day.
- Rescheduling to another day: You have the option of scheduling your trip a day earlier or later—depending on the weather.
- Cancellation within the specified time frame: If you decide not to take the ride, you can cancel it by the deadline.
Included in the base price: One bottle of Prosecco
A Pleasant Ride on the Gondola—Completely Legal with Venice.com
Gondoliers are still prohibited from selling bottles of Prosecco to their guests.
But we at Venice.com We have special permission: we’re allowed to give you a bottle of high-quality Prosecco to take along on your trip—for that special moment of celebration out on the water.
Since your well-being and your individual preferences are important to us, we naturally also offer a first-class non-alcoholic alternative We have it ready for you. Please feel free to discuss this with us in advance.
Important: For safety reasons, glass cups are still prohibited.
That's why your bottle comes with handy plastic cups—so you can toast in style and without a care in the world.
Prices and Included Services
The total price for this exclusive experience is 245,00 €. This includes all services for a closed group of up to 5 people.
The package includes:
Congratulatory banners: Use of our standard banner along the route.
Organization & Service: Comprehensive planning, personalized on-site support, and safe assistance with boarding the gondola.
Accompaniment & Photography: A guide on land will take photos of your ride from the bridges and sidewalks.
Exclusive Gondola Ride: Approx. 30-minute ride in a gondola reserved exclusively for you and your party (no other passengers).
Cuisine: A bottle of high-quality Prosecco to celebrate the occasion.
Memories: You will receive the photos from the entire tour conveniently by mail (on CD) afterward.
The Gondoliers' Surcharges
- There is a €20.00 surcharge for gondola rides starting at 6:00 p.m.
- €180.00 surcharge for a gondola ride with a musician and singer in your gondola during the day.
- €205.00 surcharge for a gondola ride with a musician and singer in your gondola starting at 7:00 p.m.
Would you like a no-obligation quote?
Privacy is important to us
We use your email address solely to prepare and send you the quote you requested. No spam, no sharing with third parties—we promise.
The photos we take during the gondola ride are intended solely as your personal keepsakes. We guarantee that these photos will be sent only to you and will not be used by us for promotional purposes or posted on social media platforms.
For more details, see our [Privacy Policy].