The 15 Best Private Tours in Venice

1.Murano & Burano Islands Guided Small-Group Tour by Private Boat

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 7,580 reviews · 5 hours (approx.) · from $36.28Our pick

Small-group private boat to Murano and Burano for glassblowing, handmade lace, and time to wander colorful canals.

“Our guide Frankie was friendly and knowledgeable. The highlight of the tour is the demonstration at the murano glass factory.”

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2.Murano & Burano Guided Tour by Private Boat

★★★★★★★★★★4.7 · 4,170 reviews · from $61.49

Private boat to Murano and Burano with English demos of glassblowing and lace, plus time to wander colorful island streets.

“Our guide Ellie ( Elly) was so good. Being born and raised here, she knew the answers to all our questions, and gave us a really good insight into the local culture and history, and we saw so much more of these places due to her personal experiences of living here. She was very friendly and kind, adjusted the tour to our needs, especially as we were four older people who needed a bit of time for resting now and then. She made our experience memorable. Highly recommended.”

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3.Private 3 hrs Venice Tour: St Mark’s, Walking tour & Boat tour

★★★★★★★★★★4.0 · 3,372 reviews · 3 hours (approx.) · from $480.59

Skip-the-line St Mark’s, a guided walk through Venetian backstreets, then a 1-hour Grand Canal cruise in small groups.

“The tour gave us a great introduction to the city on our first day in Venice and it helped us choose what to visit in the following days. As the St Mark's Basilica cannot be entered due to Corona regulations, our guide Cristina took us to some other very nice spots instead. For us it was just the right amount of explanations, walking, and breaks. I'd recommend the tour to anyone who visits Venice the first time.”

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4.Private Gondola Cruise for up to 5 Passengers

★★★★★★★★★★3.7 · 3,106 reviews · from $157.47

Private gondola cruise on Venice’s Grand Canal and side canals, with a 30-minute intimate ride for up to five. Day or night views.

“Excellent, mustdo while in Venice great to get the what felt like the authentic experience along the grand canal and then slipping down some of the small water ways. Great thig to tick off the bucket list and highly recommend. No hassle very simple to book, find and start.”

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5.Private Gondola Ride along Grand Canal

★★★★★★★★★★3.9 · 2,475 reviews · from $168.79

A private 30-minute gondola on Venice’s Grand Canal, plus the included Gondola Gallery and optional audio commentary in several languages.

“Andreas was friendly and gave a wonderful overview of the history of Venice and gondoliers. A must do while visiting Venice!”

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6.Private Best of Venice Walking Tour with St Mark’s Basilica

★★★★★★★★★★4.0 · 1,063 reviews · 2 hours (approx.) · from $242.05

Venice’s best of St Mark’s tour with skip-the-line Basilica entry, a guided route through quiet calle, and a small-group walk.

“Very happy we booked this tour. Meeting location was easy to find and skipping the line at St Mark’s was the way to go! Guide was very knowledgable, funny and did a great job keeping our small group together despite the weekend crowds. Learned a lot about the history of Venice!”

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7.Private tour on Murano Island: discover the art of Artisanal Glassblowing

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 965 reviews · 3 hours (approx.) · from $108.23Top rated

Private Murano tour with glassblowing demo and island walk by water taxi, plus San Donato and Burano option for artisan crafts.

“My husband and I took part in a private tour of Murano Island and a glass making demonstration. The only reason we booked a private tour was due to the times and availability of other tours. We were met at the tour office by our guide who turned out to be a sales representative at the factory store. The demonstration was very interesting. But we felt like we were set up to get the big sales push. After the demonstration we were taken through the store and then left on our own to wander around. Had to wait almost 30 minutes for a water taxi to bring us back to…”

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8.Venice Marco Polo Airport Private Arrival Transfer via Motorboat

★★★★★★★★★★4.0 · 953 reviews · 30 minutes (approx.) · from $301.71

Private motorboat transfer from Venice Marco Polo Airport to your hotel, with meet-and-greet options, up to 6 guests, about 30 minutes.

“Arrived at airport, no one here from the tour operator. Had to make our own arrangements. Need to be refunded”

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9.Private Gondola Ride

★★★★★★★★★★3.6 · 757 reviews · 20 min · from $85

Private gondola ride in Venice with a traditional gondolier, quieter canals, and easy pre-booked entry near Santa Maria del Giglio.

“Lovely gondola ride through the quiet canals, prosecco was a lovely added touch!”

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10.Private Tour with a Local Guide

★★★★★★★★★★4.6 · 718 reviews · from $62.63

Private Venice walking tour with an English local guide, meeting at your accommodation for flexible 2 to 6 hour street-smart sightseeing.

“Lidia was a great guide. She showed us the best places in Venice and a lot of curiosities about the city in a 3h tour. It is a good amount of time to see the island. I for sure recomend the tour.”

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11.Private 4hrs Venice Tour: Doge’s Palace, Grand Canal & St Mark’s

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 715 reviews · 4 hours (approx.) · from $594.96

Private Venice tour with skip-the-line Doge’s Palace and St Mark’s Basilica, plus a 1-hour Grand Canal motor-launch cruise.

“We had a fantastic afternoon in Venice. Highlighted by the 1 hour water cruise aroind Venice. I would recommend this tour to friends.”

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12.Off the Beaten Path Private Gondola Ride

★★★★★★★★★★4.3 · 703 reviews · 30 minutes - 2 hours · from $94

Glide Venice’s canals in a private gondola with a licensed gondolier. Choose 30 minutes to 2 hours for quiet views or big sights.

“Very scenic, lovely atmosphere wonderful gondolier seen the site and got engaged”

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13.Private Venice 2 hrs Tour: Boat & Walking Tour with food tasting

★★★★★★★★★★4.0 · 688 reviews · 2 hours (approx.) · from $402.49

Private 2-hour Venice boat and walking tour with Grand Canal views, back-canal wandering, and food tasting. Small groups, flexible routes.

“Fun tour of the grand canal. Our tour guide Sandro was engaged the whole trip and pointed out all the historical buildings we were passing on the way. A great way to see a brief introduction to Venice.”

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14.Exclusive Private Venice Food Tour with 6 or 10 Tastings

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 598 reviews · 2 hours 30 minutes (approx.) · from $147.53

Private Venice food tour with 6 or 10 tastings, local guide, bacari bites, spritz, cicchetti, tramezzino and gelato, about 2.5 hours.

“Giada was an amazing tour guide. She explained so much along the walk and was happy to answer questions and repeat information when requested. She made the tour very personalized and presented options to fit our dietary restrictions. We enjoyed the ability to really learn the Venetian food history as well as the area history.”

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15.Create Your Glass Artwork: Private Lesson With Local Artisan

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 556 reviews · 1h 15m · from $93

Private 75-minute Murano-style glass lesson in Venice with Massimiliano Caldarone, including a take-home piece and 10% shop discount.

“Such a fun and unique experience! We were blown away by the process and had so much fun trying it out for ourselves. He is very knowledgeable and you can tell he has so much passion for what he does”

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