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    Old World Gondoliers

    4.9 (21 reviews)
    Closed 12:00 pm - 8:00 PM

    Services - Old World Gondoliers

    Boat charters

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    Indiana Central Canal and Fresco Cafe near where you check in and board
    Ann C.

    We scheduled a gondola ride with two other couples for our anniversary weekend. Unfortunately the weather did not cooperate but Jeff from Old World Gondoliers called us that morning to work with us on our options. He gave us choices on rescheduling for the gondola or we could take the covered cocktail yacht. We choose the yacht. We arrived early and because of the approaching inclement weather they were able to board us right away. Massimo was our gondolier and he was an excellent host with an amazing voice! The scenery combined with Massimo's serenades was so relaxing. Everyone with Old World Gondoliers was friendly and accommodating and we all had a great time. What a unique experience in the middle of Indiana! On a side note, Fresco cafe is located near the boarding area and you can purchase Italian beer or drinks to take on board if you choose.

    Hannah H.

    What a fun and unique experience! My family came to Indy for the weekend, and we booked an afternoon ride. We were nervous it would be canceled due to a forecast of rain/wind, and we were thrilled that they called us in the morning to ask if we would like to move our ride to earlier in the day to have better weather. Great service! Massimo was our gondolier, and he had an absolutely incredible voice. We loved the ride, and I would 10/10 recommend requesting Massimo!

    Christin C.

    5/5 stars for the time spent learning some history and listening to Mossimo's beautiful voice. He even sang Happy Birthday to me and my sisters. The views on the canal can't be beat.

    Our afternoon view
    Matt S.

    Absolutely incredible. Unique and entertaining, yet also romantic and with such an authentic Italian feel, we almost forgot we were still here in Indiana. The ride was perfect and 60 minutes provided just the right amount of time to enjoy each other's company and a bottle of wine. Customer service from the entire team went far beyond my expectations. This will become a new summer tradition for us and I hope others take advantage of this Indy experience. We were fortunate to have Matteo and wouldn't have changed anything about our afternoon with Old World Gondoliers.

    Riding on the Gondola

    Dante was absolutely amazing. He really made the experience live not only with the singing of songs but the history of the canal and area. I've lived in Indianapolis my whole life and didn't know the interesting facts he mentioned. Very easy access to the Gondola and parking close by. Would recommend to friends and family for special occasions. Truly made my wife and I day special.

    View from our boat on the Canal in Indy
    Jane B.

    What a lovely evening we had celebrating with friends their engagement. Floating on the boat on the Canal in Indy was a real treat. Romantic, Festive and Fun. Our captain had an amazing voice and was very personable. We took the 75 minute ride with 8 other friends. A nice night celebrating and making memories. Highly recommended.

    Brian M.

    I was able to check this company out today durning a Yelp event. Didja know that there use to be 10000 gondoliers in Italy and now there are only 600 around the world? Didja know that only about 60 of those gondoliers will still sing that beautiful Italian music? Didja know that some of those singing gondoliers are right here in Indianapolis Indiana? Yep, we got'em and the trip is awesome, peaceful, informative, friendly, comfortable. It is an awesome date night thing to do in Indy! I want to one back with my wife for a romantic trip down the canal!

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    Thank you so much for coming and we’re glad you had a wonderful time.

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    Ask the Community - Old World Gondoliers

    Review Highlights - Old World Gondoliers

    This will become a new summer tradition for us and I hope others take advantage of this Indy experience.

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    Wheel Fun Rentals - Canal Walk

    Wheel Fun Rentals - Canal Walk

    (28 reviews)

    Mile Square

    We rented a swan. The renting process was organized and…read morestraightforward. Paid $44 for an hour. It was a warm day and I liked that they had cold soft drinks and ice cream at the stand. I am only 5' and I felt like short people like me were not taken into account when this swan was designed :( I sat in the front to pedal, but i felt like I was too short for it. Had to kinda lean back to stretch my legs more to be able to pedal, which wasn't very comfortable to keep doing for an hour. If you are much taller than me, you'd have more fun comfortably for sure. So I probably won't do it again unless I am with someone who's willing to pedal. They do however have kayaks as well, which I am interested in trying. Overall, good customer service and fun downtown experience.

    I always wanted to take a ride in the swan shaped paddle boats on the canal in downtown Indy. They…read morelooked like great fun. We decided to take our granddaughters as a special treat. We arrived early - they open at 10:00. A standard boat is $42 for and hour of riding, plus tip. Check in was easy, after signing release. The kids were required to wear life vests, which was good. However, the vests that are provided were filthy looking, despite being wiped down after each use. The clerk wiped water that had acclimated overnight in the boat, but there was still dirty water in the wheel well. She gave us instructions, guidance on tight bridges and options to tour. The canal is a lovely ride filled with large gold fish, ducks and lined with flowers and historical buildings. We had a hard time steering the boat. It would turn fine left but it was hard to turn right. When we had to maneuver around gondolas parked in the canal, we got stuck. We were pretty frustrated with the steering. After 30 minutes we decided to give up and return the boat. We were able to get the boat back ok. We did not complain, but probably should have. There was something wrong with the boat. The clerk did not ask us if we had a problem. My advice would be to run a short test with the boat before going down the canal to make sure steering works. Our experience was not worth the $45 that we paid.

    Saxony Lake & Beach - Walkway and parking

    Saxony Lake & Beach

    (20 reviews)

    Besides the fact it was a perfectly beautiful sunny day, this was not worth the gas to drive here,…read moremuch less the $7 each to get in. It is definitely not a lake, but a decent size pond. You are not allowed past thigh deep in the water unless you pay an extra $10 an hour to do the obstacle course. Also, parking is not clearly marked. Small kids did seem to have a good time, so it might be worthwhile for families with little ones. Since Fishers residents get in free, it might also be a good dunning spot for you. They do allow outside food and coolers, if you want to pack a lunch, and offer coolers with drinks for sale at an inflated price. If you do decide to go, make sure to fill out the waver online ahead of time.

    I went by my self to try this place before I brought any grandkids. 1 + is that you are allowed to…read morebring in outside food coolers and toys of floaties basically all the stuff that you would want to bring with you and I do suggest you do so. I asked if there was a place where they do sell drinks and snacks and I was told they do over by the Porta Potty but I really didn't see anywhere that these items were being sold Maybe there was someone back in the kayak shed they had those things available but I would just recommend you bring your own. They only have porta potty available which I personally not a fan of. The Sandy Beach area where I was laying had so many bees and wasps. I happen to have some bug spray in my bag so sprayed myself and the area where I was laying at and my towels in an effort to keep them away. Worked for short amount of time. The sand is very hard and uncomfortable. Bring chairs. It's $7 per person to get in if you're not a fisher's resident if your Fisher's resident it's free and probably more affordable if you have the group of kids because it is $10 extra for an hour of the kayak use and $10 extra to go beyond the roped area probably because they have this inflated play area that's tethered outside that roped area. They have a lifeguard on duty. Fill out the waiver before you go. If you have the money and bring your own food and drinks it could be a nice little outing for the family. If your not a resident of fishers though I'm sure there are more enjoyable options for $7, $10 or $27 per person. Also be prepared to bring cartloads to be able to enjoy or be comfortable.

    Frank's Paddlesports Livery - View of the White River from Frank's

    Frank's Paddlesports Livery

    (9 reviews)

    I always love getting the opportunity to go for a kayak with Frank's Livery!…read more The staff are friendly and informative. They make sure you are comfortable before heading out on the water! We rented kayaks and they loaded them up in the van and drove us to the drop off point. It was a lovely day to float on the river with friends. The staff were there at the end point to help us out and make sure we had all of our belongings. Looking forward to the next opportunity I have to get back here!

    I've had a few adventures with Frank's Paddlesports Livery now and it's one of my favorite things…read moreto be able to kayak around Indy! Their base is located near the 30th street bridge, and offer transport to a couple launch locations around Rocky Ripple. This is a great group outing since the transportation is in passenger vans for 9-10(?) people. They offer single and tandem kayaks, along with standup paddle boards and canoes. I have only rented the single occupant vessels and I typically pay around $50 or so after taxes and such for 5 mile trips. I consider this pretty good value since they take care of all the logistics for you, then you and crew just show up. They have reduced rates if you have your own vessel, since they provide transport for that. I've been here on group outings organized by Frank's, but also We Walk Indy, Women Who Explore, and Pink Paddle Club have organized outings here. All the staff I've encountered over the years are super friendly. My most recent outing was their first public outing on Fall Creek. The conditions were quite nice and the guides on the trip were helpful in navigating the small rapids. You can be sure to find me here every now and again when the weather is right!

    Just Add Water Boats - Boat

    Just Add Water Boats

    (21 reviews)

    On my first visit the salesman was extremely helpful in taking me to the boats I had found on their…read morewebsite and wanted to see. He pointed out things wrong with two of the boats. One boat had some severe scape marks along a corner weld that I could not see from the photos. He advised me to keep looking and keep checking their inventory as it is updated daily, if needed, and usually they had additions to their pre-owned inventory weekly. But after two months of checking I'm not seeing much new inventory. On one of those two boats we opened the bow storage compartments and the stench of cat urine was overwhelming. The sales person said there was a family of cats living in it. Combined with a nasty scrape on the hull's corner weld the salesman said the boat would probably never sell. However, it did sell about a month later. I wanted to buy that boat and I was going to suggest they rip out the carpet to get rid of the smell. But I was too late, I guess. They should have offered to do it the day I was there looking at the boat. But really; how hard would it have been to fix that before we ever looked at the boat? I did a "Request Info" from their website for the towing weight of one of the used boats for sale from their pre-owned inventory. They did not answer my question, only invited me to come in to the showroom. Since it is an hour drive for me that was not an option to get the answer to my one question. I've since given up trying to purchase a boat. I'll just continue to rent them.

    Staff was horrible to work with- "used car salesman" barely starts to describe how awful the…read moreexperience was. He gave zero help seemed annoyed the entire engagement. Unhelpful, unkind and horrible experience. He wanted to deal with my husband and not me. In 2026 women have access to capital and the boat buying decision was from this lady. Luckily we had a great experience at Marine Center down the street. Your loss and in the words of Julia Roberts Pretty Woman, big mistake- Huge mistake.

    Old World Gondoliers - tours - Updated May 2026

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