Before I started History Walks Venice, I had a kayaking company in Venice.
Most people wanted to go kayaking the canals of the city, but over the years conditions became ever more difficult, due to the constant increase in motorised traffic on the city canals.
In 2019, I wound down the activity, and started History Walks Venice, which in hindsight was a wise decision, as the company would have failed anyway during the Covid crisis.
Now, in collaboration with the Lazzaretto Nuovo, we offer combined kayaking tours and visits to the museum on the island. In fact, at least 40% of the price goes to the Lazzaretto Nuovo, to preserve and maintain the historic, cultural and natural heritage of the site.
Short, medium and long tours
We offer three sizes of kayaking tours in the Venetian lagoon.
Short tours in the marshes behind the Lazzaretto Nuovo are 1½–2 hours paddling time in the marshes, with the skyline of Venice on the horizon. It is a unique natural experience, of a marsh environment which is disappearing, just a few kilometres from St Mark’s.
With the visit to the museum, and transport to and from the island, this experience will take half a day.
The short tours are suitable for beginners. The price is €70–100/person, depending on group size.
Children of 14 years or younger can participate in double kayaks with a parent or guardian.
Half-day tours are 3–4 hours paddling time, and usually 10–15km. We can either paddle north to the islands of Mazzorbo, Burano and San Francesco del Deserto, or east to Sant’Erasmo, the MOSE project, and the Vignole islands with the ancient Fortress of Sant’Andrea.
These tours are for people with prior paddling experience, and not suitable for beginners or children. The price is €90–120/person, depending on group size.
Full-day tours are for expert paddlers. Paddling time is 6–7 hours, and we can cover a large part of the northern lagoon, up to the islands beyond Torcello, or we can stop to visit sights along the way, such as the Cathedral of Torcello, and the guided tours with the friars at San Francesco del Deserto.
Naturally, for a tour that long, there’s a lunch stop somewhere, which can be on Torcello or Burano, or a packed lunch if we go far away.
Read more about the tours here: Kayak in the marshes.
Availability
Only short tours are scheduled in advance, based on the tide.
Other tours are on request. Email us, and we’ll figure out how to make everything work, between your schedule, ours, and the tide tables.
The tide is important, both for having a good experience in the marshes, and because we launch from a small beach, which is difficult at low tide.
A few photos from the lagoon
Current schedule
Only short tours are scheduled. Other tours, short, half-day or full-day, are available on request.
July 2025
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August 2025
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September 2025
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October 2025
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November 2025
No tours scheduled yet.
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