This can be a family friendly activity or a romantic activity for a couple. We went the family route and took our 12 year old and 22 month old. 12 year old thought it was fun, the baby was a little nervous but being bribed with candy helped - which our gondolier did not approve since no food is prohibited in the boat. We could enjoy a nice 10-15 min ride or listen to the baby cry the whole time. So I broke the rules. Besides that, our gondolier was fun. He sang in Italian and even did a Donald Duck voice for the kids, which they thought was funny. We did the indoor ride and it was fun going past all the shops and people and we still went under bridges. We arrived at 9:30am to buy tickets and were able to get a 10:45 ride. We wanted to get on as soon as possible, but you coukd reserve for a later time. It was a fun experience.