Play: A gondola tour turns the Napa River into a Venetian experience.
(RIGHT HERE, ON THE NAPA RIVER)
Venice is roughly 9,700 miles from the Bay Area, but you can get a little taste of it — gondolier style — right here in Napa. There are many reasons to spend a day or a weekend in Napa Valley, from its famous wineries and restaurants to its cozy inns and vineyard-dotted hills. But gondolas on the Napa River are a little unexpected.
My tour guide for this particular afternoon excursion is Sean O’Malley, the jovial owner of Napa Valley Gondola, who has offered atmospheric tours on this waterway since 2018. I arrive at Napa’s Main Street Boat Dock, just below the Riverfront Building between Third and Fifth streets, just as O’Malley is finishing up an hourlong tour, his happy passengers all smiles as they disembark and wave goodbye.
The gondola — an impressive 1,300-pound, 36.5-foot craft — was handcrafted in Venice from a gorgeous mix of oak, walnut and cherry woods. With all those Venetian vibes, the ride makes a nice little romantic outing with that certain someone. But it’s also good family fun, with life jackets on hand for the younger ones to wear.
It’s also, O’Malley points out, one of the few things to do in Napa Valley that isn’t wine-centric. You you can fix that, of
course, by bringing a bottle of wine on your cruise — and a little salumi or antipasti, too. O’Malley allows food onboard, as long as it’s not messy or greasy. (KFC and barbecue are strictly taboo.) You can swing by one of Napa’s downtown tasting rooms, which are easy walking distance from the dock, to do a little pre-gondola shopping before boarding.
Between the downtown wine scene and the river, it’s all very serene. As O’Malley pushes us away from the dock, the vessel gently bobs in the water.
“That’s about as rocky as it gets,” he says.
To my delight, O’Malley is wearing a striped shirt, just like the gondoliers one might see making their way down the Grand Canal in Venice. I wonder if the Napa resident sings, further adding to the whole Venetian thing.
Actually, he says, that’s a movie thing — and an operatic thing. Most gondoliers in Venice don’t sing, and they frown on those who do. But O’Malley realized over time that most Americans do indeed expect their gondoliers to sing — and that adding some vocals to his tours might improve his tips.
“I do sing,” he says. “Not well. I will give you a little flavor of it.”
With that, he unleashes his bold tenor, which rings out across the water in beautiful Italian as he sings the classic “Santa Lucia.” His vocals are great to start, but grow even more captivating as we pass under the Third Street Bridge, and a lovely reverberation comes into play. That’s an experience that should not be missed, so my No. 1 pro trip for others is to ask O’Malley — or one of the other two guides in his employment — to sing as the boat crosses under the Third or First Street bridges.
Of course, nobody is going to confuse O’Malley with Mario Lanza or Enrico Caruso. Still, his version is enough to draw applause from people on the riverbanks.
“Grazie! Grazie!” O’Malley replies in appreciation.
Still basking in the applause, O’Malley smiles as he steers and propels the boat, using a 13.5-foot remo (Italian for oar) to guide us along the river and through downtown, passing restaurants, shops and other buildings on the riverbanks. His voice is seemingly in sync with the ripples in the water as he talks about his path to becoming a professional gondolier.
After a career in Silicon Valley tech and venture capital, O’Malley was semiretired and living in Napa in 2018 when he decided to find a second act. He initially thought about doing tours for wineries, but he also enjoyed being out on the water, so he was intrigued when he spotted a job posting for a Napa River gondolier. He was soon hired and eventually took over business operations.
It’s a good fit for him. He’s a big man, 6 feet, 6 inches tall and built like a former football player, which he is, so he’s up to the sizable physical challenges that come with the job. He’s also a natural tour guide and easy conversationalist who can talk
freely on just about any topic one wants to raise, with a depth of knowledge about the Napa Valley and, importantly, the river itself. Need a recommendation for what to do after the tour is over? Other fun things to do on the river? O’Malley has you covered.
But the one-hour ride holds quiet moments as well, when you can soak up the natural beauty and look for wildlife along this tidal river, where the salinity rises and falls according to season and tide. You see birds, of course, but you may also see fish jump or witness an otter or beaver cruising by — or the rare dolphin or porpoise, which wandered up from the sea in 2007 and again in 2015.
Alas, there were no Flipper sightings on this particular day, as O’Malley brought the vessel back to the dock. Just a blissful afternoon in Venice-meets-Napa.
DETAILS >> Napa Valley Gondola offers hourlong rides ($160) for up to six passengers. Trips depart daily during the summer season from Napa’s Main Street Boat Dock. Make reservations and find more information at napavalleygondola.com.