Brussa Is Boat

Excellent boat rental service. Simple, good service.

Thank you! We had a fantastic time! Special thank you to Avise, you're a great instructor and guide!

Unfortunately I was not able to rent the boat because it was hard for me to drive , even though im a jetski owner and had driven bigger boats before but the system of driving was different ,the staff is very friendly and explain everything to you , i will train on driving this kind of boats and be back soon ! I would highly recommend. The prices are acceptable

I called and then emailed them to reserve a boat without licence. They sent me a contract, in italian, to fill in and send back to them, to reserve the boat. They would charge me 100 eur right away and the rest on the day of the rental. I read and speak Italian so I read the contract, and some things made me uncomfortable. E.g. concerning the test the contract says: "Qualora il conduttore, all’atto della consegna, dimostrasse incapacità a condurre l’imbarcazione, ad insindacabile giudizio del locatore, il contratto si intenderà risolto di diritto ed il prezzo versato dal conduttore sarà trattenuto a titolo di penale." which means that if you fail the test they keep the money as a penalty. Concerning the boat malfunctioning the contract says "Eventuali riparazioni ed assistenza da terzi dovranno essere autorizzate dal locatore e le relative spese saranno a carico del conduttore e del conducente in via solidale." This means that if e.g. your motor fails and you will need to be towed it will be at your expense. That's weird! I did not want to risk failing the test and losing 100 eur so I emailed them asking if it is possible to take the test the day before taking the boat, to which they agreed. An Italian guy asked me if I ever drove this type of the boat, to which I replied that I only drove boats piloted which a steering wheel, not at the back. The guy showed me very rapidly how to start and stop the engine and then I drove the boat 50m out, turned around and then back. The engine is very sensitive, at the minimum you ride at 3km/h and a minimal rotation causes you to go to 8km/h at which point the guy gets annoyed: "too rapid!". Then I was ordered to park the boat. Since the guy did not explain how to park the boat I started doing something wrong, at which point the guy got annoyed again. Then he allowed me a second attempt, in which I did manage to park the boat, but when I stopped the engine the guy again got annoyed: "only stop the engine when it is in neutral". Great, but he did not tell me this before, so why be annoyed? Then he asked if I think he can give me the boat. I said that I think he can, and he said that he does not think so: "sei troppo pericoloso" - you are too dangerous (the whole conversation was in Italian). He then offered to repeat the parking test for a third time. I asked if he thinks I am improving or if he thinks it's hopeless, in which case I did not want to waste any more of his (and my) time. He said it was hopeless (which makes me wonder why he suggested to repeat the test). At this point we said good bye to each other. My conclusion is: even though they do not say it clearly on their webpage, it is unlikely that you will be able to pass their test if you never drove this kind of boat before. So although they say "very simple test", I would suggest you not to bother if you like me only drove boats with a steering wheel. And especially don't give them your credit card number before doing the test, if there is any risk that you fail it, since the contract allows them to keep the 100 eur. I give 3 stars because in the end they did allow me to take the test in advance and I did not lose any money. But someone less careful or less capable in reading Italian could end up in an uncomfortable situation.

We had an amazing time! Whole family loved it. It is the sol bro way to boat around. The water taxi is pretentious. Brussa is soulful

Brussa Is Boat is the only company in Venice that will hire you a boat without a captain. They have decent sized boats with outboard motors and tiller steering. There is no steering "wheel" as such like you may expect on bigger boats, making navigation a little tricky in the narrow canals of Venice. A few things to keep in mind: 1. You will need to at least have a (vehicle) driving licence. 2. They will test your boating abilities before giving you the keys. 3. You're not allowed to drive thru the famous parts of Venice. They have GPS trackers on the boats. They will know if you did and they won't be happy about it. I've hired boats from them on a couple of occasions. It's a great experience, but not being allowed to drive thru all the parts of Venice you traditionally associate with Venice is a bit of a let-down. Also, keep in mind that boat parking is not easy to find.

We had a 15hp boat here for 1 hour, which was 43 Euros incl tax (and fuel!) and live vests for the kids. Compared to the water taxis in Venice very convenient. The boats are in good condition. The outboard drives are fine but you should give it some time and patience until you got the feeling for it. A driving license is not needed. Driving experience is not necessary but recommended. They are also open at Sundays, which is a big plus. Service personnel in the office is very helpful and friendly. All in all a very good experience and not a tourist fraud. Thank you!

If you don’t feel confortable driving alone, you can take 1 hour of driving with the instructor and your family can come on the boat . I paid 80€ all included for this hour and this will be probably be one of my best memories in Venice . Instructor was very calm and gave clear instructions in English .