Gondala ride at sunrise?
 

I have heard how incredibly romantic the gondola rides on the Venetian canals are at sunset. My fiancé and I will be honeymooning in Italy and spending our first three night in Venice. We are both morning people, however, and I wondered about the possibility of doing a gondola ride at sunrise instead.

Are the gondoliers "open for business" early in the morning?

The best thing to do is to talk with a gondolier on the day before you want to take your sunrise ride. Strike a bargain with him and schedule a time and place to meet him. DON'T pay him in advance; DO get his name or card. You will probably have to be willing to pay more for this ride, above the already high price. But it should be fun. Good luck.

I should also add that the early morning is when all of the commercial boat traffic is on the waterways, bringing in produce and goods, and taking out garbage and other stuff. That might make it more difficult to have the quiet, romantic kind of ride you are expecting.

Thanks for the advice - particularly about the commercial traffic. I was dreaming of a nice, quiet, romantic gondola ride on the smaller canals around sunrise...

But my dream certainly didn't include barges and trash boats! Thanks for the heads up.

I know most people here prefer sunset gondola rides, but consider a late night, moonlit ride. Of course, the moon does need to cooperate, but it is sooo romantic with much less boat traffic than during the day or at sunset.

We took a late night (10:00 p.m.) gondola ride just a few weeks ago - it was incredible. The sky was clear and the moon was out - it was almost completely silent as we glided through the inner canals.

For much of the ride, it seemed like we were the only ones about - we saw very few people walking around, and even less boat traffic. It was definitely magical.

June mornings are wonderful and I'm sure you could negotiate an early morning ride. However, romantic is not the word that comes to mind when I think of early mornings in Venice, particularly because of the "color" of the light, the location of the sun, and the traditional morning activity for most working people.

The sky begins to get light around 5:30 AM and direct sunlight starts streaming through around 7 AM, depending on where you are located along the Grand Canal. The street lamps shut off at 6 AM, killing most of the picturesque mystery and mood. Also, Wayne makes a great point about commercial boat traffic working at this early hour, preparing for the day. No, this isn't my idea of romance but wonderful to watch, nonetheless.

There's no question that magic happens between 4:30-6:30 PM on any sunny day in Venice, especially between Rialto and San Marco on the Grand Canal. Late night can be fun, too, if you confine your ride nearer to the Grand Canal.