Are the gondola rides in Italy worth the price? I hear they charge $100???

You can bargain with them, and feel free to do so. Our last ride (in 2000) cost about $55.00, and that was after significant bargaining (in Italian).

I don't think that they are. I had thought that it would be a romantic experience, but it wasn't, in fact it felt quite ordinary. A lot of people do it because they feel you can't go to Venice without doing a gondola trip. Personally I felt disappointed and let down that it didn't live up to my expection.<BR><BR>I did see a lot of group gondala trips which where accompanied by a singer with an accordian, this appeared to be a lot more enjoyable than the solo trip.<BR><BR>By the way in case you think that I'm just a grouch, I find walking hand in hand in the sun romantic.<BR><BR>

I went on one last year with my mom and cousin for 45 mins at $65, which he originally wanted $120, so you can bargin, and we do not speak any Italian. I thought it was worth it, because they take you down some of the more narrow 'roads'. The night time ride I think would be more romantic by far. Have fun!

Hi Rocky. My girlfriend & I were in Venice in early April and decided we just had to take one for the experience, even though we knew they were pricey. <BR><BR>The actual ride was very soothing and peaceful, especially through the smaller canals and, yes, kind of romantic. Unfortunately, we picked a gondolier who didn't speak much English (all he did was call out the name of some sights on the Grand Canal) and, much worse, he blatantly ripped us off. He originally asked for 100 euros for 45 minutes. We told him we'd be willing to pay 80 euros for 45 minutes and he agreed to that. We'd also been heading to another area of town close by, where I really liked the canals, and I told him that, if we went with him, I specifically wanted to go in that area. I even pointed to it on a map and he said "Yes, Yes, we go there." <BR><BR>Well we didn't go there, and he also gave us only a 30 minute ride, shortchanging us by 15 minutes, a full 30 percent of the time we'd agreed on. He was, pure and simple, a con man and we were too trusting, naively assuming he'd keep to his word. I initially wanted to pay him the appropriate amount for the 30 minutes, instead of the full 80 euros but then realized since we only had an oral agreement, it was his word against ours and, if things got ugly, I couldn't prove anything so I decided to just pay and chalk it up to experience. <BR><BR>Now, are all gondoliers like this? Probably not. At least I'd certainly hope not. But I would certainly warn anyone away from a long-haired blonde (a slender, kind of Fabio lookalike) gondolier named Guiseppe as he has proven he cannot be trusted to uphold an agreement. <BR><BR>My advice: if you want to trust your gondolier, fine. Otherwise, at a minumum, have him put the cost and the times you'll be leaving and returning in writing and have him sign it so that if something happens to you like what happened to us you'll at least have something more than "they said/he said." <BR><BR>If your gondolier sticks to whatever agreement you make then, yes, I'd say the experience of taking a gondola ride once in your life is definitely worth the price.

Rocky: Are you familiar w/the term "traghetto". They are gondolas that cross canals (I believe) at 6 separate points. Very small price & one stands.<BR>It will give you the gondola experience w/o dropping mega euros.

"Worth it" is up to the individual. <BR>One person's rip off is another person's great memory. <BR>For me gondola rides seem too<BR>programmed and commercial.The price negotiation, extra charges for "singing", boom boxes for accompaniment in many cases. Romance with the meter running, so to speak.<BR>It's a business and its only customers are tourists. (But I do plenty of other "touristy" things.)<BR><BR>Take Rhea's advice and at least try the traghetto first. It's a form of public transportation and as she said, since Venice has few bridges across the big canals, it's the only way to cross the "street" in some areas. The traghetto boats are "retired" gondolas. Ride lasts about 2 minutes, you can stand or sit, and it's fun. May take the edge off the gondola craving and with the money you saved you can have a great dinner.

Without a doubt, take a traghetto ride. We took two and loved the experience, especially the fact that you stand up in them; it's kind of like "surfing" across the Grand Canal. If there's not that many people, you don't have to stand up, but on our second ride, it was packed so everyone had to (and no one fell overboard, even though the gondola rocked quite a bit.)<BR><BR>But, that being said, it's a totally different experience from the other kind of gondola ride. It's not comparable at all to peacefully gliding through the smaller canals while sitting down on soft cushions. It's too bad that the peacefully-gliding-through-the-small-canals experience is so pricey, but that's just the way it is.<BR><BR>You can, by the way, split the cost with more people but we figured if we were going to splurge and do it, we might as well have it to ourselves. <BR><BR>I probably wouldn't do it again, but I'm sure glad I did it once. (The traghettos, however, I'd gladly do anytime.)

If you only want a great boat ride, without the BS, buy a Vaporetto ticket and take the No. 82 from Piazza San Marco. Sit in the front or back and enjoy the ride all the way up the Grand Canale and back via the Zatterre. 90 minute ride for 6 euros (less if you buy a day ticket). If you have the time, get off at San Giorgio for the view from the Campanille.