Gondola rides in Venice
 

We are going to Venice in September and wondered if the gondola rides are all they are hyped up to be? If so, which site is the best to book one on? If not, would we see just as much if we just walked all around Venice?

I think that a gondola ride is a touristy but absolutely necessary part of visiting Venice. I can't imagine not doing it if you can.

Yes, you can find gondolas available for business almost everywhere. I wouldn't worry about booking a ride before you go.

Have a great time!
((c))

The gondolas are ubiquitous in Venice and do not need to be booked in advance. (I suspect only tour groups do this.) You would be better off shopping around a little when you get there. (i.e. do you want 30 minutes, 50 minutes, etc, and a singing gondolier or just the ride? --they also charge more at night). If you can manage the 80-100 Euros, do it because it is a way to relax and see the canals --which are such a distinctive part of Venice--up close. (We justified it by taking the slow, cheap Alilaguna boat to our hotel while we were jet lagged instead of the $$$$ water taxi. So our splurge was on the gondola once we were able to enjoy the views.) Be sure your gondolier spends most of the time on the smaller canals because you could do the Grand Canal by vaporetto. For the rest of Venetian sights, you'll be walking, walking, walking...There is no way it is "worth" what it costs, but if we thought that way, few of us would travel to Europe at all given the exchange rate and the cost of things over there...

I agree.. very touristy but a "must do". It is pretty expensive- but certain hours (pm for example) tends to be more expensive. We cut down costs by finding another couple that wanted to go and then split the cost.

Have fun..

Thank you for the quick response. This is my first forum posting..

Good advice here, bb-you know, in all the considerable time I've spent in Venice (and am going back for a nice long stay next month-got an UNBELIEVEABLE deal on a two-bedroom apartment!) I have STILL not done the gondola ride-oh, I've had offers from gondoliere of up to 50 percent off at night, when it was slow-but I've not done it because I don't really want to spend the money on it- I also like the vaporettos, and find them, when they are empty late at night, to be just as romantic as a gondola, silently gliding down the Grand Canal-it's so lovely at night.

You can wait and see how you feel about it once you get there, and observe them in action. Victoria's point is well-taken, you do need to BARGAIN with them, ask for that discount (sconto) -think of a reason why you should get a discount, and lay it on them-they're always a few lounging around at their stations, laughing, chatting, and checking out the folks as they walk by.

Also, I would suggest going to a gondolier station AWAY from the San Marco waterfront, as the gondola rates are highest there-the rates of the gondoliere station up by Ca'd'Oro vaporetto stop, just below the Ca' Gottardi B & B for example, are less-the more senior gondoliere get the more expensive spots near San Marco, the less senior get the stations further away. You can walk around and see gondoliere stations on the bridges in Venice everywhere-so walk up and see what their rates are, and start bargaining-if you don't like their quotes, then move on to another station further away and try there.

Hi bblount, girlspytravel gave you excellant advice! If a gondola ride fits into your budget it is wonderful to do it once. But again, follow girlspytravel's advice. And I hope we get a trip report! Enjoy beautiful Venice.

A splurge on a gondola ride at dusk is pure magic. Don't miss it.

IMO a gondola ride is no more "touristy" than going to Venice in the first place.

DO IT..you won't regret it and be sure to go to San Marco in the evening after all the other tourists and daytrippers have departed..absolutely magic.

A vaporetto ride is perfect for the Grand Canal, but a gondola can get you into smaller canals to get a totally different view of the city. You can get to places and see things that you would not otherwise see.

Hi

Here are the official gondola hire rates - http://www.gondolavenezia.it/storia_tariffe.asp?Pag=43

Don't forget the champagne and glasses.

If you are just 2 people, you might enjoy the gondola caravan experience. It would be less expensive than a private gondola and some find it more fun. Enter the phrase gondola caravan in the search box and you will find postings with more detail and instructions on obtaining tickets.

I've just returned from a trip to Venice & we did splash out on a gondola ride. It is a lovely experience & very peaceful as they take you along quieter small canals, as well as on the Grand canal. We paid 90 euros for a 50 min trip, however, my niece, who went the wk after me, haggled with the gondolier & got the same trip for 60euros!
Hope you have a wonderful trip to this magical city!

Where's the best spot to begin a gondola ride? (Price? Do specific drivers "camp out" in specific spots? Do routes differ?)

Travel-as I stated in my previous post above, if you bargain with the gondoliers, you'll get a better rate, and the published gondolier rates don't mean a whole lot-they're there as a general reference point for tourists -they are by no means the last word on gondola rates!

There are gondola stations at naturally, in front of the Hotel Danieli on the waterfront at San Marco, Rialto bridge, Ca'd'Oro, San Moise, San Giovanni Grisostomo bridge (in Cannaregio, just past Rialto bridge) - literally, all over-just walk around, and you will see them hanging out at a bridge. But to get the better rates, you need to head away from San Marco-and I think, the better place to start would be at one of the stations in Cannaregio.

I should say also, that not everyone has a great gondola ride experience-not all gondoliere are charming-some don't like their jobs (but they pay more than univ. profs. make) and, just as in any job, there are those that aren't very good at what they do.

Hate to tell you all this, but I was reading in the Venice newspaper just 3 days ago that a gondola right out in front of Piazza San Marco overturned, with an entire Saudi family-a one year old, a 3 and I believe a 6 year old, and the parents. By the greatest of good luck, there were other gondoliere, and Venice law enforcement patrol boats in the area that helped save the family before one of them drowned. I believe one of the parents had fallen in, the other parent rushed to the side of the boat as did the gondoliere, to help get the person back on board, and the whole gondola tipped.

There have been, within the last few years, very young children who have almost drowned-have literally been picked out of the Grand Canal, and had to be taken to the hospital.

Not to put a damper on things-but I wouldn't go out in a gondola at rush hour during the week (late afternoon)-and with young children, I wouldn't go on a ride unless I had a life vest for them-which they don't provide.

I have three kids and we didn't take a gondola ride. The canals were so crowded with them - end to end (they ALL seemed like caravans!) - that it seemed like SUCH a Disney ride. And if you catch one near St. Marks, you wait in a roped off line, just like at Disneyworld. It all seemed so fake I could have sworn that the gondolas were running on tracks at the bottom of the canals!

We did, however, take two tragetto (sp?) rides, for .50 per person each way. That seemed to satisfy the kids. I will say that the gondola was "tippier" than I would have thought. It's not surprising at all that they sometimes tip over.

If you really want to do it, I'd take my ride at night, from an out of the way spot.

No, the gondolas are real. As to the gondolas being "end-to-end," it depends on where you go and the time of day. There are miles of canals in Venice, and the gondolas are not end-to-end everywhere.

Again, get the gonodlier to take you on smaller canals, not the Grand Canal and immediate surrounding areas where the large tour group gondola flotillas congregate.

Missypie brings up a very good point-if you don't want to lay out the money for a gondola ride, but you want the experience of a gondola boat-take a Traghetto (ferry) (plural: traghetti) across the Grand Canal, for only 50 euro cents! The one traghetto ferry I like (because there are almost only locals on it) is the one leaving just down from Ca d'Oro that runs across to San Polo, and the Rialto fish market area. There are traghetti points at San Samuele, San Toma, Santa Sofia-about 6 or 7 in all I think-and all they do, all day long, is go back and forth across the Grand Canal. At rush hour in the morning and evenings they are naturally filled to capacity with locals going to and from work.

They say that all Venetians stand when using the traghetto, so you should too, to show that you're hip and cool to their customs like they are. This last year when I took that partic. traghetto, we did stand, (and I do always) however, there were locals on the boat that did not. I guess they didn't feel they had anything to prove to us, or didn't feel like showing the pride, whatever-point is, you don't have to stand during the crossing if you don't want to, BUT one really should try the traghetto once-and see how well you do standing-it's a bit trickier than you think, but fun!

.

standing in a Traghetto scares me, I am not the most balanced person and I can just see myself wobbling back and forth, grabbing whoever is next to me for balance and taking us both overboard. :)

you know, lyb, having taken years of ballet and other dance classes, I consider myself to have pretty good balance, but I had to use all my concentration to stay upright and not wobble this last traghetto ride I took-particularly after you hit a small wake from another boat! (the traghetti try not to go across until the vaporetti and other larger boat wakes have passed-but you can't always avoid them).

By the way, the supply boats you see constantly in Venice have a special name for them "mototopo" (plural: topi) "topo" means "rat" in English, hence, "ratboats"-fitting term for them- doing all the dirty work of transporting everything to and from the city.

:&quot;&gt; On the train ride over to Venice I thought I simply <i><u>had</u></i> to do the gondola thing. When I got there and saw them face to face I changed my mind. :&quot;&gt;

What can I say? I just could not bring myself to get into that gondola. I had cheesy images of Fabio dancing in my head serenading us with &quot;It's now or never&quot;! :))

I have to agree with Girlspytravel....I've spent many weeks in Venice &amp; have never taken a ride on a gondola. I also like the vaporetto...especially late at night.
Maybe you should give the vaporetto a try &amp; if you still have a yearning for a gondola ride you now have some terrific advice!

PS Girlspytravel......let us know how the apartment turns out...where is it located?

How about asking your hotel to set you up with a good gondolier? Would they know? We're going to stay at Locanda Orseolo, and Igor has been corresponding with my daughter about their mutual love of music. She has warned him to set her up with a gondolier who can really sing because &quot;you know I'll know the difference&quot; - LOL. Hopefully her strategy will work out for us!!

TinaLee

Bailey-it's in Cannaregio-(I always stay there-love it) it has a washing machine, lots of windows, third floor (important for safety reasons-there is a fair amount of theft in Venice) and a small &quot;balconcino&quot; in the master bedroom that fronts the campo (this I really like) -I'll let you know about it when I get back-

and Tina-the people who run LO-Matteo, Barbara and their group-those people are some of the finest human beings you'll ever want to meet-fantastic ambassadors for their city

I'd like to hear about the apartment, too, girlspytravel....especially since if I remember correctly we both really like the Cannaregio area.

Have fun. :)

Yes, Statia-we do (smile).

And by the way, I know you know Julie- I met her last year. Did Julie ever tell you about her American friend meeting up with the gondolier on her first trip to Venice a few years back, met him (while she was on another gondola, alone-and it got stuck-he came along and helped her gondolier get them off the sand bar) spent hours with him before she had to leave to go back to the US on the plane-and through the miracle of phone courtship, ending up leaving everything behind (she had her own store-sold it) to come over to Venice and marry him? It's an interesting, and not unromantic story.

Oh wow....yes, I do know Julie. :)

She hasn't related that story to me, however. Yes, it is romantic. Does it involve anyone I know? ;)

I don't think so-I was introduced to her because when I walked up, she and Julie were sitting there chatting at the outdoor tables at Mickey D's there on the Strada Nuova. Then when she left, Julie told me that she was married to a gondolier, and I for sure wanted to hear THAT story!

What was funny was Julie (you know she and the BF are there in Venice for the long-haul, studying opera with a master-BF runs the internet point over there by Ca Rezzonico vaporetto stop-I found it quite interesting how they settled in there, found jobs-NO problema!) She said &quot;you know what they say about gondoliers-she said people tried to warn her about them&quot; but they aren't really like that!&quot;
(I was thinking of the calendar at that point!).

The thing is, they met due to the problem with her gondola (and she only decided at the last minute that she HAD to take a gondola before she left Venice) and in a few hours they were instantly in love, she went back, and Julie informs that he would call her EVERY DAY for a few minutes time-for the next 6 months, until she could make it back over for a &quot;proper&quot; visit-and to meet the gondolier poppa and family!

They ended up buying a house in Mestre.

Isn't that funny?

What a great story!!!

Yes...please let us know about the apartment when you return!!!
What month are you going??

I agree....what a great story Girlsyptravel. I'll have to ask Julie about it next time I'm in town.

And I have to say an added, &quot;Hey Bailey.&quot; :) Maybe we'll cross paths on our next trip to magical Venezia since we missed each other by one day the last time. :(

Sorry for hijacking your thread, bblount. Are you married? If not, you might be able to make a romantic hook-up with a gondolier from the advice on this thread. ;)

At any rate, have a great time in our magical city. :)

Hey-just came back online here-noooo, I don't think I'd want to hook up with a gondolier myself, BUT, it makes for a good story! (however, Statia, I must say there are some fine looking Venetians about in that city!)

Bailey, to answer your question, I intend to leave in some weeks from now...depending on some issues... I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

ttt

This is from 2006, just so you know.

Wow so many posts by Airlawgirl > Spygirl > Girlspy. Nostalgy ? NOT.