Gonodola info for 6 in a quieter area
 

Hi. DS will be in Venice, early July (hot, crowded) and wants to coordinate an evening gondola ride as a thank you for the american family with whom he will be traveling. THey will be 6 in total so I think that they should be able to do one gondola.

1. gondola capacity info correct? too crowded?
2. is 100 eu. about right? how much should he tip the gondolier?
3.Most important, your thoughts on a nice, quieter (ie not San Marco) area to look for a trip to start?

Thanks

Yes, you can get 6 in a gondola. If you do it after 7pm, if will probably be more expensive than if you do it earlier.

My boyfriend and I took a gondola ride last August in Venice at about 7:30. I had done the San Marco gondola ride twice already and wanted to go on a route through some of the smaller rios/canals with just a bit on the Grand Canal. I picked a quiet gondola station near Campo Santa Maria del Giglio (near the Hotel Gritti Palace and the vaporetto stop of the same name). It is also right by the restaurant where we had our dinner reservation that evening, Ristorante da Raffaele, which I heartily recommend. I believe my boyfriend paid around 100 euros.

You do not tip the gondolier.

The quietest area of Venice for gondola ride--canals around Madonna dell' Orto.

There is usually a gondolier standing at the bridge leading from Campo Ghetto Nuovo (the piazza of the Jewish ghetto in Cannaregio) to the Fondamenta Ormesini.

In my opinion, this is the nicest, most tranquil area of Venice.

Thin

You can get 6 normal sized people in a gondola. If some of them are "plus-sized" it could be a problem.

And you don't tip the gondolier. All the gondoliers are private operators and they enjoy a monopoly on the business that lets them charge those really high rates. The rates will vary depending on how long a ride they want. Get the amount set in advance, to avoid any surprises. And you can't really negotiate for a lower price. (See "monopoly".) :-)

Happy travels.

Thank you for this info. It is really helpful.