plastictraveller

My wife and I will be in Venice during the third week in Oct, and we are planning on taking a gondola ride.

1. We were wondering if all are basically created equal or if one is better than another in terms of route and service?

2. What is your opinion on best time of day to take one, day or night?

Thanks for your help!

zgjdenver

We will be there the same time. I was wondering about the gondolas as well as the waterlevel and where to get 'watershoes'. We are not staying in Venice so hotel loaners won't be available.

cheryllj

You will probably get a better deal if you get further away from San Marco-Rialto area. Not all gondoliers are created equal -- some are a lot of fun and will sing, etc., and some are less so. Walk around town and talk to them, negotiate with them, find one you like and will give you a decent rate.

clueless

The government sets the price for the gondola rides. Find out what the price is before the ride as some will try to rip you off. I vote for the night due to the lights reflecting off the water. Gondolas with singers cost more as do late night versus the day.

Girlspytravel

Plastic and others, if you do a search in the search box under "gondolas" you will see lots of threads on this subject, which should prove helpful to you.

I would not advise taking a gondola ride at rush hour around the 5-6pm time period, because there is too much vaporetto traffic-it gets really crazy in and around the Grand Canal -and although the gondolas will mostly avoid the GC at that time period, they still have to spend some time going through there. As for rates, the City of Venice has set official tariffs for gondola rides here:

http://www.gondolavenezia.it/history_tariffe.asp?Pag=43

As you can see, it costs 100Euro for a gondola ride at 7pm, but I should think a nice time to take a gondola, would be just after 6pm, at sunset, but really, earlier in the afternoon is very nice too. If you are staying in an area away from San Marco, you may be able to bargain for better rates than the official published tariffs-your chances are better for lower rates in the area around Ca d'Oro vaporetto stop-there are lots of gondola stations at the bridges in this area. But it's best just to walk around, and when you come to a gondola station, ask what their rate is, and then walk away and find another gondolier, and compare quotes. Late October the tourist season is letting up just a bit, so you may well be able to get a discounted rate if you do some shopping around.

sarge56

girlspy... at these rates, are you expected to tip the driver, also? If so, at what rate do you suggest?

Paula

Girlspytravel

Yes, I'm afraid a tip is expected, but I personally wouldn't give more than a few Euro-believe me, the majority make more than college professors, so don't worry about them not being able to feed the kids!

Jake1

I would avoid a gondola ride on the Grand Canal--it is best (and more inexpensively) seen by vaporetto. Gondolas are great for getting into areas with smaller canals--you get a really different view of the city from these smaller canals.

gabriele

Definitely the smaller canals, and definitely at night! It was ten years ago, but still ranks as one of the most romantic things I've ever done. At night, not only are many of the buildings lit on the outside, we were able to see into many of the old homes which is not possible during the day. We also had a singing gondoleer (beautiful voice) which added a lot to the experience.