JimSmith

I understand that gondola rides are very expensive ($80) in venice. I have been advised that if I am determined to ride in a gondola, I should do so in the evening.

My question is: where is the best location to hire a gondola? I have been told this is important because the gondola makes a loop (so he can return to the same location from which he departed) and thus if you are in a crappy area, all that you see is crap.

Thanks in advance for your responses, and the more specific, the better.

Wayne

Strangely enough, I've never had a gondola ride even though I've been to Venice more times than to any other European city. That is, if you don't count the short traghetto ride, which costs only about a buck and takes you across from one side of the Grand Canal to the other. If you want to ride a gondola just to say you did it, do the traghetto and save a bundle. If you want romanticism, you might or might not get it in a classical gondola ride.

As I recall, most of the gondoliers leave from only a couple of places to take people on their evening rides. The stop that is probably the easiest to find is just west of St. Marks square, opposite the San Moise' church. And you're probably as well off there as anywhere. Those guys seem to ply well-established routes.

I say all this as a person who hasn't experienced the romantic gondola rides but has observed probably hundreds of others doing it. When passengers arrive back at their starting point, I have seen some of them step out of the gondola looking very pleased, and others looking as if they didn't get their money's worth. Whatever you decide, I wish you good luck.

RufusTFirefly

A couple of hints to make that gondola ride worthwhile.

Don't take a ride on the Grand Canal in a gondola--the Grand Canal has too much traffic, and you can see everything along the Grand Canal just fine from a vaporetto. The gondola is best for the less travelled canals where you'll be able to see things that most tourists never even imagine exist. I would guess that many of the very pleased clients that Wayne mentioned got to view the less seen parts of Venice on their rides.

Don't take your ride at high tide or low tide. High tide limits where the gondola can go because of low bridges. Low tide and you'll be looking at barnacles and seaweed growing on the foundations of the buildings.

Focus on the experience, not on the cost. Gondolas are very expensive to buy and maintain in top condition, plus you're paying for a skilled gondolier's time. $80 isn't out of line for what you're getting.

Zeus

Last summer my wife INSISTED that the whole family take a gondola ride. I was more than willing to opt out since $80 is half a day's pay for me, but my wife jawed with the gondolier and got all 4 of us on board for a mere $200. The fact that we went in the mid-afternoon when things were kind of slow helped too I guess.

KirRoyale

Hmm. . . we paid $80.00 but that was the total fee, not $80.00 per person. Zeus, $200 seems way to high.

What has been the experience of others? Flat fee per gondola, or per person fee?

Heyblondie

The price should be per trip, not per person. About $80US per trip is the average price. Expensive, yes, but I would say it was worth it once just for the experience.

Joelleinitaly04

Um, from what I understand, the cost is not usually per person. I don't think your wife got that good of a deal. That's the most I've ever heard of a group paying for a ride.

Joelle

Iregeo

Hi Jim. We recently had a gondola ride in Venice for somewhere between $80 -100 (I don't recall exactly, as it was 11:00 at night after much wine!) Anyway, there was a full moon and it was indcredibly romantic!

Gondoliers are everywhere offering rides to people. According to our hotel concierge, the way to get the best deal is to go to an area where there are many gondoliers offering rides, so that if you do not like the price offered by one gondolier, you can bargain with the next one. I don't know if this works, but its worth a try.

Also, in our experience, a gondola ride late at night seems the way to go, as the canals are much more crowded during the day. Even without sunlight, it was truly beautiful. Have a great trip!

adrienne

Jim - I didn't take a gondola ride until my third trip to Venice since I believed it wasn't a worthwhile thing to do. During the last trip we took an American Express walking tour that included a gondola ride at the end. This short ride totally changed my mind about gondolas. Do it - regardless of the cost. It was a magical experience.

I second RufusTFirefly, above, about the small canals. Our ride began on the small canals and ended up on the Grand Canal which was choppy and not the same feeling at all.

When you're on a small canal you're quite low in the water and the canals are narrow. You feel transported back in time to another era. Everything is so quiet and I felt enveloped by the buildings surrounding us; it was such a warm and comfortable feeling. Do the gondola ride - it's a unique experience.

adrienne

Joelleinitaly04

Do certain gondolas have certain routes or can you ask the guy to take you on the smaller canals?

Sara

We took a gondola ride when we were in Venice recently, and were so glad that we did. I had hestitated at first, because I'd read here that some folks thought it wasn't worth the money. The gondolas hold six passengers, and we went with four other people, so it only cost us 16 euro apiece -however, if we'd had to pay what it would have cost for only the two of us, I might have had second thoughts about going. If you don't care about having a gondola to yourself, you can save money by finding others who want to ride and sharing a one. We boarded at a spot just west of St. Mark's Square, next to the lace factory, and it was great. We went down several narrow canals, seeing parts of Venice that you never see just walking around. We went out onto the Grand Canal for a short way, then back into the narrow canals again. It was very picturesque and interesting, and we enjoyed it very much.

Tulips

Can't remember what we paid, but use your best bargaining skills to get the price down, and ask at a few gondola stops before you decide. Although they usually do a round trip, we got one from St Marks to the restaurant at the Gritti, on the Grand Canal, and it was a pretty good way to arrive at a restaurant!