gondola ride in Venice

[starette]

Will be in Venice in October and should we take ship excursion for gondola ride or rent one when we get off the ship?:)

[euro cruiser]

Absolutely get your own, it's so easy to do and much more fun on your own vs. crammed in with a bunch of strangers.

[aquilegia]

It's much better to do your own. Gondolas can hold six people and you can be sure on the ship's tours the gondola will be full. There are gondolas all over Venice and the rates are fixed. The current price per gondola (not per person) is 80 euros for around a 40 minute ride, rising to I think 100 euros after dark.

[agabbymama]

The gondola ride by itself was just more money than we wanted to spend. I booked a walking tour of Venice that ended with the gondola ride for $53 pp person on viator dot com, so it was paid for in US $ before we ever left home. We felt we got the most for our buck.

 

Ended up with another couple from our cruise critic group and a second couple. And the walking tour was fun too. We stopped at a gelato bar and had a treat before the gondola ride too.

 

If you are wanting a generic gondola ride, I highly recommend it. If you are wanting a romantic 2 person gondola ride, this wouldn't be the way to go.

 

Have fun whatever you decide to do.

[euro cruiser]

It's always a trade off among variables and what's important to you.

 

At the current exchange rate a private gondola ride is about $110 for two people, or $55 each. Granted, with the walking tour you get more than just the gondola ride, but the trade off is that you have to share it with four other people. While the gondolas are built to carry six people, they really weren't designed for six typically-sized Americans (height or width-wise). It can wind up being pretty tight in there.

[mskaufman]

Last summer there was no shortage of gondolas for hire. I would say find one on your own in an area you'd like to go.

[fabnfortysomething]

reading europeforvisitors site came across a tip that for 2 euros you can get a basic gondola trip from one side of grand canal to the other in a traghetto

 

might only be a few minutes but if you just want a photo op...........

[mapleleaves]

Definitely wait until you get there. That gives you the opportunity to decide on where you want to go .... a busy section of the Grand Canal or a quiet side canal? You won't know until you're there.

I planned to take a gondola ride on my first visit to Venice, but once I got there it wasn't that important. 3 visits later and I still haven't. On our last visit we went on a traghetto which is a gutted gondola used to transport people across the Grand Canal at busy locations where there's no bridge. That was a unique and fun experience! We had to stand and balance ourselves in all the wave action. Such a great memory!

Info on gondolas, fares, and traghetti in this link:

http://europeforvisitors.com/venice/articles/gallivanting_by_gondola.htm

[24butterfly]

Will be in Venice in October and should we take ship excursion for gondola ride or rent one when we get off the ship?:)

 

If you go into the back canals, where hardly anyone goes, you will be able to get a beter deal than if you got the gondola in the main part of town. Try early evening instead of 2pm when everyone else wants it.

[Hlitner]

You might want to consider that hiring a gondola (they are scattered all over Venice at various authorized docks) will cost about 80-100 Euros (total cost). When you take a "tour" you will be crammed into a gondola with 4-6 people and the tour will often cost you more then just hiring your own gondola. Personally, DW and I find that the romance is lost when you are crammed in with others. So we usually stop at a shop that sells wine, buy a bottle of a nice Italian red wine, have the store pull the cork, buy (sometimes they will give) 2 plastic wine glasses, and then we go find a gondola. As our boat glides through the back canals we lay back on our private gondola and sip our wine! Yes, it is expensive...but its also an amazing experience.

 

Hank

[pieshops]

Do the Gondolas run year round, we will be there in December

[euro cruiser]

Yes, you can find gondolas every day of the year.

[Hlitner]

Do the Gondolas run year round, we will be there in December

 

Yes, they do work year round. The Gondolas are privately owned (generally by the gondoliers) and this is how they make a living. Fail to work and they get no pay. But December is not a particularly good time to be in Venice since the city is pretty empty, some places close for extended Christmas holidays, and it can be very cold/damp. So the number of available gondolas will be somewhat limited, and you would probably want to choose one that has a few woolen blankets :)

 

Hank

[mskaufman]

reading europeforvisitors site came across a tip that for 2 euros you can get a basic gondola trip from one side of grand canal to the other in a traghetto

 

might only be a few minutes but if you just want a photo op...........

 

This is true, but it is a larger gondola than the ones you usually see. Might even have to stand.

[lisiamc]

Yes, they do work year round. The Gondolas are privately owned (generally by the gondoliers) and this is how they make a living. Fail to work and they get no pay. But December is not a particularly good time to be in Venice since the city is pretty empty, some places close for extended Christmas holidays, and it can be very cold/damp. So the number of available gondolas will be somewhat limited, and you would probably want to choose one that has a few woolen blankets :)

 

Hank

 

I will have to respectfully disagree with Hank here, since winter is one of my favourite times to visit Venice. You might see acqua alta, but that can be interesting, and makes for fabulous photos. Some restaurants and shops are closed, but there are still nice ones to choose from. There are fewer tourists, which is a bonus. It can be really chilly, so take warm clothes. Venice is an incredibly beautiful place on a misty winter evening - mysterious and moody.

[Hlitner]

reading europeforvisitors site came across a tip that for 2 euros you can get a basic gondola trip from one side of grand canal to the other in a traghetto

 

might only be a few minutes but if you just want a photo op...........

 

There is a huge difference between a traghetto ferry and a normal 40-45 min Gondola ride. The traghettos are a little like a gondola, but are set-up differently and just used for short ferry routes across certain parts of the canals that are not close to bridges. They only cross the busy Grand Canal and you end up on a small crowded boat (with most folks standing) that makes the short crossing. But the real Gondola rides spend little time in the Grand Canal since that is a very wide busy waterway. Instead, they move quietly through the smaller secondary canals that wind throughout Venice.

 

We think the best photo-op is if you get very lucky and get the front seat on the #1 Vaporetto line. You can just stay on that boat and go all the way around Venice snapping away :)

 

Hank

[mapleleaves]

you end up on a small crowded boat (with most folks standing) that makes the short crossing. But the real Gondola rides spend little time in the Grand Canal since that is a very wide busy waterway. Instead, they move quietly through the smaller secondary canals that wind throughout Venice.

 

We think the best photo-op is if you get very lucky and get the front seat on the #1 Vaporetto line. You can just stay on that boat and go all the way around Venice snapping away :)

 

Hank

 

That wasn't our traghetto experience. There were only 3 locals onboard, and there was NO seating so all of us had to stand. That's what made the trip so comical ... my mother had trouble standing because of the wave action so the 'gondolier' told her to sit on the edge of the boat. So here was my 82 yr old mother perched on the lip of the boat with her butt hanging over the edge. It was just as hard for her to balance herself sitting as it was standing. We laughed all the way across. Definitely a great memory.

I sure agree with you about the vaporetto. The #1 is such a wonderful way to enjoy Venice. It's something I'll always remember from our first trip, and will always repeat.

[starette]

Thank you all for your wonderful advice. On our own it will be!

[Av8tor]

I've seen the posts saying private gondola rides run about 80-100E for 40-60 minutes...but what I haven't seen is does this include a tip, or is that not expected?

[Hlitner]

I've seen the posts saying private gondola rides run about 80-100E for 40-60 minutes...but what I haven't seen is does this include a tip, or is that not expected?

 

Perhaps the best way to answer is that if you are from North America they do expect a tip. But if you are from down under or the UK they do not expect a tip. :)

 

Hank

[mickeysgal]

Yes, I'm going to be that type of tourist. I want it all - the gondola ride in a beautiful boat and a singing gondolier. That said, are there some gondola boats prettier than others? Does anyone have a specific place I should go to book a singing gondolier? Do you ask for a specific route? I'm not going all this way to Venice spending a crazy amount in airfare and not going for the whole shebang. Thanks Hank for the wine suggestion - this sounds lovely.

[nana541]

Tips: wait to take your Gondola ride when you are pooped and need to rest your very tired feet! It's a great way to enjoy Venice while recovering from walking all over town!

 

For a singing Gondolier you pay an extra fee and most Gondolas are very similar in appearance.

 

We found our Gondola while wondering and very very lost :) being exhausted when we inquired about a ride the Gondolier wanted to know if we wanted the short tour or the long tour.... Our feet were killing us so we took the long version. It was wonderful!

 

Don't asked what that meant or how much we paid, don't have a clue, just have the wonderful memories!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

Edited March 12, 2014 by nana541

[Hlitner]

Yes, I'm going to be that type of tourist. I want it all - the gondola ride in a beautiful boat and a singing gondolier. That said, are there some gondola boats prettier than others? Does anyone have a specific place I should go to book a singing gondolier? Do you ask for a specific route? I'm not going all this way to Venice spending a crazy amount in airfare and not going for the whole shebang. Thanks Hank for the wine suggestion - this sounds lovely.

 

Signing gondoliers :) We have heard a few "trying to sing" and it was enough to make some of the nearby buildings crumble. But seriously, you need to consider a few issues. First...most gondoliers do not sing because they probably have awful voices :). Second: Many of the gondola tours (such as the ones sold by cruise ships) that say they include "singing godoliers" are not such a good thing. You pay top dollar and are normally crammed into a gondola with up to 4 other souls. They will usually have at least 6 gondolas full of passengers and they all move along the canals in a group. In one of the gondoliers there will be a sInger (maybe the gondolier...maybe not). This is not the romantic moment you are seeking.

 

So what to do? It is all about projecting your own personality, being a little assertive, and even having fun. So you go to one of gondola docks (there is a pretty major one to the right as you face the water at St Marks Square) which can be found in multiple locations around Venice. If you are lucky there will be a whole group of gondolas looking for business. At that point you just start talking to the Godoliers and asking them if any of them like to sing. Now they hear this all the time and might "jerk your chain" but its all in good fun. If you get lucky, you will find one who will offer to sing for you. But he may also hint that this singing is not included in the normal price (of 80+ Euros) and you might want to consider an extra tip if he is a good singer. A friend of ours (who was pretty drunk while in his gondola) offered his gondolier 10 Euros if he would sing "O solo mio." The gondolier laughed, took the 10, and then belted out an awful earsplitting version which had laughter coming from those near the canal. So you never know.

 

Hank

[CathyCruises]

We were hanging out in one of the back canals while DH took photos. Someone came up to a gondolier and said, "Can you sing O Sole Mio?" The gondolier promptly sang, "O Sole Mio" and walked away. It was hilarious!!! The tourist just stood there looking dumbfounded.

[Cornishpastyman1]

Yes, I'm going to be that type of tourist. I want it all - the gondola ride in a beautiful boat and a singing gondolier.

I haven't been on a gondola but a friend sent me a few seconds of footage from her ride, which I've included at about 1.57 in this

It looks lovely - I hope your gondolier has perfect pitch and you have a great experience ! All the best, Tony