price for a gondola ride

[CruzinNoony]

How much should we expect to pay for a gondola ride in Venice?:rolleyes:

[chipmaster]

How much should we expect to pay for a gondola ride in Venice?:rolleyes:

 

80-100 euros for 45' to an hour. Rates are higher at sunset/evening. You can find them everywhere so you don't need reservations.

 

They can seat up to 6 so divide by that and it isn't too expensive.

 

Enjoy Venice

[Katypaty]

We took a gondola ride a year ago. It was expensive. We wanted a gondolier that sang so we paid even more. There was 4 of us in the gondola and it was not that comfortable. More romantic with 2. One set of seats is comfortable and you can lean back.

It was worth it.

Not sure I would do it in warm weather as the water doesn't smell that great. We were there in February.

[Rustynail]

I did one in 1988 but can't remember if you could have a glass of wine on them. Can you?

 

Thanks,

 

Dan

[Peteymil]

Yes, you can bring wine.

[pete_coach]

We took a gondola ride a year ago. It was expensive. We wanted a gondolier that sang so we paid even more. There was 4 of us in the gondola and it was not that comfortable. More romantic with 2. One set of seats is comfortable and you can lean back.

It was worth it.

Not sure I would do it in warm weather as the water doesn't smell that great. We were there in February.

Gondolas are a very personal thing...to the Gondolier. Some are "tricked" out real nice, some are clean and comfortable and others are just pointed boats.

There are gondolas all over the City and you should walk around a bit and look at them before you decide which one you wish. Take into account the area you wish to see as well. I, personally, would not take one near St Mark Sq as I don't want to go into the open bay. I would want ne in the Rialto Bridge area becasue it takes you down the Grand Canal and into some of the back canals.

Also, talk to the Gondoliers as well, some are nice and others not, just like our cab drivers over here. Ask if you can bring a bottle of wine aboard (do remember that it is only a 40 minute ride ha ha), ask if he has been doing this long, ask where he will take you. You should have a feeling for the person and make your coice by that.

Last tip, if it is a hot day, try to take the ride at high tide. Low tide can be a bit yucky and may be slightly oderifous in the small back canals.:)

[CruzinNoony]

Thank you so much for your help. We will be there in two weeks and it will be very hot. What time of the day is high tide?:eek:

[I_Love_Venice]

Thank you so much for your help. We will be there in two weeks and it will be very hot. What time of the day is high tide?:eek:

The time of day of the high and low tides varies throughout the month, as they follow the lunar cycle, not the solar cycle of 24 hours.

In Italian tides are "maree" and the City of Venice always has the tides for the next few days online (partially translated into English). In any case, during July/August, early morning or late afternoon are the best times to enjoy the Grand Canal with less direct sunlight.

 

Two really good places to start from are the "stazi" (gondoliers' stations) at Bacino Orseolo (just "outside" the back left corner of St. Mark's Square, near the new Venice Hard Rock Café) or outside the Hotel Bauer (San Moisé, near St. Mark's). Both usually avoid the open lagoon by taking small, quiet back canals towards Rialto, and then along the Grand Canal a bit.

 

Particularly in July and August (tourist High Season in Venice), it can be easy and convenient to reserve a Gondola ahead of time (either at one of the Stazi, or at the Venice Gondolier's Cooperative which don't charge extra fees unless you want additional services like sparkling wine or music).

 

P.S. during the Summer it is usually not a problem, but if the tide chart shows high over 100 ("acqua alta") or lows below -70 ("marea bassa"), there are problems (high tide means many side walks and much of St. Mark's is covered in canal/seawater, low water reveals canal sides/bottoms with mud of dubious smell). Winter it can happen much more frequently depending on meteorological conditions.

[katz]

Make sure that you settle on a price and the length of the ride, before you get settled in the gondola. We were told a price and once we were settled, the driver told us that the price was per person. He also tried to shorten the amount of time. He had a bad attitude too, so we did not tip him. Even though, it was a fun experience.

[Hlitner]

I did one in 1988 but can't remember if you could have a glass of wine on them. Can you?

 

Thanks,

 

Dan

 

A glass? For heavens sake, this is ITALY! Take a bottle! Here is what we always do when taking a gondola. We stop at a local wine shop (there are many places that sell wine) and choose a nice bottle of Italian wine. We than have the shop pull the cork part way so that we can easily remove it when in the gondola. We also buy a couple of plastic wine glasses (more of the wine shops sell or give you these) and than we are ready for our gondola. We also have an unwritten rule that we must drink the entire bottle before the end of our gondola ride!

 

Hank

[Valeen]

One can't experience VENICE without a gondola ride. It was 10 years ago that I was in Venice, so the prices would be higher now. Even then the price was high. They charged by time of day and lenght of ride, and I believe too, by the decoration of the boat, and by what the boatman might have to offer (singing, music, tour-guide talk). This tip worked for us: If you care to ride in the morning, rather than in the afternoon or evening, you can get a better price. I just REALLY wanted the ride experience, and while the evening might have been more romantic, having the "savings" to spend on something else, made the AM ride quite acceptable. Also, by daylight you can see everything better. The gondolas vary in decoration. I picked out a very fancy one, and we had about a 30 minute ride. Many of those minutes were spent in "Traffic jams". The waterways are very busy in the AM, due to other boats transporting goods to the shops. This did not lessen our enjoyment of the ride. We actually enjoyed the jam situations - lots of Italian "interaction" by the boatmen (verbal and gestering) was amusing. And seeing how the cannels are used for needed daily business, made our ride more "real life" than "amusement ride". My husband was glad that I'd insisted on doing it. He agreed that the experience was more enjoyable than he'd expected and was worth the price.

[Hlitner]

For those looking to save a few Euros, we have noticed that it is easier to negotiate a better deal late in the afternoon. The reason is that many of the day trippers that come to Venice (a majority of the tourists) will often leave by 5PM,,,so the crowds beging to thin-out that time of day. The folks that stay in Venice will often wait to take a gondola nearer to sunset time, so sometimes the law of supply and demand kicks in and you can get a decent price and the 4 -6 pm time can offer a good deal plus very little commercial traffic clogging the canals.

 

Hank