Gondolas and Gondola Rides

Gallivanting by gondola in Venice, Italy

ABOVE: A gondola carries up to six passengers. INSET BELOW: A gondolier sports the traditional hat, happy gondola passengers, and a squero where gondolas are built and repaired.

There are two important rules to remember about gondola rides in Venice:

1) If the price bothers you, don't do it.

2) If the price doesn't bother you, make sure you understood the gondolier correctly.

Fact is, a gondola ride is like a hansom cab ride in New York City: It can be a delightful experience, but only if you're able to forget the price and focus on the scenery.

What a gondola ride costs

The city of Venice sets official rates for gondola rides, which started at €80 for 40 minutes the last time I checked. Additional 20-minute increments are €40. After 7 p.m., the base rate climbs to €100, with €50 for an additional 2 minutes. Up to six people can share a gondola.

This doesn't mean you'll actually pay 80 euros, or that you'll get a 40-minute ride. Depending on demand, gondoliers may regard the official rates as a polite fiction. Special services, such as singing, can boost the fare even more. This means you should negotiate both the rate and the length of the ride before you get into the boat. Otherwise, your gondola ride may be memorable for reasons that have nothing to do with sightseeing.

If you dislike negotiating, you can leave that chore to your hotel concierge, though he (or she) will obviously need to build a commission into the fee. In 2007, a reader recently mentioned paying €120 for a one-hour gondola ride from the Hotel Bauer just before Carnevale, but he added that he didn't mind paying it and got great service. Another reader (presumably well-heeled) spent a mind-boggling €150 for a 50-minute ride and thought the expenditure was "well worth it."

To be fair to Venice's gondoliers, they invest a great deal in their boats: about €20,000 for a traditional hand-built wooden gondola with a useful life of about 20 years. They need to earn the bulk of their annual income in a few short months. Finally, a goldolier's living costs may be higher than yours, since Venice is an expensive city in one of Italy's wealthiest provinces. Look it at this way: The man who's rowing you up the Grand Canal probably could earn more money for less work at an industrial plant on the mainland.

Next page: Where to hire a gondola

Top inset photo copyright © Elizabeth Korenbaum.

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