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The Tourist Trap Everyone Falls into Willingly
Taking a gondola ride in Venice
Venetian Gondolas 101
• Take a gondola ride
• Learn to drive a gondola
• Visit a
gondola boatyard
Long, sleek, black, slightly crooked, looking like a cross between a canoe and a coffin, the single oar worked by a professional gondoliere. That's the Venetian gondola, the primary form of transportation in Venice from the 12th century until speedboats roared into the canals in the late 20th. And touristy or not, your visit to Venice isn't complete until you take one of these time-honored water taxis for a spin.
The average ride lasts 40 minutes. Make absolutely sure you agree upon the price and the duration of the trip before you step into the boat, write it down, and go by your watch (strangely, the gondoliers' often run fast).
The official rates if you're using a gondola as a taxi are €80 ($104) for up to 6 people; additional 20 minute increments cost €40 ($52). As soon as the clock stikes 7pm, the price jacks up to €100 ($130) for 40 minutes, €50 ($65) each additional 20 minutes.
The Cheapskate's Gondola
Want a ride in Venice without forking over more than $100? Head down any street named Calle del Traghetto leading toward the Gand Canal (marked by a yellow sign with the black gondola symbol) and hop aboard a traghetto (ferry skiff). These oversized gondolas rowed by two standing gondolieri cross the Grand Canal at eight intermediate points not covered by the Grand Canal's three bridges. The fare is a meager €0.50 (60¢), which you hand to the gondolier when boarding.
However, if you come across any gondoliere that actually sticks even remotely by those official rates, get his name and write me about it, because a reasonably priced gondola ride is a Venetian rarity I've just got to see.
They're regulated by the Ente Gondola (tel. +39-041-528-5075; www.gondolavenezia.it), so call if you have any questions or complaints.
Be a gondolier for the day
Ever wanted to take the stick and learn how to steer a gondola around the canals of Venice? A new tour service lets you do just that: spend the afternoon taking gondola driving lessons.
A trainer from the Rowing Society of Venice will teach you all about the boats, their history, and how to use the forcole oarlock to propel and steer the gondola with just one long oar.
Then, after the theory, it's time for the practical lesson: you get your own oar and get to stand in the back of a gondola and take it for a spin (thankfully, along a traffic-free canal in the Dorsoduro).
The two-hour program runs Mondays, Thursdays, and Fridays at 3:30pm and costs €88 per person. The bad news is that they only hold tours when a minimum of 10 people sign up. For more info, contact Casanova/Oltrex at tel. +39-041-524-2840 or +39-041-522-4566 (their office and meeting point is a cubby-hole office in the base of the Hotel Daniele on Riva degli Schiavoni, just off Piazza San Marco).
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This article was last updated in May 2007. All information was accurate at the time.
Copyright © 1998–2008 by Reid Bramblett. All rights reserved.
