When I turned the corner and saw the plethora of gondolas and people surrounded by shops and a Hard Rock Café, for a moment, I thought I was in the Las Vegas Venetian Hotel. However, I was in Venice, Italy, the original gondola city. It was a popular spot near St. Mark’s for tourists to experience their first gondola ride in Venice. Although to be fair, just like Las Vegas this gondola spot is a bit of an assembly line as tourists board boats for the thirty-minute experience and follow the leader along the route. I wouldn’t recommend you board at this popular spot (I told my niece the same as we searched for our gondola ride) but take the time to wander the streets and canals in the city in search of a more private and memorable experience. But how do you find the best gondola ride in Venice?  A bit subjective to be honest but hopefully this Venice Gondola Guide will help.

Gondola Costs and Basics

Gondola rides are 30 minutes in length (make sure you confirm timing before boarding). Pricing is based on ride length and time of day.  If you want to spend a longer ride, negotiate that pricing with the gondolier.

Venice Gondola Rides have a set price per ride (not per person). Limit of six passengers. There is the traditional bench seat in front of the gondolier and then chairs set up in front of the bench (If you have balance issues, I’d recommend the bench seat from personal experience).

• Bring cash as your gondolier doesn’t accept credit cards.

• • 80 euro for rides before 7pm
  • 100 euro after 7pm

• Cash Tip: ATMs are a bit hard to find so go to the Italian Post Office which is near St. Mark’s Square opposite the basilica. So walk opposite the Basilica through the columns to the street and you’ll see the yellow Postal sign and building.  The ATM is on the right side around the corner of the building.

Your gondolier may or not speak English or other languages, so a few Italian phrases are welcomed (even if butchered).  They may or may not narrate the history of the city.  Our gondolier was older and threw in a few verses of Volare (he had a good singing voice) but generally they don’t sing (unlike the Vegas version).  If you see a boat with a singer and accordion player, they cost extra and are definitely a unique gondola experience.

Now about the romance aspect, um, I’m not sure about that.  You’re gliding on the water under bridges of tourists who may stop to take your photo aboard the gondola or are crowding the canal brides for their selfies. It’s likely better at night when the city is less crowded, and the sun is setting to find the city’s romance by gondola. As with any experience, your mileage may vary.  It’s likely with all social media, movies and research you’ve done, there are few surprises left but let’s hope you can find the joy in this unique experience rather than “check the box” tourism.

Water levels will affect the gondola ride.

• Some bridges in the canals don’t have enough clearance when the water levels are higher especially at night so you may see some stations closed. Alternatively, you may need to duck for head clearance so make sure you can do that.
• The water in the canals is smooth sailing whereas the Grand Canal with all the boat traffic will be choppier.

Where to find a Gondola Station

Gondola Stations are generally marked with red and white striped poles and the gondoliers are wearing red or blue striped shirts and may have their classic straw hats on. It was over 90 degrees on our visit so our gondolier, Mario, wasn’t wearing his hat but when I turned for a photo, he told me to wait until he put his hat on. Everyone wants to be insta-pretty in their photos.

As you can imagine spots near the main tourist areas of Piazza San Marco (St. Mark’s Square) and Rialto Bridge on the Grand Canal are popular gondola stations along with the one I mention near the Venice Hard Rock Café. Each has at least ten or more gondoliers and boats and operate in a follow the leader style.  Some folks are ok with that but if you want a more private ride, find a gondola stations with one or two gondoliers.

But to really get an inside experience, I would suggest you wander a bit between St. Mark’s and both the Accademia Bridge as well as Rialto Bridge (you’ll see the iconic yellow direction signs as you wander through the maze of streets) and look for the smaller stations with one or two gondoliers.  These are quieter canals that they can access and in some cases, you may also cross into the Grand Canal waters on the way back to the gondola station as the route will be circular.  The city has many canals that are off limits to water taxis and other boats, and you’ll see small blue signs with a gondola on it indicating that it’s a gondola only canal.  While gondolas have the right of way on the Grand Canal, they will likely encounter other gondolas, water taxis and boats along the way.   If you have a neighborhood you want to experience, go directly there to find the gondola station.

In the early morning, you will likely start to see gondoliers standing on the bridge near their boat looking for tourists to board the gondola for a ride through the canals.  Once that first group goes, you likely won’t see the gondolier on the bridge again as he will be busy all day long. Wandering early morning, we didn’t see anyone at the stations until after 9:30am so don’t plan on an early morning ride before your flight home. Conversely, we saw gondoliers at 9pm by San Marco and I wondered how that ride would be in the dark canals.

If you see a gondola station and it’s empty, just wait there until the gondola returns.  Given that the rides are thirty minutes (unless booked longer), your wait won’t be long for the boat to return.  You can then discuss with the gondolier the route, sights and timing. You are not obligated to board if you don’t like the route or the gondolier (I’m not keen to ride if the gondolier is on his phone during the ride). Have your cash ready – each gondolier is different so you may pay upon boarding or once the ride is over.

At the end of the day, you’ll see the gondola stations closed and the boats likely covered which indicates how many boats are used at that station.  One station near St. Mark’s might have 12-15 gondoliers working at the same time, whereas the smaller stations only 1 or 2 covering that area.

The gondolas at St. Mark’s and Rialto Bridge will explore the Grand Canal with all the boats before turning into the smaller canals. Whereas the smaller canals may not visit the Grand Canal.

How to Book Your Gondola Ride

As mentioned above, you can walk up to any gondolier to engage them for a gondola ride. We decided to do our gondola ride on the last night of our stay on the way to dinner at 6:30 pm before the prices increased. We chose a small two-person station and had Mario as our gondolier.  He offered up a bit of a song (Volare anyone?) and history as we navigated the quiet canals.

Pre-Book Your Gondola Ride

If you want to pre-book a gondola ride for a certain day and time, there are many options to do so, however, make sure you understand if the ride is shared with other guests or private. It could actually cost you more. There are also tour groups that include a gondola ride in their city tour, those will be shared, six to a boat so understand that as well.  You have many options to choose from.

If you talk with your hotel concierge, they can likely recommend or pre-book a gondola ride from their preferred list. There could be an additional fee for the service.  Make sure you understand pricing and cash requirements.

Cheap Gondola Ride in Venice

For a cheap ride, check out the traghetto ride, which is a gondola rowed by two people across sections of the Grand Canal.  It costs 2 euros per person (less for residents) to cross the Grand Canal standing up. Not quite the same experience as a thirty-minute gondola ride but a budget option for those who want the Grand Canal gondola experience for less.  Stations begin at the Rail Station and continue at various points including Rialto Market.

Gondola Ride in Venice – Final Thoughts

My first gondola ride was in 1994 and shared with my tour group passengers.  We didn’t have technology to record every sight and sound.  I had to sear the experience in my memory. My second gondola ride was last month with my 16 yo niece so she could experience the city for the first time. While I focused on the water levels, damage to homes and decay of the city over the years with an eye to sustainability and tourism, she just enjoyed the ride taking few photos along the way.

What surprised me is that unlike the water taxi full of insta poses, she chose not to take any selfies or insta photos on the gondola ride.  When you can get a teenager to put the phone down and experience the small joy of a gondola ride in Venice, I feel like that’s a small win in today’s world.

Venice has always been a first love city, one that has been frozen in time in many aspects, but the gondola ride will show you the beneath the surface changes to this ancient city. So, no matter what your reason for the gondola ride, find a few minutes to put the phone down and just enjoy the ride (after the quick video and initial photos of course).