Anyboy done The walking tour w/ Gondola ride in Venice

[TNCruzer56]

Was it worth it? Good company to go with? TIA

[mapleleaves]

I don't know if this matters to you, but when a tour includes a gondola ride, you're sharing the gondola with 4 other people. If you hire your own gondola, it's just you and you can choose your departure point and route .... would you prefer a busy grand canal route or a quiet side canal ???? Maybe walk around Venice for awhile, then decide what kind of gondola experience you want.

 

This company is used by Viator and offers a variety of tours. http://www.bucintoroviaggi.com/walking_en.html

[mocrimlaw]

There are lots of gondolas everywhere, and the prices are pretty well set. We went near the Rialto Bridge and all the gondoliers try to get you to use them. My only word of warning - be careful getting in as they can be dangerous. The gondolier took my hand to help me in, and then the gondola moved in the water and he let go of my hand & I went flying across the gondolier and hit the other side of it and broke my tailbone and detached my retina. Needless to say it was not quite the romantic experience I was expecting after that, being in incredible pain (the plane ride home I was in agony!). Plus my memories of it are not that great as I still have a permanent moving black spot in my eye. SO please be careful!

[agabbymama]

I booked the Walking Tour w/gondola ride through viator dot com. We enjoyed the tour immensely, and as my friend had wanted the gondola ride for sure, it was the icing on the cake.

 

The gondolas were around $100 just for the gondola ride. I think we paid around $55 for the tour pp including the gondola ride. We decided this would be the best bang for our buck getting two for one. On the walking tour, we went to an ice cream bar (never heard of that expression before, but the ice cream was heavenly).

 

Then at dusk, we ended up at the gondola parking area by Rialto Bridge. And shared our gondola with 2 gals from our cruise critic gathering and another couple. Our gondolier wasn't very friendly (we doubted he even spoke English), but the 6 of us made our own fun, singing songs we knew as we drifted in the small back canals. We only stayed in the Grand Canal a short time.

 

Now if you are a couple looking for a romantic gondola ride, this isn't the tour for you. We are two older lady friends that travel together, so we weren't looking for romance. And of course the off/on rain storms didn't add much to the tours either. We were often soaked by the time we returned to our hotel in the evening. Have fun seeing Venice.

[Hlitner]

When DW and I take a Gondola, we prefer to be the only ones in the boat (with the Gondolier) rather then being packed in with up to 4 other strangers. Somehow, being in a Gondola by ourselves (with our bottle of wine and some cups) is just more romantic :). One might want to consider that a Gondola will cost approximately 100€ (it varies depending on the time of the day) which is for the entire Gondola. So a couple will pay about 50€ per person. As to walking tours, a decent guide book (like the Rick Steves book) will cost less than $15 and let you go on your own. When we explore Venice on our own (been there many many times) we love being able to stop at a cafe when we please rather then having to stick with a group. With a Vaporetto Pass and a guide book, nearly anyone who can read will find Venice a great place to explore.

 

Hank

[dronnygirl]

Venice is so easy to do on your own. It's a pleasure just to wander around and 'get lost' in the little alleys. Gondolas are all over the place but are premium price by St Marks Square and the Grand Canal. We walked around and found a couple of gondolas in a lovely quiet spot, we negotiated a price and my friend asked him to sing to us - he did!;)

They charge by gondola so it's cheaper if you can find someone to share and also the late afternoon and early evening are the most expensive times. We went on late morning and with four of us it was quite reasonable.