venice gondola

[bob10173]

Has anyone taken the gondola tour from the ship or a private tour? Is it worth the money? Is it difficult to get in and out of boat? I have a gimpy knee and wondering if that will be a problem. Thanks.

[alserrod]

1 hour ago, bob10173 said:

Has anyone taken the gondola tour from the ship or a private tour? Is it worth the money? Is it difficult to get in and out of boat? I have a gimpy knee and wondering if that will be a problem. Thanks.

 

 

 

Hello

 

I have taken a gondola several times. I think it worths. It is not cheap at all.... but Venice is Venice and it hasn't any sense without the gondola.

 

I guess they only accept cash for payments so calculate enough money

[bob10173]

42 minutes ago, alserrod said:

 

 

 

Hello

 

I have taken a gondola several times. I think it worths. It is not cheap at all.... but Venice is Venice and it hasn't any sense without the gondola.

 

I guess they only accept cash for payments so calculate enough money

Thanks. Is there difficulty getting in and out of the boats? I don't use a cane but knee is not the best.

[perakcruiser]

43 minutes ago, alserrod said:

I have taken a gondola several times. I think it worths. It is not cheap at all.... but Venice is Venice and it hasn't any sense without the gondola.

While I took a gondola before, I totally disagree. Venice is absolutely amazing, the gondola is one option, not a must for me at all. Meanwhile you get robbed 80 (!) euros for 30 minutes. And if you look like a stupid foreigner the asking price will move to three digits 😄

[alserrod]

1 minute ago, bob10173 said:

Thanks. Is there difficulty getting in and out of the boats? I don't use a cane but knee is not the best.

 

 

You will be able to get in.

 

Obviously you cannot get in with a wheelchair but gondola driver can stop it and help you.

 

Ask for any gondola with someone who speaks at least a bit of English. He will give you thousands of tips about the city

[alserrod]

Just now, perakcruiser said:

While I took a gondola before, I totally disagree. Venice is absolutely amazing, the gondola is one option, not a must for me at all. Meanwhile you get robbed 80 (!) euros for 30 minutes. And if you look like a stupid foreigner the asking price will move to three digits 😄

 

 

In my last chance it was just 5 years ago. I think I payed 70 euro

 

For me, it worth.... 

[perakcruiser]

1 minute ago, alserrod said:

In my last chance it was just 5 years ago. I think I payed 70 euro

As a Spaniard, they not consider you as easy victim, so you got overcharged not too much 😉

[alserrod]

1 minute ago, perakcruiser said:

As a Spaniard, they not consider you as easy victim, so you got overcharged not too much 😉

 

 

Prices were written in all gondola stations. I knew, previously, I had to pay that amount and I saw it was written in some affiches.

It is enough to read them and ask about it. If they say 30 minute sail, 30 minute (in my case it was a bit more).

I payed at the end in cash

[Essiesmom]

If you really want a gondola experience, but are cheap, there are places where you can take a gondola/ferry across a canal…for one euro…(prices may have risen since 2013).  

[mnocket]

3 hours ago, perakcruiser said:

And if you look like a stupid foreigner the asking price will move to three digits 😄

Aren't the gondola prices standardized?  I'm sure that's what I read recently. 

[alserrod]

Yes, they are

 

https://www.comune.venezia.it/it/content/servizio-gondola

 

 

and it seems, 90 euro this year

 

[sassycruiser]

We did a water taxi through a whole loop.  It wasn’t a gondola but we saw incredible sights and it was worth it.  

[bob10173]

1 hour ago, sassycruiser said:

We did a water taxi through a whole loop.  It wasn’t a gondola but we saw incredible sights and it was worth it.  

 

1 hour ago, sassycruiser said:

We did a water taxi through a whole loop.  It wasn’t a gondola but we saw incredible sights and it was worth it.  

Did you do this on your own or was it a planned tour? recently? Cost?

[sassycruiser]

Not a planned tour.  Just got on and rode until the end.  

[yogimax]

Looking for a bargain?  Take a vaporetto.  You'll have amazing sights as well as meeting locals and tourists alike.  You can board at P. Roma and either do a circle route or a back and forth.  I would recommend a journey to Murano, where you can walk around and enjoy many glass making shops.

[alserrod]

Information, not opinion.

 

I have been surprised to see the spending people plan on vacations depending on where they come from. I review various forums from various sites to learn things that will allow me to better prepare for my next cruise.

 

And a curious thing.... Europeans in general
- they barely travel in YC
- they hire the Easy drink pack only
- if they can save the taxi (using public transportation that is effective) to get to the boat they will do it
- .... but everyone has ridden a gondola at some point

In any case and in case it helps, here are the official prices of the means of transport in Venice

 

- GONDOLA

A gondola ride costs 90 euros according to the official website of the Venetian government. The walk is 30 minutes. If you travel after 7:00 p.m. it is more expensive.
Up to FIVE people can go up

- WATER TAXI

A tour between two points in Venice costs 70 euros (there is a supplement of 20 euros if it involves traveling through certain marked canals that are difficult to access).
The trip will last just as long as it takes the boat to reach the designated destination.
There are more possible destinations. For example, from anywhere in Venice to the airport it is 140 euros
Up to TEN people can go up

- VAPPORETO

(vappor in Italian means "steam", vapporeto is a steam-powered boat)

They are public transportation lines. Lines 1 and 2 cross the Grand Canal. Line 1 stops at all possible stops and line 2 only at some.

A single ticket costs 9.5 euros and the unlimited 24-hour pass costs 25 euros. Within the islands of Venice, the only possible route is along the Grand Canal and bordering them (when making an S, there will surely be a stop that will leave you nearby). However, they can be used to go to the other islands.

 

- TRAGHETTO

(Traghetto in Italian is something like "To transport")

The Grand Canal can only be crossed by four bridges along its entire length: Two next to the train station, the Rialto bridge and the Accademia bridge.
There are large gondolas in specific places that are moved by two people and make it easier for you to go to the opposite side of the Grand Canal (and avoid you going to the nearest bridge which... is probably not close).
They cost 2 euros per person (to cross from one place to the other on the Grand Canal)

 

I have been to Venice three times and I think I have ridden a gondola on two occasions and I have used Vapporeto line 1 on two other occasions.

 

My impressions

- The gondola is very expensive... but no one who hopes to go to a unique city in the world should believe that things are cheap. The gondola is the essence of the city and I think it is worth riding it and then exploring that unknown Venice full of canals and far from the Grand Canal. See how there are some "garages" in the houses for the gondolas, for example, how the streets adapt to the water, etc...

 

- I consider the vapporeto a means of transportation. A way to get from San Marco to Piazzale Roma. The two times I took it it turned out to be line 1 and from so many stops, starts and stops I ended up dizzy.
The last time it was also very full of people. I do not recommend it as an alternative to saying that you have navigated the Grand Canal because after five minutes, if it is full you will not enjoy it and you will want to arrive as soon as possible.

 

- Use Italian translations and decide

 

"Gondola" Vs "Water taxi" Vs "steam-powered boat" Vs "people transporting boat"

 

 

 

[perakcruiser]

9 hours ago, alserrod said:

but no one who hopes to go to a unique city in the world should believe that things are cheap.

Actually I did not have this impression. Cheap Cappuccino, cheap pizza and lunch menus, the last time we stayed in a hotel (in Venice,not Mestre!) ten years ago it was also way under 100 euros. The hotel maybe have changed, but I am pretty sure the coffee and the pizza are still very affordable. Of cause you can sit down at Marco and pay 20 euros for the music and 10 for the coffee😄 

 

9 hours ago, alserrod said:

- I consider the vapporeto a means of transportation. A way to get from San Marco to Piazzale Roma. The two times I took it it turned out to be line 1 and from so many stops, starts and stops I ended up dizzy.

You need to take line 2. 

 

And to complete your list:
- CRUISE SHIP

Nothing, nothing (!), beats the smooth ride on MSC Poesia or Armonia through the Cuidecca canal. I am so happy that I did this two times and on the other hand very sad that they have forbidden the cruise ships. 

[alserrod]

Well, they are different things and what you see is different too

 

- CRUISE,
Before, they passed in front of the Giudecca canal and you saw the Cathedral of Saint Mark in the background. Since there was a serious accident with a cruise ship, they were banned (you have to go much further away). Since Venice has restrictions due to the increase in tourism, even leaving on a cruise from Venice is complicated (they are starting to leave from Ravenna or Trieste).

I have also been there on a cruise and the views are beautiful

 

- TRAGHETTO
It is exclusively to go between both banks of the Grand Canal and where there is distance to the nearest bridge

 

- VAPPORETO
It is exclusively along the Grand Canal or to the nearby islands

 

- WATER TAXI
You can go to any destination. Of course, in the narrower channels they will charge you a supplement (it is indicated where)

 

- GONDOLA
It will take a circular route and try to pass through the smallest canals where you can see the essence of Venice. The two times I have used it it has been from the Rialto area and I remember always passing in front of Marco Polo's house. In my passage I have seen some boats distributing things to businesses but not water taxis (these pass through the Grand Canal whenever they can. Only if they have to go to a specific destination will they deviate at the end)

[alserrod]

and some niceties about Venice. Those things that definitely you will not visit on a fast guided tour

 

 

 

Have a look above. There's a water trail in the right. It was a firemen boat on an emergency . They had their sirens. It is very important because boats have a maximum speed on the canals. The maximum speed is that one it avoids trails because they would make fall to all gondolas.

Obviously an emergency boat can have overspeed. They had sirens not only to have free pass but to advice also to gondolas to stop (otherwise they could fall down)

 

 

 

I have ever seen before a garage like this one in the right. It has enough space for several gondolas!!!

 

 

 

 

and do not forget there are a lot of houses that can be reached only by a gondola as this one in the picture.

 

 

 

all these pictures are mine.

 

 

If you go to Venice, with or without a Gondola I would recommend you to walk to those unknown canals

[bob10173]

From what I am reading from this post. I am better off just getting off the ship in Marghera, wherever that is, and do my own tour and gondola or taxi thing. Sound right?

[perakcruiser]

2 hours ago, bob10173 said:

From what I am reading from this post. I am better off just getting off the ship in Marghera

I am not sure if you are allowed to leave at Marghera, I think you have to go Venice cruise terminal with a MSC bus or boat. But things change, maybe now you can disembark (but not embark) at Marghera. 

 

5 hours ago, alserrod said:

I would recommend you to walk to those unknown canals

I could not agree more. 

[bob10173]

1 hour ago, perakcruiser said:

I am not sure if you are allowed to leave at Marghera, I think you have to go Venice cruise terminal with a MSC bus or boat. But things change, maybe now you can disembark (but not embark) at Marghera. 

 

I could not agree more. 

As long as I get there, no info from MSC. A mystery,

[Nikita4]

The Infos are on the website and you recive emails about the process in Marghera/Venice. 
They will bring you to the Venice Cruise Terminal by boat or bus from Marghera Industrial port side.

[maclover]

@alserrod

Apologies if I take the liberty to correct you. 
 

The first image was taken from the terrace of Fondaco dei Tedeschi, a mall located right next to the Rialto Bridge.

While it’s recommended to book in advance a preferred time slot, the terrace is accessible to all visitors and, quite opposite to your statement, it tends to be crowded with fast-paced guided tours, given its free accessibility and stunning views over Venice. 

Seeing an ambulance-boat or a fire-fighters boat speeding through Canal Grande is merely coincidental. 
 

Regarding the last image, it features Palazzo Soranzo dell'Angelo, which can be easily accessed via the side road like every other in Venice. The fact that its main entrance faces the water does not imply it's the sole point of entry.

 

Back on topic, Venice Venice offers a plethora of attractions to explore. Whether to experience a gondola ride or to opt out is entirely subjective and based on individual preferences.

 

@bob10173 getting on and off gondola isn’t too difficult. If you are tight on time I’d suggest you to go to the Jewish Quarter: it’s a fast (15 minutes) and easy walk from Piazzale Roma and you can find few gondolas there. 

 

[bob10173]

9 hours ago, Nikita4 said:

The Infos are on the website and you recive emails about the process in Marghera/Venice. 
They will bring you to the Venice Cruise Terminal by boat or bus from Marghera Industrial port side.

Thanks. I think I will just take the shuttle to the Venice cruise terminal  and do my own thing once I get to Venice. Good plan?