Venice Gondola Tour — Local services in Venice

Venice would not be Venice without the Gondola. The gondola eventually became a symbol of Venice and its many canals. The gondolas are beautiful elegant vessels adapted for sailing in the shallow waters of the Venetian lagoon, as they have minimal draft. Their asymmetrical shape allows easy operation with just one paddle by which the gondolier paddles while standing at the stern. The gondola is first mentioned in a letter from the doge Vilale Falier from 1094, and then as today it was a boat to transport passengers around Venice and to the islands in the Venetian lagoon. In the 18th century, as many as 14,000 gondolas probably sailed through the canals of Venice, at that time Venice was one of the busiest waterways in the world. Today, there are only about five hundred of them left, and they mostly transport tourists and newlyweds, for whom Venice is a traditional honeymoon destination. A 40-minute gondola ride costs about € 80, but that price is not fixed but depends on the deal, and each additional service is charged (singing, special hours, etc.). Interestingly, the left side of the gondola is 24 cm wider than the right because of the balance because there is a gondolier on the right, so the sides are even in weight. The gondolas are from 10.80 to 11 m long, 1.40 to 1.60 m wide, weigh up to 600 kg, and can carry up to 6 passengers with one gondolier. Until the early 20th century, as can be seen in many photographs, gondolas were often equipped with a "felze", a small cabin, to protect passengers from the weather and unwanted views. And the windows of the "felze" were closed with small "blinds. I certainly love to watch the gondolas and gondoliers sail elegantly through the many canals of magnificent Venice. We were extremely pleased with the service and sightseeing of beautiful Venice. The gondolier was professional and interesting. The price was a discount, meaning good (15 euros per person for 35minuta), we did...

You should avoid the gondoliers located on the Rialto Bridge, who, as far as I have found out, identify themselves as “Góndola Ride”, although I did not find any identification on the gondolas or on their uniforms. Do not fall into the trap as we did and book or contract with one of the serious companies, such as “Servizio Gondola ai Miracoli”, who do not live by deceiving tourists. We have been able to verify that, both on the main canal and on the interior ones, these gondoliers who pick up tourists on the Rialto Bridge, make a 15-minute trip, not the 30 for which you pay €110. They ask you for the amount in cash and in advance. We were taken by a young, thin guy with shaved hair, who is supposedly called “Andrea” and who is described on different websites as a scammer. Both he and the two gondoliers who made the same journey with different people acted in the same way, so it was not an isolated incident. I tried to make him understand that what they were doing was not the smartest thing, and that in the past they could take advantage of the fact that we did not have the information that the Internet now provides, so it is not difficult to know which company provides legal services and which does not. His answer was that with the number of tourists who pass through Venice every day requesting their services they could do what they wanted, because the next day they would still have another queue of tourists with whom to continue doing the same thing. They are pickpockets with a gondola! Swindlers who tarnish the image of legal gondoliers, as well as of the city and the memory you take with you after visiting such a special place as Venice and taking the idyllic gondola ride through its canals. Do not let these thieves...

Warning: Beware of Scams in Venice – Especially Gondola and Bus Services My recent trip to Venice from Germany with my family (four adults) was unfortunately marred by what felt like widespread dishonest practices. I want to share my experience so others can be forewarned and avoid similar frustrations. Our first encounter with deceptive pricing was with a gondola service. We had confirmed a price of €90 for a 30-minute ride, which was clearly displayed on their board. We paid the gondolier before we started, and our journey began at precisely 5:10 PM. To our shock, after only 15 minutes, the gondolier returned us to our starting point. We immediately protested, reminding him of the agreed-upon 30 minutes, but our complaints were disregarded. This felt like a blatant rip-off, cutting our experience in half for the full price. We faced a similar issue with local bus transportation. We needed to travel from Oriago to Venice and had checked an app, which indicated a fare of €1.50 per person. However, the bus driver insisted on charging us €5 per person, despite us showing him the information on our phone. It was only on our return journey, when we purchased tickets from a counter, that we were correctly charged €1.50 per person by the ticket agent. This disparity in pricing and the driver's refusal to acknowledge the listed fare was incredibly frustrating. It's disheartening to encounter such pervasive dishonesty. These experiences left us with the distinct impression that visitors need to be extremely cautious. While Venice is a beautiful city, these incidents significantly detracted from our enjoyment and left us...