How To Score A Gondola Ride In Venice
A very romanticized and overrated activity to do while in Venice is the all too popular form of riding around on a wooden board as a man steers you through the sewers of the city – or the much nicer version: taking a gondola ride. It’s actually an incredible experience, and it is my personal belief that gondola rides should be integrated into our everyday lives, but since we live on normal, and mundane crosswalks, we’ll never be able to do so unless we completely uproot and move to this exceptional canal city.
What many people don’t know is how to score these rides once they actually arrive. Hoorah, I am here to help! Essentially, you can find gondola drivers parked/stationed all over the city, you just have to keep your eyes peeled. There’s also a massive port near the Duomo di Milano, which boasts dozens of these majestic canoes. Unfortunately, many great minds think alike, and more often than not it will be difficult to catch a ride in the evening/sunset hours (but I was able to locate a ride at sunset and was totally fine so it may also be just a seasonal thing).
Something to note about these rides is that they’re slightly on the pricier side, but the great thing is that you can split the cost with others – as easy as slicing a pie! Mmmm pie. So, the law ensures that every single gondola ride will cost $80. Nothing more, nothing less. These rides can carry up to 6 people, so if you do the math, a 30-minute gondola ride will NOT cost $80 but actually around $13. Too good of a deal to pass up.
Bonus advice: gondola rides are BYOB. Which means you can snatch up a cheap (yet marvelously delicious) bottle of wine, kick back, and get rocked into a sleepy daze as the waters lull you into pure bliss. Also, be sure to chat up your gondola driver! They love talking, especially about their home city, and will absolutely rock your world with the wealth of knowledge they possess!
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