Ripped off Gondola in Venice

[GreenAir80]

Hello I want to make you all aware of this as we got totally ripped off in Venice and I want to warn you all.

We took a Gondola from outside St Mark’a Square right in front of where the two pillars are, the gondoliers run a racket there, they all have these cards where they say it’s up to €200ish euros for a Gondola ride. We took a €185 option and paid €160 for it, they refused card we walked off and then another person came and said he’ll take card.

We were taken on a max 25 minute gondola ride.

I found out after it should have been €90 and you can go on a side street and pick up a gondola
and they’ll still take you on the Grand Canal and under the Rialto bridge, I just wanted to let you all know. It was a lovely experience but tarnished.

I am someone that would happily pay double for a coffee with a better view 😂

One needs to wary of all people who wear black and white stripey jumpers...

...that's why some of us also wear masks.

I would appreciate a link to report!

I can imagine that Gondolas in Venice are probably in the top 10 of things in the world that you're most likely to vastly overpay on as a tourist.

We always factor (in a light hearted not in a set way) a 'rip off' tax into the holiday budget so we don't get annoyed when some inevitable little rip off happens because you are a tourist.

But do you stand up? I sit, because of dreadful balance and a desire not to be the dimwit who made Jackass-style history falling out of a traghetto and being filmed by fifty people passing in a vaporetto…😀

Isn't this usual for tourist things though? If you buy a coffee in the main tourist square anywhere, you're going to pay more than if you buy it down a side street.

Hi OP I gave you a link to the municipal authority in my previous post. You can also contact the Ente Gondola directly

www.gondolavenezia.it/contact.asp

No, it's a set fee.

We were in Venice a year ago and had a gondola ride at the standard cost from one of the side streets. Yes it’s ridiculously expensive for half an hour, but it really was magical. I loved seeing round the small back street canals and we went out onto the Grand Canal just above the Rialto Bridge. If you can afford it, I would recommend it!

Op, I’m sorry that happened to you but you do seem like innocents abroad to be so surprised about it.

if you go back - take a water taxi first thing in the morning, the earliest one possible in daylight and you will probably be on it alone and the canal will be empty. It’s what I always do.

They told you up front what they were charging, OP, and you paid less! That's not a "rip off", that's a bargain. Just because you didn't use your common sense to find a quieter and cheaper spot, that's not the fault of the gondoliers.
Talk about giving tourists a bad name.....

I loved Venice. I did take a gondola once years before but that was at the Venetian in Las Vegas 😁

Yes I think a little research was needed before you did it and before you agreed to this price. I wouldn’t have paid 160€ because to me that is ridiculously expensive! Always a good idea to research the things you want to do when on holiday, see reviews and other people’s tips or warning. Especially if it’s an expensive activity/restaurant or place.

Yes, we usually do some research but we saw them and thought let’s do it!

So what's your complaint then. By your own admission you didn't research.

I would have paid anything to go on a Gondola and would factor that into my holiday budget. Saying that it's good to know you can go off Side streets to get a better price. Pre kids we were in Venice and I wish we had taken one ( where will you do one ever ) so with kids I would pay that just for the sheer bucket list / memories of it . But that's just me.its nuts expensive even at 90 euro

Anywhere I go, including Venice, I avoid these "experiences". Too expensive & usually underwhelming. In Malta I got harassed for a Harbour Cruise, in Lindos, Rhodes it was donkey rides, and I live in London, those rickshaw drivers are a menace.

We went to Venice when we first got together 20 years ago. My then bf wanted to take me on one. I said no as I didn't want him to waste his money. You don't have to go on one.

Also I thought you meant you were literally dragged off one when you said ripped off 😂😂 🤦‍♀️

The good thing is the price is regulated so you don't have to pay the higher sum. This whole thread just goes to show we all need to do a bit of research on holiday so we don't get ripped off.

@GreenAir80 don't worry about not getting wine - that's a different, more expensive package.

We had the most expensive aperol spritzes ever in Venice. 21 euros each and that was 8 years ago. It included 6 euros each to enjoy the small orchestra who promptly went on their break, never to return when our drinks arrived.

But even I knew that the gondolas are a guaranteed rip off.

Sorry but I do think you have been quite naive travellers here, just because someone has printed up a price list doesn’t mean it’s worth that value, in major tourist areas you should always look at a few prices.

I thought from your OP you were going to say they’d quoted you one price but had charged more to your card, that would’ve been a con, this unfortunately is simply choosing to pay over the odds in a main tourist trap.

I think you just need to allow for these things to happen and not ruin your holiday. Sometimes when you do very obvious things that only tourists do, you will be overcharged. I say this a someone who recently paid 21 euros for three bottles of still water at lunch near the Eiffel Tower.

Totally, you’re paying for the location as much as the coffee/wine, same anywhere really.