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.

@GreenAir80

how old are you?
have you not travelled before?
tell
me the 80 in your user name isn't your birth year??

Tourist Activities outside a Tourist Hot Spot are always going to be expensive. Sometimes there are cheaper options nearby, sometimes they have the monopoly, it's YOUR responsibility to find out & choose whether or not you spend your money.

if they give you, what they say they'll give you, you have not been 'ripped off' .

consider this a lesson learned and consider if an 'experience' is with £x to you or not before doing it.

I’m on your side OP. We were in Venice a few years ago and it was my understanding, as others have posted, that gondoliers are licensed and there is a set fee they have to charge. Exactly to stop this kind of thing. So you were ripped off in my opinion and are right to feel annoyed.

@GreenAir80 I would suggest that when you travel anywhere you do some better research on the city you are visiting. Did you know you can cross the Grand Canal on a Gondola Traghetto for very little money? Locals stand up but tourists sit down. It’s a bit of fun. You can also take the Vaporetto Line 1 all down the Grand Canal? Yes, not a Gondola but slow enough to see all the buildings. A bit of local life.

Basically, do read a basic guide like Lonely Planet before you go and do some research on how not to spend too much.

So when you are presented with a card you look say thanks and maybe later. Then you check what others are charging and make you decision based on that. You don't just go with the first although you may go back to them if you find they were indeed the most reasonable.

As a customer the onus is on you. You don’t have to spend the money, so shop around. Most visitors don’t go on gondolas for a reason!

Just my opinion: the OP knows she has been ripped off but she wrote the post so others could avoid the same trap which was a kind and generous thing to do. Maybe those berating her for not doing enough research first or criticising her for even wanting a gondola ride in Venice could bear that in mind and go and argue with someone else instead??🙄

I don't want to bash the OP, maybe it's her first time in the tourist hell that is Venice, but if a gondola ride is a must-do on your trip there, and you KNOW it's going to be pricy (because it will be - 95 euros is still a massive amount) then surely you research first? Even googling for five minutes while waiting in a line to get on would tell you that getting one from San Marco is going to be the most expensive ride going? Tripadvisor can be a bit vicious but is a good place to pick up tips to save money. Reddit too.

I was in Venice last autumn and a daftly expensive gondola ride was not on my must-dos, but I discovered from the web that if you really want to be on a gondola, you can 'catch' one to cross the Grand Canal at a few spots. It's basically a ferry. The service is called the Traghetto and it's 2 euro pp. www.visit-venice-italy.com/transport-venice-traghetto.html#:~:text=Traghetto%20is%20used%20to%20cross,%2C%201st%20January%2C%2015th%20august.

Locals stand up, visitors who are unused to riding on a gondola are advised to sit. I just thought I'd put this up here because - in all honesty - an overpriced 30 minute gondola ride with a cheesy bloke poling you around and maybe singing at you is a bit of a naff experience for the money. Each to their own but it's not a cheap city anyway and there are lovely meals to spend your dosh on instead.

Incidentally, I thought the best bang for your buck is to get a day ticket on the water buses and just cruise around a bit. It'll take you to the other islands like Murano, Burano, Torcello etc, it's breezy out on the open lagoon when it's hot and if you manage to get on at the right stop (eg somewhere out of the way) you can probably get a seat. Mind your bag and pockets. It gives you incomparable views and is a hell of a lot more 'real' than a bloody gondola!

Well thank you OP for letting us know and I’m sorry that you have been at times attacked for naivety.

My tip for Venice is to avoid the St Marks area - def there, photograph, see the Doge Palace and find some quiet streets for lunch and be aware that fish is costed by the weight, I believe.

Also stay outside Venice and just train in as there are lovely surrounding towns eg Venezia.

You can do it as a fast train from Florence for a day trip.

Sadly unless I get holiday cover for my son Venice is out of the question these days.

Also stay outside Venice and just train in as there are lovely surrounding towns eg Venezia.
Venezia is the Italian name for Venice.

Harsh lol! Travelled plenty and never got ripped off like this. In India I always paid Indian prices, I negotiate on everything!! I for whatever reason fell for this one! So what’s I’m saying is, don’t anyone else!

@GreenAir80 In India you paid Indian prices?! Why? The tourist prices aren’t high and provide much needed money for the sites you visit. That sounds a bit dishonest and mean. No wonder you didn’t like the price of a gondola. I would just do some homework in advance and accept everything has a price.