Hello All,
My wife and I are planning a trip to Venice for our 30th anniversary. She has balance problems and somewhat limited use of her left arm and leg, she walk fine but needs a occasional rest. the question that I have is how stable are the gondolas and water taxis while boarding and disembarking?
Thank You in advance.
I think both could be a problem, especially the gondolas, since they’re down so low. On the other hand, I think she’d be just fine getting on and off a vaporetto.
Water Taxis are sturdy vessels, but they're only as steady as the ocean conditions. You do have to climb down a few steps into the vessel and obviously back up to exit.
Thank you, she does not have issues with steps as long as I help by holding her hand.
Gondolas and water taxied may need additional help. The Vaporetto do not, most are level entrances, however keep a good grip on her arm while on the floating docks.
Skip the gondola for sure. It is quite wobbly and frankly uncomfortable and deep seated.
I had my first gondola ride in September. Stay very central , may cost a lot but there are bridges and lots. Of walking otherwise. You will be glad you did. To enjoy Venice’s beUty u should plan to be close to your sights. Enjoy.
I asked a similar question before our trip last July; the responses may be helpful to you:
Based on the responses, I decided to use the Alilaguna for our airport transfer. It was easy to roll my son right from the dock onto the boat while still in his stroller.
We used vaporettos extensively during our stay and found the transfer from the dock to the boat to be easy for my son. There is sometimes a small step up or down to get into the vaporetto, but the dock moves with the boat.
We deliberately avoided water taxis and gondolas.
Have a great trip!
With balance issues, she might have issues with a gondola. Last year we went with friends, one of whom had a knee injury, and she had challenges with the gondola. We took water taxis and the vaperetto and she was fine on both.
Three different water craft, gondolas, water taxis and water busses (vaporetto).
Gondolas are purely for pleasure rides, nobody uses them for getting from A to B, at least not since 1979 when Peggy Guggenheim died. Hers was the last privately owned gondola purely for transporting Peggy and her dogs (and lovers, one may assume). The gondolier will always help, and gondolas are flat bottomed so quite stable.
Water Taxis are a launch about 30 feet long. Generally there would be a couple of steps down into the water taxi, and at the airport you board a water taxi from a floating pontoon so the step is never too much.
Vaporetti. You board these from a floating pontoon, so the step down is never more than 8 inches or so, depending how loaded the vap is. The pontoons are stable, mostly, the exception being when the vap approaches and maybe have a heavy landing against the pontoon. When you go inside, the first row of seats are reserved for the elderly, pregnant or a bit infirm passengers.
Something to bear in mind, and to reassure yourself. Venice has the oldest median aged population in all of Europe, and so people are very used to helping others get around.
Another suggestion - buy vaporetto passes for the time you are in Venice. Passes are timed. 24, 48 or 72 hours, also seven days. The validity of the pass starts when you first use it, not when you buy it, and the pass covers all vaporetto services in Venice, but not the airport. Buy passes when you get there as there is no advantage to buying on line in advance. You have to swipe the pass in front of the reader EACH AND EVERY TIME you use it. Just watch how others do it and you will be fine.
Passes can save a heap of walking in Venice, even if only to get from one side of the Grand Canal to the other, as there are only four bridges across the canal.
Yep. All of what Aussie said, x1000. For some reason, people often mistakenly refer to the vaporetti as "water taxis", when "water bus" is the more accurate phrase.
I think what your wife would want to avoid are the traghetti (rhymes with spaghetti). These are the gondola style boats that go back and forth between only two stops on opposing sides of the Grand Canal. (They fill a niche where there is no bridge.) Those can be a bit wobbly to get into and out of.
Thank you for all the relpies, maybe I should have been more clear with my question. We do not plan to use a gondola for transportation around Venice. We plan on one ride on the day of out 30th anniversary, are the gondolas similar to getting into a canoe? We have owned several boats through the years so her getting into a boat is not new to us.
Thank you again for the replies
A gondola is about 34 feet long, 5 feet wide and weighs about 770 pounds. The bottom is flat, with quite a sharp chine, unlike a canoe which is rounded. So the gondola is quite stable.
Adding to Aussie's comments on gondola stability...though not in a gondola, I did not fall off of a batellina while standing and (trying to!) row out in the lagoon with the kind folks at Row Venice. I can tell you from personal experience these traditional Venetian boats are surprisingly stable, even if the person rowing them is less than able :-).
