gondola rides in Venice

No gondola company. Gondolieri are individual operators who are licensed by the city (like taxi drivers). The fares are set by the city, therefore you can't negotiate for less. If you do you'll simply get less time (the standard is about 40 min). Night rides cost more. The gondola holds up to 6 people. If you can fill one with 6 people you can share the fare and pay less per person. If you arrange with a hotel or tour company, they'll book one and add a commission. Gondolas are like taxis. Just get on one. The standard fare is 80 Euro for a 40 min. standard tour (100 Euro at night). There is a 40 euro additional fee for each additional 20 min. (50 Euro xtra at night). If you want to save, gondolas are also used as a "passenger ferry" to ferry people across the grand canal in some spots with no bridges. It costs 50 cents per person for a crossing (just 2-3 minutes). The crossing points are called "stazi" ("stazio=stop"). Here they are: San Marcuola - Fondaco dei Turchi, Ca' D'Oro - Pescaria, Riva del carbon - Fondamenta dei Vini,
San Tomà - Sant'Angelo, Ca' Rezzonico - San Samuele e Salute - Campo del Traghetto.

If the gondolas belong to any company, you can't tell when you see them. No markings. Typically it's about 100E for the boat in the early evening. The gondola can hold up to 6 passengers. You can work with other tourists to share the seats and the fare. My wife and I share with 3 others. 20E per person was not bad. The trip is short (about 30-45 minutes) but you have to do it. Note that there are a lot of gondolas in Venice. Lots. Traffic jams in some of the small canals in which they travel. You would think with supply and demand, you could bargain them down. But, the gondoliers seem to have this business tied up. Here's a link to a picture to explain the gondola traffic. http://gyazo.com/c279aa65b7ec63bffff8e241fb7b5d0c Another option is Viator. They offer a couple of different walking tours that include a gondola ride. About 58Euro per person. Just google gondola rides venice.

Roberto says: If you want to save, gondolas are also used as a "passenger ferry" to ferry people across the grand canal in some spots with no bridges. It costs 50 cents per person for a crossing (just 2-3 minutes). Those boats that cross the Grand Canal and look a bit like gondolas are called traghetti and they are no longer 50 cents for tourists. They're now 2 euros a ride unless you have a resident card.