Gondola Serenade

Gondola's tariffs are fixed by the city and the Gondoliers Association: 80 Euro per boat for a 30 minutes ride before sunset. It's 100 Euro per boat after sunset, but the ride lasts a little more.

A gondola can take up to 6 adults, who pays 80 Euro decides how many passengers there will be. It's not a shared mean of transport and no gondolier will force you to ride with strangers to make more money.

A Gondoliere desperate for a last run could negotiate and take less than 80 Euro. Since he/she would be breaking their own rules, do not expect a great experience.

Serenades are made only for non italian tourists by companies you can easily find on the internet. As You'll find out, these companies ask more than the fixed fare of 80 Euro. Most Gondoliers think the all thing to be humiliating for both sides.

Seranades generally include Volare and O Solo Mio, bellowed to the strains of a piano accordian.
Piano accordians have been well described as the Devil’s instrument.

But whatever floats your boat / gondola.

We did not even try to negotiate. We just decided to go for the 80 EUR ride, and not the "much nicer" 100 EUR or 120 EUR ride, and our gondoleer was not happy. I can't imagine how he would have been if we tried to pay less than 80!!!!

Excellent advice here. It's important to remember that the gondoliers have a monopoly on this, so it's pretty much a license to print money. They will get in trouble with the other gondoliers if they negotiate a lower rate. Also, don't tip. They're paid a fortune as is.

Here's one vote for not missing out on the experience! Select one when you're there, so you can pick out your gondolier.

Several years ago when we were on the RS Best of Italy tour (loved it!), our RS guide asked all of us to let him know if we wanted to pay for a gondola ride. Several of us went together. They loaded people onto the gondolas - ours had another RS couple, us and a couple of guys who I didn't know. I was thinking, "why are these guys paired with us?" Well, out came the accordion; one played while the other sang. I have perfect pitch and am happy to report they were excellent! I'm usually pretty quiet, but one of their initial songs was the upbeat "Funiculi, funicular", so I started to sing & clap. Now all of a sudden I was their best friend! They handed me the song book to see what else I knew! The three gondolas of RS people pulled close together in the Grand Canal for a few songs. We had a fantastic time!