Venice gondola and pedestrain travel

then get on the water taxi and go through the Grande Canel from one end to the other and back again?
I saw an encouraged deal to get a water taxi ticket that lasts 24 hours, Nancy, that sounds a lot more like a vaporetto pass than a pass on a water taxi. If you kept a water taxi for 24 hours you would need to see the president of your bank. A half hour runs over €100, imagine 40 or 50 times that. The Rick Steves Venice guidebook has a really good Grand Canal vaporetto ride commentary, and the audio version is available here on the website. A vaporetto ride at dawn along the Grand Canal is wonderful.

Can you just get on water taxi and go from stop to stop, I thought that ran euro 1.60 pp per trip?

You are confusing the vaporetto (public transpportation, like a water bus) with a water taxi, which is exactly that: an expensive private taxi. If you want to ride down th eGrand Canal on the Vapopretto, you can do that on a single ticket, or you can get a pass and hop on and off. If you want to hire a water taxi for the ride, expect to pay mega-euros. As for haggling with gondoliers, I'll bet they are pretty tight with one another and do not reduce their prices, at least not in front of one another.

For euro 1.60 pp you'll get a bus trip across the bridge from Mestre to Piazza Roma, but I'm not sure it's enough. If all you want is a boat trip from one end to the other of the Grand Canal the cheapest way is a vaporetto, which is basically boat-bus. It costs 7 euro per person and you can ride on one or more vaporetto for one hour. You can also buy a 24 hr travel card which allows unlimited vaporetto rides for a day. It comes at 24 euro per person. If you plan 4 or more trips in a day, it's worth the investment. For 36 hours it is 25 euro per person. If you opt for a water taxi the fare from the station or piazzale Roma, on the north end of the Grand Canal, to Piazza San Marco, is 60 euro (one way). It can be shared by up to 8 or 9 people, therefore if you are in a group of 8 people it's not that expensive. Gondolas have a city imposed fare of 80 euro for a 40 min. ride (100 euro if at night from 7pm to 8am). An extra 20 min. will cost you an additional 40 euro. Prices are per gondola and each gondola holds 6 seats, so not so expensive if shared by a group. If you can find a gondoliere that can go from one end to the other of the Grand Canal and back in 40 minutes, please refer him to the Italian Olympic Committee. He will be a gold medalist in the rowing event at the next games in Rio.

A lot of people confuse the term "water taxi" with a vaporetto which, as pointed out, is actually a water bus with regular stops. As pointed out, it's 7 euros for one hour or you can buy a 24 hour pass. The only trip on the water for anything close to 1.60E is a ride from one side of the GC to the other (NOT one END of the GC, but one SIDE) at a few specific points on what is called a traghetto. It looks like a gondola with two gondoliers (one at each end) and costs 2 euros to ride across in about two minutes.

If you can find a gondoliere that can go from one end to the other of the Grand Canal and back in 40 minutes, please refer him to the Italian Olympic Committee. He will be a gold medalist in the rowing event at the next games in Rio. Roberto, isn't there a race at some time of the year in Venice when the gondoliers compete against one another on the Grand Canal? I recall reading about it somewhere a long time ago but no recollection where I read it.

Rose, you're remembering the Regatta Storica which we got to see in 2003. It's in September each year. It's a blast, and yes, they do have gondola races.

I didn't know that crossing the stazi on the canal was 2 euro already. I remember when they were 50 cents a few years ago.
But even at 2 euro for 2 minutes it's a bargain compared to 80 euro for 40. Just cross 20 times back and forth and you got 40 min on a gondola for half the price. The traghettieri will think you are crazy, but it's worth the savings.

Well, thank you all so much for the detailed information! I did confuse the terms and will know when in Venice to choose the correct transportation mode. Does anyone know about walking and getting around, can you do a fair amount in one day?

Venice is very walkable as long as you are prepared for lots of stairs. As long as you're not going to San Giorgio Maggiore or the islands out in the lagoon you could easily do Venice without stepping foot on boat.

You can easily take the vaporetto up and down the Grand Canal, but just be warned that it will be crowded, so you may not get the view you're looking for. No one ever checked the vaporetto tickets while we were on board, so we stopped buying them and just rode it for free.

Becky, How clever to steal rides on public transportation - do you do that at home, too?

Becky, do you steal food from the supermarket because nobody ever looked in your handbag? What else do you steal? BTW - they do check on the vaporettos, I have seen it many times. Big fines too. So you've admitted that you're a criminal. Well, the helpline is open to all. Takes all kinds...