Gondolas in Venice

As you probably know, Venice is a city on the water. Because of this, cars are not very helpful so everything is on the water. The fire brigade has boats, the construction materials are transported on boats, the postman rides in a boat, and the taxis are boats. 

Typical uniform of gondoliers can be seen in the background

The original form of Venetian water taxis was the gondola. The gondola is now more of a tourist-y thing than a mode of transport nowadays though. The gondolas used to be owned by the noble families of Venice. They were a sort of private water limousine. They were coloured extravagantly to show which noble it belonged to. Now since Venice is a republic, to make everyone equal they made all gondolas black. Gondoliers also dress the dame, in a striped top, wide brimmed straw hat, dark pants, and a red neckerchief. Gondoliers may hire a singer or accordionist to serenade you on your trip.

Gondolier repair shop

It is super expensive to become a gondolier. The gondola itself costs around $50,000, and the licence can be 10 times that according to my online research. Gondoliers own and take care of their own gondolas. Gondolas are around 11 meters long and are made of 280 hand made pieces of 8 types of wood, so maintenance is no easy task. It would be tough to row and balance at the same time. 

If you feel like a gondola ride then you will be set back almost 80 Euros or $120. None of our family really felt like an overpriced water hearse so we didn't go on a gondola ride. If you want a cheaper alternative you can go on a short gondola trip, called a "Traghetto" across canals for 2 Euros.

In conclusion, a gondola ride can be a fun cultural experience of Venice and sometimes Venetian music, whether you go for the $120 or $3 version is your choice.

Thanks for reading! And until next time, just stick to taxis on the mainland unless you're rolling in cash.