My husband and I are taking the From Thames to the Tiber trip with Globus in June. We recently received the information about possible excurtions or optional tours and we saw one about Gondola rides.. ..but it said it held 6 people!! We really wanted to do one with just the two of us, is this possible? Is the language barrier a big problem with getting to take one on our own? Thanks for all your help!!!

You can take a private gondola ride just for you and your husband.
The gondolas near San Marco Square are more expensive; so you may want to walk to a gondola stop further away. Then choose one gondola and negotiate with the driver - around Euro 80 for 45 minutes.

The optional gondola ride arranged by Globus can seat up to maximum 6 persons per gondola. Depending on how many from your group sign up for this excursion, you may end up 6 or 4 or 2 in one gondola. The plus points are all arrangements are taken care of for you and there are singing/serenading and music accompaniment.

Everyone speaks English in Venice.

hjbusselman, hubby and I would also prefer to have a ride on our own. As magnolia mentioned, you can arrange your own gondola ride. I've done a little research on various boards, and we will be striking out on our own.
Who knows when I'll visit Venice again?

Venice always draws you back. I fell in love with Venice and can't wait to return. It is magical!

I recommend striking out on your own.. ..the gondola rides pre-arranged for the group are not romantic and I wouldn't want to do it again. It left me somewhat disenchanted. Arranging for a private ride.. ..as long as you are comfortable with the money is a better idea.

I just got back from a three week vacation in Italy. Our vacation began with a Best of Italy tour. We then did some touring on our own and visited with family. Hubby and I decided to do a gondola ride on our own. Yes, it was pricey, but it is also the kind of thing that we will most likely never do again.

We saw the Globus arranged optional gondola ride. There were three gondolas with six people in each. Fellow tour members who opted for this option told us that you were told where to sit as passengers were placed in gondolas according to size. The three gondolas always travelled together. One of the gondolas had two musicians. One of the musicians played the accordian. When I saw this, I was glad that we had decided to get our own gondola.

Here is a tip for fellow travellers. As the Globus hotel was in Mestre, we had to take the train in and then could walk to St. Mark's Square or take the water buses. I had done some research before our trip regarding fares and routes. We opted to buy a Tourist Ticket that is valid for 24 hours from the time of validation. We validated the tickets just after 5:00 p.m. on our first day in Venice and used them all that night and also the next day after our guided tour of Venice. The tourist ticket costs $12 euros and gives you unlimited access to all routes allowing you to travel on the water buses as many times as you like. A ticket for a one time trip down the Grand Canal cost $5.50 euros. The Tourist Ticket was the best purchase we made in Venice. It allowed us to travel up, down and all around and to hop on and off the water bus when something struck our fancy.

Hi Italian Girl,
Could you give more specific information regarding the tourist pass that you bought in Venice? Where did you buy it and what did it entitle you to ride? Thanks.
Mimi642

Hello Mimi642. We bought our Tourist Ticket at the Santa Lucia railway station. I'm not sure if you are going on the Best of Italy, but I'll just give a little info about how we got to the station. On that tour day, we had travelled from Assisi to Venice and arrived at our hotel (Plaza) in Mestre at approximately 3:30 p.m. The optional gondola ride was to occur that night. Not everyone was taking the optional gondola ride, yet many people were going into Venice. Our tour director said that anyone wishing to go to Venice could get a ride with our bus. The bus left our hotel at approximately 5:30 p.m. and went across the bridge that joins Mestre (the mainland) to what we all think of as Venice. It dropped us off near the Santa Lucia Ferrovia railway station.

Just outside the station, close to the Ponte degli Scalzi bridge, there is a booth where you can buy tickets for the waterbuses. I have the tickets in front of me as I am typing this. They are called 'Tourist Ticket' and cost 12 euros each. A single ride on the Grand Canal costs 5.50 euros (The www.actv.it site says 5 euros, but I believe it was 5.50). . To put that in perspective, a ride up to Piazza S. Marco and then back to the railway station would cost 11 eruos. The tickets are blue and the size of a business card. They are valid for 24 hours from the time of validation. We validated them just after 6:00 p.m. and used them all that evening and the next day after our included guided tour of Venice was over. You validate them at these little yellow boxes close to the entrance to the waterbus stops.

I had photocopied a map of the waterbus routes from the DK Eyewitness Guide to Italy. The book also explained a little about the routes and where they went. We mostly took routes 1 and 82. One of those is the slow bus up and down the Grand Canal that stops at every stop. We even went out to the Lido (the beach). . We hopped on and off whenever we pleased. The Tourist Ticket may not be valid for routes out to Murano and Burano, but we had already visited Murano with our group that morning. At the waterbus stops, you can go in two directions. There are signs with all the names of the stops on that route and an arrow that points in the direction that bus is going. I know the travel books tell you to be careful of pickpockets on the waterbuses. Our reality was that the majority of people on these buses were tourists and we always felt extremely safe.

To get back to Mestre, we took the waterbus to Santa Lucia railway station and then took the train back to Mestre. All trains stop at Mestre, so we just took the first one that was leaving the station. It turned out that half our tour group was on the same train! The train tickets were 1 euro each and could be purchased at self serve machines located inside the station. The machines gave you a choice of languages. As with the waterbus tickets, you have to validate them before getting on the train. A train employee did come around to check tickets. We had such a great time and took some amazing pictures of Venice from the water. Hope this helps. Enjoy your trip!

We enjoyed our Gondola Ride which was the Globus Optional. My wife and I and my brother and sister-in-law shared a Gondola with the Singer and Musician. Ahh, so nice making our way down the canal, with the music and the beautiful scenery. An experience we will never forget.

We took the optional gondola and there were six of us in our gondola. They did indeed separate couples to sit us where the boat was more correctly weighted I suppose. It wasn't exactly romantic but it was wonderful! We were all singing along with our serenades and laughing and enjoying the party atmosphere of our gondola group. We just make the most of the situation.

If you want a "romantic" gondola ride, then you might want to seek out your own excursion. You might want to find out if your gondola would include singing or music.. .. . some of the gondolas do not have music, so make sure to ask for what you want included.