Just do the Gondola Ride!

In 2016, we honeymooned in the USA. We went on a gondola ride at the Venetian in Las Vegas, and at the time I had thought this would be the closest we would ever come to riding in a Venetian gondola.

Fast forward 8 years and we made it to Italy and in particular, Venice. My goal for our time in Venice was pretty simple – ride in a gondola and purchase a Venetian mask.

I have read countless blogs and posts on assorted Facebook travel pages about what a waste of money and what a ‘tourist trap’ a gondola ride in Venice is. I am here to tell you, in no uncertain terms, that if you are fortunate enough to make it to Venice in your lifetime – save your money and then gleefully spend the 90 euro it costs for a 30 minute gondola ride!

Venice is stunning.

Here are some tips (which are potentially unpopular opinions) we have about our time in Venice:
1) Pay the money, do the gondola ride! Savour the ride! Take pictures, take video. Then sit back and marvel at where you are in the world and how magical this city is – regardless of whether you think you will return there or not. Just bask in it and enjoy its beauty and uniqueness!
2) Don’t pay for tours or entry into basilicas, palaces, etc if they are not your thing or you don’t want to know more about them!
3) Take the water bus or a taxi from the airport. To really appreciate Venice, it is amazing to enter it via the mouth of the Grand Canal!
4) Get up early and head to St Mark’s Square, the bridge of sighs and even the Rialto Bridge – at 6:30 am there were only a handful of other people around which allowed us to enjoy the features and details of the buildings and the serenity of where we were in the world.

There are a stack of ways to save money when you are travelling but I really encourage you to put aside 90 euro to experience a gondola ride in Venice – it is worth every cent.

Make Every Moment Count! Live Your Life with a Gondola Ride in Venice!

Want to see more pics of our travels – head to Harrigan Creative on Instagram. For more reels and funny travel content – head to Andiamo Harrigan on Instagram.