So Italy is a bit too far away – don’t worry. You can still get the traditional Italian experience of a Venetian gondola ride right here in Las Vegas. There are even private gondolas available for sixty dollars that allow you to traverse the Venice-inspired waterways with just you and a friend. As elegant and romantic as a true Venetian gondola ride, this has become one of the many required stops on any trip to Vegas.
The gondola rides are offered solely, as you would expect,
at The Venetian. But
the interconnectedness of the city makes visiting a simple
jaunt, whether from nearby hotels such as Treasure
Island and The Mirage, or
a mere cab or tram ride down the
strip. Everyone is invited to take in the passion
and wonder that has been transplanted from Italy and left
to remain here, just steps from the casino floor.
If you want to ride in the gondolas at The Venetian in Las Vegas, you can choose between indoor and outdoor rides. The indoor ride is the more popular, whisking you through the mall that is attached to the hotel, decorated with facades, bridges and other monuments that resemble the green canals of Venice. Called the Grand Canal, the lilting voices of the gondoliers carry throughout the mall, many of whom were trained in Italy by the masters. Gondolas at the Venetian Las Vegas are just about everywhere – it’s definitely the main selling point of the famous hotel.
The outdoor route is just as nice, running along replicas of Italian palaces and piazzas. Both indoor and outdoor routes can be traveled via a private gondola or with a small group of fellow tourists. The rides themselves last upwards of twenty minutes, regardless, enough time to be gawked at by a majority of those wandering the paths around the Venetian shopping mall.
Of course, just about every guest at the hotel, along
with countless other tourists, wants to take a trip on
the gondolas at The Venetian in Las Vegas. Reservations
are not especially difficult to make (you merely have
to show up in person and add your name to a list if you
want to plan ahead), but are necessary in getting yourself
a guaranteed Venetian Gondola ride. Otherwise, plan
to spend long periods of time waiting for to disembark
– even longer than the line for the roller coaster
in New York New York.
It’s more akin to a second-string ride found in
Disneyland,
long but not interminable. Gondolas at The Venetian
in Las Vegas run from 9 in the morning until late in the
evening, the longest waits are reserved for later in the
day, so plan accordingly.
