Gondolas and Traghetti

When in Venice...
Word to the wise: You might find yourself using the traghetti more than you anticipated, so invest in a Tourist Card to make the trips cheaper.

Once a symbol of high rank, today gondolas are populated by tourists having an 'experience'. Despite the whiff of naff, visiting Venice and not taking a gondola ride is rather like going to Paris and not going up the Eiffel Tower. Private hire vessels (available anywhere along the canalside) will take you on a relaxing, but random, 40-minute excursion, for around EUR 14 per person (based on 6 people in the gondola).
Alternatively, there are the 'traghetti', which are purely functional and ferry people from one side of a canal to the other, costing as little as 50 cents. Because there are only four bridges that cross the Grand Canal, the traghetti are always in demand, and ease the pressure on the more bus-like 'vaporetti', which have designated routes and timetables.