I'm a student studying abroad in Rome. Our weekends are somewhat free so I would love to plan a trip to Venice. What would be the best way to get a place to stay at? I'm looking at the Courchsurfing website but I'm not sure if I want to subscribe yet since I don't know if I'll even get a place to stay at.
Is it even possible to plan a weekend trip to Venice, with the long train ride and the small chance of even finding a place. The best weekend for me to go and spend more time there would be June 2nd - 4th. I could possibly go June 10th - 11th, however I'd rather have a couple more days since the trip there is so long.
If anyone has any tips please help a college student out. I'm stressing a little.
Thank you in advance
Posted by
North Carolina
2448 posts
A good source of reasonably-priced accommodations is monasterystays.com. Some of the places listed have gone over to being more like regular hotels, including the Casa Sant’Andrea and the Casa Caburlotto, so you could book directly with them if you prefer. (I’ve stayed in both, as it happens). Good luck!
Posted by
Michigan
315 posts
I think the train to Venice is only 4 hours or so? So a very doable weekend trip. And maybe check with your fellow students - when my son studied in Rome, a bunch of them would plan weekend trips together, which saved money on hotels. Hostels are also a cheaper alternative, depending on your travel style; many Airbnbs are private rooms in a home and less expensive as well.
Posted by
Washington DC
27111 posts
Booking.com is a good place to check for lodgings, in addition to monasterystays.com and your hostel website of choice. The reviews on booking.com are generally reliable, because you can only leave a review if you've actually stayed at the property. There are lots of filters that will help you focus on places that meet your needs, starting with the nightly rate. The area around the train station (Cannaregio) is often the cheapest. Be careful about staying on one of the out islands like Giudecca or (even more so) the Lido, because you will need a vaporetto to get back and forth.
We'll all tell you to stay in Venice proper, because there's nothing like being able to wander around the tourist-free streets really early in the morning or in the evening when the day trippers are gone. However, for a student pinching pennies, finding a cheap place to stay can be the only thing that makes a trip to Venice possible. Therefore, I suggest considering Venice-Mestre if you just cannot find anything in Venice itself. Venezia-Mestre is a 10-minute train ride from the Venezia-Santa Lucia station. The fare is 1.45 euros each way, and service is very frequent. I picked a random 1-hour period on a weekday and saw nine trains.
If you end up in Mestre, being close to the train station there will be very valuable. If you have to walk 15 minutes to get to the train station, that will turn your one-way commute into nearly a half-hour trip.
Vaporetto tickets are a significant hidden cost for visitors to Venice. Single tickets are 9.50 each. Passes can save money for folks who don't intend to do all their sightseeing on foot. Since you're a student, you'll probably qualify for a discounted Rolling Venice pass. You can read about it by following the link on this webpage: https://actv.avmspa.it/en/content/vaporetto
I think you can buy online the pass online, but there's a booth at the Venezia Santa Lucia station that sells the transit passes, along with some sightseeing cards (which might not benefit you). I'd suggest reading about the vaporetto passes ahead of time so you know what you want.
There are lot of websites that still show the old vaporetto fares. If a website doesn't show a single-ride fare of 9.50, you are looking at outdated information.