lodging

Assuming this is not a joke, you need to get a guidebook for Venice, PRONTO. I do like Rick Steves Venice, but there's lots of others. As you will see when you look at a guide, there are no motorized vehicles on land in Venice, except for the bus station and car parking lots at the edge. So, you have to park your car for the duration of your Venice stay, either on the mainland (Mestre), at Piazzale Roma, or at Tronchetto. Guidebooks have the info and prices for the lots. Once in Venice itself, vaporetti (boats that act like buses, on fixed routes) are the second most useful way of getting around. The most useful is walking. There are also water taxis, if you're loaded (these are handy for getting to the airport or if you're in a hurry, but cost something like 100 euros to the airport).

Easy guys, it's a perfectly good question. The Mestre area of Venice, a suburb, which you can drive to, is actually considered to be in the Comune di Venezia. So technically, you can drive in "Venice". Hey Diane, We drove into the outskirts of Venice a few years back. Most likely you will come in on the A4 Autostrada from the north or south. We parked the car in the Mestre area in the San Guiliano parking lot. Took a water bus, (Vaporetto), after a little hike, from there. Here is a good link to arriving to Venice by car. You can park a lot closer than we did. Wherever you park, pack light and leave nothing in view in the car. Some people put the rental policy under the floor mats or take it with them and leave the glovebox open, also. http://europeforvisitors.com/venice/articles/arriving_in_venice_by_car.htm One more thing, make sure to eat at Trattoria d'la Marisa. We have eaten there every time when in Venice, last time in Sept 2011. Open for lunch 7 days a week, and 4 days a week for dinner. Real small inside. It is beyond a shadow of a doubt, the best meals my wife and I have ever eaten in Italy, Ever! They alternate between meat and fish every (other?)Friday. Hard to make reservations, as the three women who run it sometimes don't answer the phone. Best to go and make reservations for dinner in person. Here ya go; http://www.savoryadventures.com/component/option,com_myblog/Itemid,100077/show,the-best-restaurant-in-venice.html/ http://restoreco.blogspot.com/2008/09/trattoria-della-marisa.html We always stay at Hotel Canaletto, but their rates had almost doubled from the previous time before. Probably go with a different place next time. Good Travels, Crash

We had a car when we visited Venice. I was concerned about the car being safe while we stayed in Venice so, rather than park in the big parking area, we chose to park in Rick's recommended lot nearby. The car was in one piece when we returned for it but it was expensive and took better than an hour both to park and to retrieve the car. If I did it over again, knowing what I know now, I'd park near a train station on the mainland, then train into Venice. As far as convenience to your lodging it won't matter either way. The train station and parking lot are both located near a "Vaporetti" stop (water busses is the best description). Take a Vaporetto to the stop nearest your hotel and walk from there. You may want to consider access to a Vaporetti stop when choosing a place to stay. I wouldn't recommend staying outside of Venice. The place is amazing at night when the crowds disappear. One other thought, November is the top month for "aqua alta" (high water) when the tide can create some flooding in Venice. Don't get too worked up about it. We saw some flooding in October when we were there. It looked like it had rained and some puddles were still on the ground. At it's worst, some areas (notably St. Mark's Square) get enough water to put out scaffolding to walk on. It's easy to avoid the flooded areas until the water recedes, normally before noon.

Yes there is bus transportation in Venice. It is called a Vaporetto. It travels on water. Have fun.