2.5 days in Venice, buy a Vaporetto pass?

Venice is way more fun on foot... I was there for 3 days or something a few years ago and besides the ride from the airport, I never set foot on a boat. If you want to get off the main "island" that's a different story.

Very helpful. Even with reading the guidebooks I just don't have a good feel for how far apart things might really be. Thank you so much.

I've usually gotten my money's worth out of the pass because once I have it I think of ways to use it. Do you plan to do a fair bit of walking because it's "the thing to do" (it is, especially if you can get off the main route) or because you know you're in good shape and are strong walkers? I mean, if your feet wear out in the first museum, you might enjoy a boat ride.

I've done both. First visit to Venice (3 nights) I bought the vaporetto pass. Second visit (also 3 nights - same apartment), I did it all on foot. Last May, I went back for just a night and bought a day pass and used it a lot. You can definitely get around on food without them (to many places), but as much as I love Venice, it always kills my feet, and it's nice to use the boat sometimes to save some walking - I wind up walking a lot anyway even with a pass.

Whether you buy a pass or not, TAKE AT LEAST ONE VAPORETTO RIDE! Take it up the Grand Canal from the train station to San Marco, preferably at dusk but at any time the light is good. The #2 boat is faster than the #1, so if you want to enjoy the sights more, take the #1. You could compromise and just buy a one-day pass and walk the other days. If you think you'll visit Burano island (a long ride, but worth it, if you have the time!), the pass will cover that too so would probably make sense if you hope to do the Grand Canal trip too.

FYI, as you mentioned WiFi on another thread...consider buying a SIM for your phone, so you can use it to navigate Venice on foot and by boat. Google Maps will tell you how to walk to each vaporetto stop and when the next boats leave - it will guide you to any destination by boat/walking, and that in my opinion makes a vaporetto pass much more useful - saves you the time of worrying about which boat goes where and when. And of course, with a SIM, you won't need to worry about whether the tour bus has WiFi.

In 10 trips to Venice I think we've purchased a pass 9 times. As mentioned by Laura, you'll always find a reason to use it. Sometimes we jump on just to have lunch on the Giudecca or pop over to San Giorgio Maggiore for the view. If you go to Murano, Burano, and/or Torcello, the pass pays for itself in a hurry. In the evening you may be drawn to a restaurant in an area away from your lodgings and the vaporetto might look pretty good after dinner. Just joy ride in the evening on the Grand Canal.

Venice is an amazing walking city but the walking is not always easy on the feet. Sometimes you need a break and the vaporetto is there for you. I always, after the first trip, get a pass. It's helpful to get from area to area and avoid the crowds off of the cruise ships. Use it to go to the other islands - you might have time in your short stay for one or two of them (Burano, Murano are probably the easiest to get to). My favorite times on the vaporetto are early in the morning when Venice is waking up and you see all the delivery and refuse boats. And at night. Twilight cruise around the Grand Canal - nothing is more romantic. And late at night, maybe the last thing before heading off to sleep. Relaxing, quiet and guaranteeing you a good night's sleep. I recommend the pass - it's a good way to also save time in the ticket line!

We’ve been to Venice four times, including attending the September Regatta. Yes, we love Venice!

We have never purchased a day or multiple day pass. We ride the vaporetto down the Grand Canal when we arrive to go to our hotel (unless we fly into Venice and take the Aliguna boat from the airport), have ridden a gondola our first trip, and have taken the vaporetto out to Murano, etc. one trip. We take the vaporetto back up the Grand Canal when we leave. Otherwise, we love walking leisurely all over Venice.

Get the pass. You will use it all the time. Its equivalent to having a hop-on, hop-off bus.

You can walk all over, then hop on a vaporetto to get somewhere else. We did that and had a great time.

Staying in the Dorsoduro, you are more likely to want to take advantage of the vaporetto, especially if you are arriving and leaving by train. Also, it's a great way to enjoy Venice, along the length of the Grand Canal, once in the early morning when it's misty and magical, once at night, when the lights are gleaming on the water and it's magical. Plus a round-trip to Burano - worth it for the ride across the lagoon, even if you only spend an hour or two on the island.

Different strokes ... we love joy-riding on the Grand Canal, or in the lagoon, so we get a vaporetto pass and don't feel bad using it to get home after a long day. One daytime touring ride, one romantic evening ride to see everything lit up, ride to San Marco, maybe an island visit ....

Get the pass!
You will get your money's worth in four rides; and as someone else said, it's like a hoho "bus", but on water.
Plus, you will want to ride the boat the length of the Grand Canal at night to see the palazzo lights.
Well worth it.

Sounds like this is your first visit to Venice, so you won't know for sure what is best until you've been there and see whether you fall into the "walk everywhere" camp or not.

Having said that, I agree that the pass is the way to go. Tagging onto to what I believe Laurel said about just popping over to San Giorgio Maggiore or Giudecca, sometimes the quickest and easiest way to just cross the Grand Canal is by vaporetto. For instance, in your case you're staying in Dorsoduro, plus you mention wanting to see the Guggenheim. If you want to go from the Guggenheim to Piazza San Marco/Doge's Palace/Correr, the easiest and quickest way is to hop on the vaporetto at the Salute stop and cross right over, instead of walking back to the Accademia Bridge (which is all covered up right now, so you don't even get that classic view of La Salute as you cross) and then on to San Marco. If you look on a map, you'll see this walk is one big U-turn, instead of the straight-shot vaporetto ride. Also, if you just want to escape the crowds, the pass will allow you to jump on at, say, San Marco, and in just a few minutes be completely away from them by getting off at the Sant'Elena stop, where you can stop for a relaxing bite and/or a coffee next to the park before heading back. The pass just allows more flexibility, and it can save time, which also has value.

Where do you get the Vaporetto pass?

You can buy them at the Tourist Info kiosk just outside the railway station.
We have bought them at the smaller kiosks that sell newspapers, magazines, etc.

A word of advice on using the pass.
No matter where you buy it, the clock, say 24 hours or 48 hours, starts when you first use the pass. The clock does not start at the time you buy the pass.
Every time you use the pass, you have to present it to the ticket reading machine, and you will get a green light indicating you are good to go. On some vaparetto pontoons, you have to use your pass to open the gates to get onto the pontoon.
Do remember, swipe the pass on every trip. The fine otherwise is very costly.

I do think the pass is worth having.

Again, I just want to say a huge THANK YOU!!! This is such helpful information from everyone.

I am in the "yes, get it" camp.

I'm in the "walk everywhere" camp.

If you want to use a day to visit Murano, Torcello, and Burano (very well worth it - but maybe not on your first trip) I would buy a 24 hour pass. If you just want to visit Venice "proper" I would only use the Vaporetto on the first day and the last day to get to and from our accommodation. YMMV

We've been to Venice 4 times (from as short as 30 hrs to 3 nights) and always get the pass - and have always gotten our money's worth - especially because we always head to Murano/Burano. But we are getting older and our bones are getting creaky - and sometimes, you just don't want to walk that gauntlet/cattle chute again between Rialto and St Marks and would rather just hop on the vap.

Just think - if you wanted to hop the vap across the lagoon the San Giorgio (recommend the view from the campanile!) - right there, it's 15 euro to go across and back (if you spend more than 75 min). It just helps because you don't have to think - oh, it'll cost me x amnt of euros to hop over there, well, I'm gonna pass...or, oh, my single ride ticket is running out, I'd better get going. Just tap the pass and off you go.

Plus, you get a different beautiful perspective from the water. Get it, and walk a lot in those back quiet narrow lanes as well!