Arriving Venice 10 PM

Does your hotel have a water door? If so, a water taxi should take you right there and then there’s no need to worry about getting lost.

This site for booking a water taxi is recommended here often: https://www.motoscafivenezia.com/en/

I’m using them for the first time next month.

The first time we went to Venice on a My Way tour it was next to impossible to find our first hotel to join the group. This was in the middle of the day. Others reported similar experience. Very difficult to navigate even with the instructions from RS. Make sure you know where the hotel is and where the taxi may drop you off. Google map it and take printed images and instructions. Venice is safe, but I personally would not want to walk around with luggage at that time of night but then again I would not want to wait at the airport until morning.

Janet, which hotel are you staying at in Venice? Many locations can be confusing, but if you’re at a more straightforward spot, we can at least reassure you how to plan. For instance, Hotel Ala, where I’ve stayed multiple times is much easier - no bridges & a straight path from the vaporetto stop vs. the places we stayed previously, including one from our RS tour.

I’m staying at Hotel La Fenice et Des Artistes
Sant Angelo is suggested stop
They responded to my email and a phone call on my behalf from Travel Guard that they do not have a water door but that Venice is very safe at night and it’s a short walk from the dock/stop Sant Angelo

I have the directions on my phone and from tour instructions
I’m going to try (mostly because a good night’s sleep is so attractive and sitting all night at the Venice airport not as appealing

I looked up your hotel on a Google Map and would volunteer that I am never (seldom) directionally challenged, but would be afraid to guide myself and my wife to that hotel after dark. My best suggestion is to have the hotel send a minion to the San Angelo vaporetto stop (volunteer to pay that minion) to guide you in. Compasses and maps, GPS and radar will avail you little through the Venetian alleyways at that late hour.

10 pm is not considered "late night" for italians (and for many visitors as well) so you will find nearly the same crowd that you'd see during the daytime.
In any case, Venice is a safe city even at night; supposing that you take a direct bus or boat from the airport to the city center, you can easily reach the hotel on foot without any problem

Venice is certainly safe to walk at night, and at that time I would expect to see lots of people out and about. Unless its pouring down rain. Looking at Google maps, the walk from the Sant Angelo stop looks quite straight forward. A water taxi might get you to a landing on the Rio de la Verona, which would be much closer to the hotel. No way would I sit in the airport.

I’ve walked all around that area. Instead of the Sant Angelo vaporetto stop, I would get off at the Santa Maria del Giglio stop. It’s much less confusing. Hotel Ala (Unahotels) is straight ahead. From there, turn right. You will walk over one bridge. The street has a twist turn bend but no options where you would get lost. After the bend, the street begins to have upscale shopping store windows. (It’s a popular street to walk to San Marco.) Before you come to the next bridge, there is a sign to turn left for La Fenice, the opera house. Your hotel is just around the side from Teatro La Fenice, the opera house.

If you do get lost, step into any hotel or restaurant and ask politely for help. They are friendly.

Agree with Jean
We stay at Hotel Ala as well
Very easy from the Giglio stop

We have arrived late in Venice before, and just stayed at the Marriott Courtyard hotel which is a five minute taxi ride from the airport. ( It's not walkable.) We were so jetlagged that this presented the least stressful option for us. Pls keep in mind you could have a flight delay and arrive even later, which makes this option even easier. There is a bus stop outside of the front of this hotel, (the hotel sells the tickets, around 5 Euros,) about a 20 minute journey, and the bus drops you off at Piazzale Roma. Here you can buy your vaporetta pass and get to your hotel the nest morning, being refreshed after a shower and a night's sleep.
Have a great trip!

The Venezia airport closes at 24:00, midnight and doesn’t open again until 4:00

If you have a smart phone, I suggest downloading the Maps Me app. Download the Italy map before you leave home. This will then allow you to use it without wifi or data. You can put a route from your current location to your hotel and just follow that. I was just in Venice this past weekend. There will be tonnes of people around and it’s very safe.

Thank you team! I’m in my room in my charming and safe hotel. I took the water taxi which dropped me very close- well lit. Yes, people sitting at outdoor restaurants , ladies walking to St Marks square, apparently it’s not late in Venice. Google maps wasn’t perfect but I stepped into another hotel for directions and found I was almost there.
Very excited about my first Rick Steve’s tour.

Have a wonderful time, Janet! Glad you’re at your first hotel.

Celebrate tomorrow with some Suso gelato! It’s close to where your hotel is located.