Best way to get from Venice to VCE airport

Depends on where you are in Venice. For much of the islands, the fastest (and most expensive) way is a private water taxi. Figure about 125 EUR, but if there are several of you, that is split among the whole group. Takes about 40 minutes and you still have a ways to go via a moving walkway to the actual terminal. But if you are close to Piazzale Roma, you can take a land taxi from there for in the 50 EUR range. should take about 20 minutes and drop you at the terminal front door.

Or from the same P.Roma a bus will take about the same time, take you to the same door, and cost about 6 Euro.

I had a reasonably early departure and I took the bus, which was cheap and prompt. Any other option is expensive.

All the options are listed above. We took the bus and bought the tickets and checked out the loading area in advance so just had to walk to the bus stop and head to the airport. The airport was fairly small and easy to maneuver in the past. We always give ourselves plenty of time. It is easier to enjoy that last italian coffee waiting for the flight.

Sort of depends where you are starting from in Venice. If convenient to Piazzale Roma, bus is probably your best option. If near Rialto or Cannaragio, we found Alilaguna boat to be direct, convenient, easy, inexpensive and fun.

Since this trip is for next year, and since you probably haven't bought the airline tickets yet, I would suggest adjusting your itinerary to leave Italy from another city. Venice is notable for its early flights, and also for the relative difficulty in getting across town so early. As a planning tactic, I try to arrive in Venice and depart from other cities. It's easier and less stressful.

Thanks everyone for all the great information! I will be returning from a cruise and have already seen that almost all the flights back to the U.S. are early morning flights. I won’t be able to make those with the ship coming in that morning. I am open to flying out later from a different airport.
To the person posting that option, what airports are not too far away that could be options? I know Milan and Florence but not sure any of the smaller airports would have decent options. I have been to Venice and Italy several times but several years ago.
Thanks!

I have flown morning flights out of Venice probably 4-5 times. Because I stay in hotels/B&Bs within a few vaporetto stops of Piazzale Roma, I usually consult with the hotel re. the night vaporetto schedule. There is (or at least was before the pandemic) a night vaporetto which comes by each stop approx 1 x hour all night. I then take the vaporetto around 6:30 am to P. Roma and then take the bus to the airport. If you are only staying in Venice one night, I strongly suggest you just get a hotel in P. Roma or within a short walk. There are several decent options in that area that have been mentioned on this forum in the past. From your cruise, you take the "people mover" to P. Roma and thence walk to your hotel. On the morning of your flight you would then be close enough to walk easily to the bus. There are two bus lines to the airport. When you are close to the time of your trip, I suggest that you research those lines and their time schedules, which are likely to be very limited right now. In the past it was not necessary to pre-book the bus although doing so was possible. I was always able to pay upon boarding.

Where is home? If N America, Milan is the most likely to have non-stop flight options.

Realize that going to Milan Malpensa would take about 3 1/2 - 4 hours, to Florence about 3 hours. Add to that having to be there 2 hours ahead of time to go through security and that flights to the US rarely leave after noon. Airlines normally schedule their international flights so the aircraft can be turned around for a return flight the same day as it arrives. It is highly doubtful that you’ll be able to make a same day flight from another city. I think your best option is to spend a night in Venice after your cruise. If you’ve never visited Venice, spend at least 3 nights there. You’ve already paid the airfare!

I concur with Philip, I do not see that going to Milan or some other city for a same day departure will work.

If there is not a flight late enough from Venice, just spend the night there. Departing from Milan, (or Rome) the 'next' day may be worth consideration if it improves the ease and efficiency of getting you home. ( i.e., one stop vs 2 or more)

Not knowing your ultimate destination, I looked up flights on Skyscanner between VCE and Frankfurt, Amsterdam, Paris, and London for a random summer day, and found only early morning departures, which you couldn't expect to make after disembarking, and mid-afternoon departures, which put you at those hubs so late in the day that you'd probably have to spend the night there before flying home. So, as you apparently have already figured out, the smartest plan is to stay in Venice that day and spend the night before a morning flight. You asked about the quickest way to the airport, which is probably water taxi at great expense. My suggestion would be to spend the night at a hotel close enough to P. Roma that you can roll right onto an early bus. Any hotel that meets your comfort standards and budget would do, just look for proximity to that bus.

I'm sure you also know that Venice is worth much more than a single day's sightseeing. If you can manage several days there, you can look for lodgings in more appealing parts of the city and spend just the final night near P. Roma. Or you might choose a hotel near the airport. I think there's a Marriott, a Best Western, and the Parkhotel Annia where I stayed after a late-night arrival. But I wouldn't stay near the airport if you have just one night, much better to experience Venice late in the day when your fellow-cruisers are long gone.

I have taken American Airlines 2 times late morning direct back to Philadelphia. It was two years ago so who knows what now. Also, there are several convents to stay in near P. Roma.

I agree with those that are suggesting a previous night stay near the Piazzale Roma. We stayed at the Hotel Arlecchino, just steps from the airport bus. Clean, comfortable, nice staff, great breakfast. Have a great time in Venice.

I was also going to recommend Hotel Arlecchino.
Friends stayed there a couple of years ago, and recommended it.

The OP is arriving in Venice via a cruise ship (please read her updated post). She is not staying at a hotel so He/she probably could use information on getting from the cruise port terminal to the Venice airport.

By the time the cruise ship docks and he/she is allowed to disembark it will be too late to catch a flight to the United States that day from the Venice airport. Thus he/she is asking/thinking if they can disembark from the cruise ship, travel to a different airport, and from there fly back to the US THAT day. The answer of course is no..... to a certain extent. He/she could get a late morning/early afternoon flight out of Venice to Paris, Amsterdam, Frankfurt and then get a red-eye (if available) back to the US but that becomes a very very long day.

Delta has a daily flight VCE-JFK scheduled for later this year that departs at 1:20 PM. They've had this flight in the past, as well, though it's always seasonal. All depends on what time the ship docks, of course, but could be doable.

There are no true "red eye" flights from Europe to North America. If you are traveling to New York, there is a Virgin Atlantic flight out of Heathrow to JFK at 8:15 pm, arriving at 11:05 pm. IF LA, a VA flight at 6:00 pm arriving at 9:10 pm. Should be plenty of afternoon flights from VCE to LHR to make the connections.

the Bus is cheap and easy

hey hey sawyer
in my opinion quickest would be private water taxi, hoping they have a kiosk at cruise port to get on. with all the thousands of passengers getting off, in a hurry to get to airport, tram to bus stop, so crowded to buy tickets, most flights leave early morning to USA, best bet is to spend night.
i totally agree with philip about you hoping to fly out from another airport, with no idea where you are flying to. another small airport is treviso, only within europe. add up time to get to train station, ride to next train station, check in plane counter, 2 - 3 hour security line. too much stress and worry. you've been gone that long what's another day.
we stayed at Titian Hotel at airport after greek isle cruise with early check in and free shuttle early morning to airport. life was great. took train to some town, have no clue where but walked a bit and had a long lunch then back to hotel.
put in your wants and needs, hope all works out for you. with all that happened, we have no idea if things will be the same. whatever you decide, check your cancellation policies.
aloha

There are lots of late morning to afternoon flights to the US/Canada- or at least there were pre COVID. I’ve flown out of Venice three times in the past several years along with family taking different flights and we’ve all had 11AM - 2PM flights. NY, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Chicago, Toronto. I believe on AA or codeshare flights but I can’t remember for sure. Nothing west coast, so maybe that’s the difference. But the idea that all direct flights VCE to North America are early morning just isn’t true.

I don’t know about fastest, but the shuttle bus from Piazzele Roma is easy and frequent. It’s fast once you are at the stop, but it can take awhile to get there from farther parts of Venice.

Shell out for the private water taxi from Venice to the airport, it’s THE best way to do it! Yes it’s pricey, but you might never get another chance to do it again! If cash strapped by return (and you might well be!) go by Alilaguna, but while much cheaper, timing is all as it takes much longer to get to the airport. If timings for your flight don’t work there’s orthodox taxi to the airport, or, if really on your uppers, the bus to the airport is pretty cheap - if memory serves (and it’s been a while) there’s a bus station the other side of the ‘glass bridge’ that goes to the roads from Piazzale Roma - and takes about half an hour if memory serves.

Looks like the OP has made other plans, but for others considering this, staying at a hotel near the airport is a good option for those really early morning flights from Venice. We had a good experience doing that, at a Best Western just a mile or two from the terminal. Nice hotel, good rates, free shuttle to terminal to catch our 6 am (ouch!) flight to Amsterdam to connect to USA, and we actually had one of the better meals of the trip at a restaurant nearby. True, you miss a night in the city, but we'd already spent 3 nights in Venice so that was ok. We were coming from Bologna so we got off the train at Venezia-Mestre (the station on the mainland side of the causeway) and took a taxi from there to the hotel.