My friends and I are traveling to Venice in July for two nights and would like to know if it would be cheaper to a) stay and park our car on the mainland and transport (bus/train) to and from Venice each day, b) park our car on the mainland and then transport to Venice and stay on the island or c) park on the island and stay on the island? I am taking into consideration cost of accommodations, cost of parking and cost of public transportation.
Thanks in advance. I appreciate it! :)
Posted by
Pacific Northwest
2699 posts
Where are you coming in from? Where are you heading to next? Are you committed to having a car both before and after? If you're just doing the main Italian cities, the train system is really fast and very simple.
If you're committed to having a car with you, just park it while you're in Venice. There's parking in Mestre - across the causeway and then you can bus over to Venice proper by the bus station and just walk right in. I'm not sure how much parking is...maybe 15 Euros per day from a brief look at a parking lot.
It makes sense to stay right in Venice - then you get the full feel for that amazing city. There's lodging available in all price ranges if you do some looking around.
Posted by
Forest Grove, OR
11852 posts
It would be cheaper to ditch the car and rent again when you leave Venice, providing you need a car at all for your travels.
Car rentals are very expensive here. Price out your rentals in two parts: before-and-after Venice. See what the price difference is before deciding.
Posted by
Virginia, USA
792 posts
That is what I did. Drove to Mestre and stayed in a very nice hotel across the street from the train station and just took the 10 minute train ride into Venice. Parking was free, train was cheap.
Posted by
San Francisco Bay Area (USA)
16240 posts
That is why it is best to visit Venice at the beginning of your trip (before you rent the car) or at the end of it (after you return it).
Assuming that your trip is set in stone, and Venice is in the middle (and you absolutely need the car before and after), I would say that the cheapest option is the one Jim mentioned. Stay at the Best Western Bologna Hotel or the hotel Tritone, both in front of the Venezia Mestre train station, and commute the 10 min into the historical center in the middle of the lagoon by train for 1.50€ each way.
You can also check if returning the rental when you arrive and re-renting another car when you leave is cheaper. In this latter case, you would save the cost of two days' rental, which may not amount to much however if you have a weekly rental (the cost of one week is generally about the same as 6 days), but it might be the better option if you want to be in the historical center, because the parking alone at Piazzale Roma or Tronchetto island costs about 25€ a day.