First time to Europe/Italy train travel and transportation

Hi Tina -
There is no specific train from Venice to Lake Como....which is a very large puddle of water and not a town. :O)
What train - or combo of trains - you'll want to take can depend on when you want to leave Venice and where your next hotel is located.

What town will you be staying in?

I see you have been provided with the link to the Trenitalia website in a previous thread: have you tried inputing your "to" and "from" info to see what your options are? Are you confused about what stations to input? We can help.

There are three main ways to get from the airport to your hotel.

First: You can take a water taxi but it is the most expensive. A private one cost about 100-120 Euros. There is a cheaper shared water taxi system now, but we haven't used it and can't comment.

Second: There is the Alilaguna boat. It takes longer, it's not scenic, but it is less expensive. It may or may not stop close to your hotel

Third: The least expensive is a combination bus and vaporetto (vap.). It will give you a trip on at least part of the Grand Canal and be easy on the budget as well.

There are two bus lines serve the airport. One is ATVO and is NOT affiliated with the vap. system. The other is ACTV and IS affiliated with the vap. system. At the airport you can get a vap. pass for various periods and can have a one way bus fare added to it A good site maintained by the ACTV system has current prices and such. Don't remember the url so just Google it.

If you take the third option, take the # 5 ACTV bus from the airport to Piazzale Roma. Then take vap. #1 or #2 (depending on where your hotel is in relation to the vap. stops) down the Grand Canal to the area of your hotel and probably a short walk from there. We've made that trip many times. Easy peasy.

It you let us know the name of your hotel, we can probably give even more specific details.

If you decide on option numbet three, be sure to validate the vap. pass on the bus. Do not wait until you get on the vap. Also, validate the pass each time you use the vap.

There is a site called veniceforvisitors.com that has a lot of good info. that you might want to check out .

We've made the trip from Venice to Lake Cumo and you are correct in assuming a train change in Milan

Thank you, I just recently read that you could take a boat from the airport so just trying to see which is easier, more efficient and cost effective since we'll have jet lag.

From the airport stay at Hotel Pensione Guerrato.

Leaving Venice and heading to Varenna. We have the whole day and would like the most scenic train ride.

No need to worry about “learning the euro”
It is almost equal to dollar right now

No trains from airport to Venice proper
Boat or bus then boat

For your trip to Varenna
Trenitalia

https://www.trenitalia.com/content/tcom/en.html

Fast train
Venezia Santa Lucia to Milano Centrale
Change to regional
Milano Centrale to Varenna-Esino

From VCE the easiest and fastest is water taxi-though not the cheapest
Probably about 120 euros and a fantastic way to arrive in Venice

Official site
https://www.motoscafivenezia.com/en/

There are lots of good videos on YouTube, concerning trains and the ways to get into Venice from the airport. That’ll give you a good background on what you need to do. Trains are very easy in Italy. We are taking several when we arrive in June. Varenna is easy to get to via Milan. Buy your tickets early for the best prices

Train travel in Italy
https://www.seat61.com/train-travel-in-italy.htm

Have a look at this site as well.

https://europeforvisitors.com/venice/

https://hotelguerrato.com/how-to-arrive/

You indicated cost was a consideration. The boat you heard about is probably a private or shared water taxi. Not sure what the fare is for the shared ride, but the cost for a private one is $$$. Or, it might be the Alilaguna boat, which, from prior posts, is not that great a way to get to the hotel.

A possible compromise between $$$ and ease of travel (and the one I would suggest) is to take a regular land taxi (rather than the land bus) from the airport to Piazzale Roma, and then take the vap. (or water bus) down the Grand Canal.

If you do that, take the # 1 vaporetto and get off at the Mercato (or Rialto Mercato) stop. It will be on the "right" side of the canal and is the stop after Ca' d Oro which is on the "left" side of the canal. Do not go all the way to Rialto Bridge -- you will have cross over the bridge an have a longer walk to the hotel.

When you get off the vaporetto at the Mercato stop, walk straight ahead through an arched doorway. There will be a small plaza slightly to your left and right. Turn right and walk straight. If there are a lot of vendors in the walking area, be sure they are all on your right side so you do not miss the next turn. Just before you get to the place where a building juts out in front of you, turn left on a small street named Calle drio la Scimia and look for the hotel sign up and on the left.

If you play around with Google Maps Street View, you can "walk" the route from the dock to the hotel before you ever leave home. It will not be easy to navigate the street view, but it can be done.

The hotel site mentioned above indicates the reception area is on the first floor. That is actually what we in America call the second floor.

We've taken the bus and vap. to that same hotel several times. Easy peasy! You'll not have any problems!

I think your specific questions have been addressed. I just wanted to assure you that you can do this. We live in a small town in Ohio. We rarely have a taxi service let alone anything like a rail system. Do the reading and research on the links provided above, give yourself a little extra time and you"ll surprise yourself on how well you adapt.

The ACTV bus is very easy as the bus leaves from the front of the airport out the main door. It goes every 15 minutes during the day. The water taxis and Alilaguna boats are a little ways from the airport, although there is now a sky-bridge with a moving walkway. The Alilaguna boats go every 30 minutes during the day and takes 1 hour to get to Rialto. Then you have to make your way over the Rialto Bridge to get to the Pension Guerrato, whereas the vaporetto stops at Rialto Mercato on the other side of the bridge, so it is an easy walk there.

These videos may help you with the public transportation in Venice. I am more of a visual learner. Enjoy your trip.

https://www.youtube.com/@NomadCitello/featured

Hi Tina, I’ve been to Venice several times, and I mostly take the Aliguna boat from the airport into the center of the Venetian islands. It was €14 last September, and you will want the orange (arancio) boat. The boat will take you to the Rialto Mercato or Rialto vaporetto stop. Check with the crew when you board.

I’ve also taken the bus at the airport and then transferred to a vaporetto boat, but when I have jet lag, I really want to just get on one mode of transportation and get to my final destination. There’s also no worries about validating a ticket.

I grew up in Iowa and now I’ve traveled all over Europe on trains. It’s very easy, so don’t worry about it. To leave Venice, you will take a vaporetto back to the train station - this is the St. Lucia Venezia station. That train will take you to Milano Centrale. Then you will transfer at Milano Centrale to the train going to Varenna.

Are you on the Rick Steves 17-day Best of Italy tour? It’s fantastic!

If you know what day and time you want to ride the train, you can purchase the tickets on-line a month or two ahead at www.Trenitalia.com. If you buy them close to the day of travel, the cheaper tickets will be gone.

When you transfer at Milano Centrale, the train tracks are all coming into the station vs. going through it. Picture it like a wide fork with the tines being the train tracks. So, you won’t need to go down steps and under tracks to get to your next train. The large reader boards will list the train numbers and they update it with the track number when the train is close to arriving at the station.

When you are walking to your Venice train, look at your ticket to see which train car you are riding. Walk to that car, and then find your seat. Sometime during the ride, the train conductor will stop by your seat and want to see your ticket. S(he) is looking for the code number to make sure you have a ticket.

If you have a normal carry on size suitcase, you can usually place it above the seats on the open rack. Try to move quickly to your seat so all of the passengers behind you can board, too. Then enjoy the ride! Bring a snack along if you want, or the Venezia-to-Milano train will have a snack car.

The boat will take you to either the Rialto Mercato or Rialto vaporetto stop.

Not sure that is correct, at least according to this map. https://www.alilaguna.it/en/lines/lines-map

When you are walking to your train, look at your ticket to see which train car you are riding

The train from Milano Centrale to Varenna-Esino is a Regionale, so no assigned carriage or seat, just sit in what ever carriage you like and find a seat.

Sam is right.

If you wind up on the number 2 vaporetto and get off at Rialto you will have to join the canal side scrum - there's always one - around to the Rialto bridge, then up and over and then around to the Hotel Pensione Guerrato.

Much much easier is the number 1 to Rialto Mercato and a few minutes walk following the easy directions. Much much easier with luggage.

I like the Hotel Pensione Guerrato very much... I even dropped a laptop in the bathroom and it survived the crash to the floor (YMMV!!)

I've just noticed that the quote about the Rialto vaporetto stops was actually about the Alilaguna (personally don't like the Alilaguna). It does not call at Mercato. The only vaporettos which stop at Rialto Mercato are the number 1 (and the all stops N night vaporetto in the wee hours). I'd still do bus to P.le Roma and the number 1 vaporetto. Faster and easier.

Thank you so much everyone for the comments. I’m feeling much more confident already!