From airport to hotel in Venice: Public transportation easy enough?

Getting to Venice from the airport is fairly easy and doesn't have to be as expensive as a private water taxi. Cheapest is walk out the front of the terminal to catch a bus to Piazzale Roma and then a vaporetto from there. Cost 2-3 euro for bus and 6.50 euro for the vaporetto. It is about 25 minutes to P le Roma and then about 30 minutes to San Marco. Nect is a ride on the airport shuttle boat. www.alilaguna.it Easy 5-10 minute walk to the airport dock. about an hour ride on the boat to San Marco. Cost 13 euro per person. This has been covered many times on the board, you coulfd try a search. Check with your hotel's website, they usually have pretty good directions for each method

Renee, if you spend some time on here ( and read the archived posts regarding most issues raised ), you will dump your travel agent. Have a great trip!

Sadly, it's travel agents like that that are speeding up the inevitable death of that industry. In all of Italy, it's very easy to take public transportation. That's what the locals do. This is especially true of major transit hubs such as airports and city centers. Sounds like you would reeeeeallly benefit from getting the RS Italy 2011 book. My mantra here is to say that it will be the smartest money you spend on your vacation. I guarantee you your travel agent doesn't want you to buy that book because it will almost definitely lay out other places where they are steering you way wrong. (Chances are they get some sort of commission for this. I bet they have also told you they'll take care of getting all the train tickets for you before you leave. They can do that, but it will cost you a lot more than doing it yourself.) That said, some people are happy to pay a premium to have someone else do this for them. People like that are kind of a rarity on this board. We're more a DIY type crowd. :-) Happy travels.

We recently returned from Italy. We used only public transportation. When leaving Venice airport walk across the airpport street and wait for the public bus to Piazzale Roma. From the bus stop it's a few steps to the Vaporetto stop, and we walked to our hotel from our stop. We were in Venice five days and bought a discounted 36 hr transportation online at veniceconnected.com. We used it for the bus and vaporetto to our hotel and also later that day and all the next day for Grand Canal tours, and rides to the islands of San Giorgio Maggiori, Burano, and Murano. We also bought a one use vaporetto ticket for the ride to the train station when we left. We're in our mid-60s and didn't have any difficulty. From Sorrento to Naples you use the Circumvesuviana railroad but we didn't leave from Naples so can't help you with the airport question. We found the trains in Italy to be on time, clean, and easy to use. We're usually tired when we leave a city so we try to use the regional trains which are slower, but if we can't we go 2nd class (which prompted a ticket agent to say we couldn't be Americans). We usually walk to the station to buy our tickets the day before we leave so as not to be rushed. We get hotels within walking dsitance of either the train or a metro station and have not had any problems. It's a little scary trying to navigate in a foreign country and private transportation sounds comforting, but by using public transportation you travel like a European, as RS says, and you get to interact with others which enriches your travel experience.
Have fun!

Last month we took the Alilaguna boat. It was a nice boat trip that didn't cost much. Check it out at: http://europeforvisitors.com/venice/articles/venice_airport_boat.htm

Renee What they said about Venice transportation! Bus and shuttle boat options are easy. My only caveat is that if you arriving in Venice from the US, you will be very tired. I also think you can get a shared boat with others (rather than the larger one) that will take you directly to the stop nearest your hotel. May be worth it. The hotel can tell you the cheapest ways to get to the rail station when you leave. For Naples airport from Sorrento, check for a direct bus. Can't remember where I found this option. Probably at the Naples Airport website under transportation. May be crowded and takes an hour I think. Naples is a great option rather than returning from Rome to fly home. Bet your travel agent suggested it! Bobbie

If your travel agent is suggesting you spend $200 to get in from the airport, he/she is making a tidy commission at your considerable expense. That is outrageous, near fraudulent advice! Just out of curiosity, what is she/he saying you have to pay for a hotel?

Hi Renee. I found this link for Venice airport transfers. I followed Rick's recommendation and used the Alilaguna boat.
http://www.veniceairport.it/page/servizi/trasporti/motoscafo?m=01020203 There is another website that gives specific instructions including photos from the airport to the Alilaguna boat, but I can't seem to locate that right now. It worked fine for me. I also bought a 36 hour pass for Venice at the airport at the info desk, where I bought the ticket for the airport transfer boat. They also had maps; I wish I had bought a more detailed map, as I was lost a few times, which isn't all bad. It was fantastic to just jump on a "water bus" and take a ride when my feet were sore from walking. One of the highlights of my trip was seeing a regatta of gondolas on the Grande Canal; the water bus pulled over to the side so that the regatta could paddle by. I love Venice, have a great time.

I'm pretty sure there is an Allilaguna boat that goes from the airport to Saint Marks Square. It is fast and much cheaper thatn a private transfer. Venice is so easily navigated by public transportation. Don't fall for what the agent suggested!

Thank you all for your responses. We will not go with a private transfer! I do have the RS Italy book for 2011, and do need to really dig into that before we depart. One more question: I realize this has been covered here on the boards quite a bit, but I want to be sure that this current advice is still good ... Is it fine to book our train travel on the day of in Italy? Travel days are between May 23 and June 3 (June 1 is not one of them). I realize there is some savings involved with booking ahead, but I don't want to lock in to anything yet. Is this a bad move, to wait? Thanks so much!

We booked through a very well known travel agency that is available nationally, and they booked us on a private water taxi that cost $721.00! Needless to say, we had this removed from our itinerary. Rick is right when he says not to use travel agencies for booking. Virtually everything on our trip ended up costing more than if we had booked online ourselves and everything the travel agency did would have been just as easy online.

James, you've revived a zombie thread from a year and a half ago, but you're spot on with the advice you're sharing. That travel agent you used should be ashamed.

Hi Renee, We arrived at the Venice Airport and it was a short walk to the Allilaguna boat dock (for a vaporetto). There are several stops that should take you to Saint Mark's Square. It is pretty inexpensive. Check out Rick's book. He gives great advice. You don't need a travel agent, as others here have mentioned.
After the tour, we went to Sorrento. You can take a bus from Sorrento to Naples. But, if you have an early morning flight as we did, I would suggest staying overnight in Naples, so as not to miss your flight. We took a boat from Marina Piccolo (as opposed to Marina Grande) to Naples. It was direct, with no stops, and the ride was very beautiful, especially the view of Mount Vesuvius. You can take a taxi from the Marina in Naples to your hotel at the taxi stand nearby. We stayed at Hotel Pinto Storey in the Chiaia neighborhood, which is right by Piazza Amadeus, which is a nice area. The hotel will arrange a shuttle to the airport. Happy travels! Ruth

Ruth what would you consider a short walk? to the vaprottio boats?

Renee posted this a year and a half ago. She's already been to Italy and back by now.