Grand Canal Boat Trip - is it worth booking?

Be sure and get a 24 hour or 72 hour pass on the vaparetto. That way you can go both ways, and jump off and on if you see something you want to get a closer look at. We loved our afternoons cruising Venice - we never tire of it and can't wait for our next visit.

The vaporettos travel up and down the Grande Canal from the wee morning hours till late at night. No need to book a special boat unless you are looking for something more like a mini cruise. Yes, the view from the Grande Canal is pretty nice...at least the first couple of times anyway.

My husband and I did this when we were in Venice 5 years ago and found it interesting. I don't think it was very expensive and it was interesting seeing what Venice looked like from that perspective. We are going back in October with some friends who have never been and will probably do it again.

Unless you want a special private canal tour, you can see the whole thing on the vaporetto. Get yourself some seats and enjoy the ride. Try the #1 vaporetto that stops at every stop. The #2 stops at fewer stops. If you want to see the many side canals, there are vaporettos as well on some of the larger ones. For the smaller canals, you may have to engage something private or, as you suggest in your message - walk around and get pleasantly lost.

Hi Jeal,

And, just as a reminder: If you take the vaporetto (public bus-boat) down the Grand Canal, Rick has a great audioguide podcast available for free download on this website. It's fun to follow along with his commentary as your vaporetto cruises the canal.

The Vaporetto #1 gives breathtaking views down the Grand Canal. Catch it from Piazzale Roma where the boat is empty, and make a beeline for the very front seats at the top of the boat for spectacular sights.

The smaller waterways are lovely and if you plan on taking a gondola ride then you will get a good hour or hour and a half on them with that. I love the gondola rides - as cheesy and touristy (and pricy) as they are, you see Venice from a whole different perspective.

I got Rick's 2008 Venice guide book and he describes a tour on the Grand Canal like one of the other posters mentioned. I just read what was coming up at each stop and got off if I wanted to do so. I think the only time I hopped off was to find a chocolate shop at San Tomas stop called Vizio Virtu. yummy. I had some at night with some red wine I bought at ummm Alla Botte. They put it in liter size water bottles. I loved riding the vaporettos. A lot fewer times walking in circles when you stand on the boat!