My family is flying out of Venice Airport on August 4th, so we decided to spend the last 3 nights of our month long Italy trip in the city of Venice...ARE WE CRAZY to do this??? We do know to stay away from the most touristy parts of the city by day, and that's fine, since we've already been to Venice and done those areas a few times. What I'd love to know is if you have off the beaten path areas of the city that you have enjoyed, including authentic places to eat (not too expensive.) Note: we have already been to Burano and Murano, but no other Islands in the lagoon or Lido, but since we are going to be on the Amalfi Coast & on Ischia for 2 weeks prior, not sure if we will be wanting more beach time. ALSO, I'm trying to figure out if we will be using the water bus a lot, since single tickets are so expensive (online now they are $11 pp for 75 minutes.) I'm wondering (1) will they be so crowded in August that they are not really viable/reliable transportation, and (2) if they are viable, should I go ahead and buy the 3 day vaporetti pass for $45 pp or $135 for the three of us? I don't recall from my prior trip how much we relied on the water bus.
Posted by
California USA
3951 posts
If you have family members <29 in your party they can buy a 3 day Rolling Venice card for a reduced price. That’s what we did in 2019 to help lower the cost of vaporetti transportation.
Posted by
Saint Paul, Minnesota
1388 posts
No, not crazy. On our 4+ weeks trip to the Veneto in August and September 2019, my husband and I thought we could skip Venice because we'd spent 2 weeks there on previous trips (and would happily spend more weeks). But being so close was too much for us, so from Padua we concocted a trip to Chioggia, mainly so we could take the vaporetto through Venice twice (without stopping). We saw the crowds and were glad we weren't among them, but we could also see how very few people were at "our" familiar vaporetto stops from our previous trips and figured that most of Venice would be fine to visit even in high season. There are tons of thing to see and do in Venice that your family has not experienced yet.
However, consider this idea. On that 2019 trip, our last 5 nights were spent in Treviso, a lovely town a half hour north of Venice and we departed for home from the Venice airport. We had a car for getting to the airport, but there is an airport shuttle and it would not be at all ridiculous to take a taxi. If we'd wanted to while in Treviso, we could have easily taken a train to Venice for the day. Anyway, if that sounds at all interesting, there are several of us on this forum who enjoyed Treviso and can tell you more about it.
P.S. We were not fond of Chioggia itself, even though we had a great lunch there.
Posted by
Southwest Florida
856 posts
Vaporetto are crowded from May to September!
Consider at least riding once from the station to St. Mark's so you can have the whole Grand Canal experience. Otherwise, I find Venice to be very walkable. Requires some planning as you have very few bridge crossings of the Grand Canal, but do seek out Gondola Traghetto. €2 for tourists to cross. Seven locations along the Grand Canal.
Walking and becoming lost in Venice can be a wonderful experience.
Posted by
7 posts
I wouldn’t recommend it. It will be very hot and very crowded. Yes, the lines for vaporetti will be long and you will wait in line under the sun. Also, the narrow streets will be packed.
If you really want to go, I would recommend adjusting your sleep schedule and spend the very early mornings and the evenings/nights out. The day tourists will be gone and it will be a little cooler out.
Posted by
Bendigo, Australia
1223 posts
One thing we always do when visiting Venice is take a trip to Certosa, two or three vaporetto stops from Osperdale. We take a picnic and walk round to the remote side of the island. There is also a bar there doing light meals, panini and so on.
Something that NOBODY visits is the library at the Osperdale. A beautiful room, a stunning ceiling and interesting displays.
Posted by
Bendigo, Australia
1223 posts
Marc above indicated that there are seven traghetti crossing the Grand Canal. Certainly the traghetto at the Rialto market still operates, as does the traghetto downstream from Academia and also the one near near San Toma. However I think all the others have ceased operating. Certainly the traghetto near San Barnaba stopped about ten or more yers ago.
We miss it.
Posted by
Chicago
1943 posts
Just be prepared for crowds. Venice and all of Europe is crazy crowded in August-and hot.