Are these tours a good way to explore the City? Or are they time consuming and slow because of traffic jams? My husband and I have used these in the USA to familiarize with the City but wondering if for approx $50 CDN each we are better and quicker to walk to destinations as it seems both Rome and Venice are easily walkable? Any thoughts and comments are appreciated! Thanks!
Posted by
Green Bay
21274 posts
If you get a Vaporetto Pass in Venice you can hop on and off at will. Just make sure you scan your pass before getting on the dock. Riding the boats is fun, and the only way to experience the Grand Canal and get to out of the way islands.
Use Rick's audio guide you can download as an app or mp3 file.
http://podcasts.ricksteves.com/walkingtours/GrandCanal.mp3
Posted by
North Carolina
2502 posts
The equivalent in Venice would be to get a vaporetto pass, available for 1, 2, 3, or 7 days. Riding the vaporetto boat, gondola rides, water taxis, and walking are your only transportation options there. As well as taking the vaporetto along the Grand Canal and getting on and off at will, the vaporetto will also take you to islands away from the main part of Venice.
Posted by
OP
32 posts
Thank you both for your comments. Do you know if the Vaporetto goes to more areas than the Hop tours? It seems Hop tours do not go through the canals? Cost for both is almost same.
Posted by
North Carolina
2502 posts
I'm not sure what you mean by a hop tour of Venice. There is no land transportation there. Do you have a website for the tour you have in mind?
Posted by
Green Bay
21274 posts
The vaporettos are the city buses of Venice, not tour buses. As there are canals and not streets, the buses have to float. They take people where they want to go on set schedules all over the lagoon. Nonetheless, you can use them as a "Hop tour" if you so choose.
Posted by
44 posts
Hop on/off will work reasonably well if your plan is to get a good overview of Rome....but be sure to find a seat on top of the bus as you can't see much from the first level. But if you simply want to get from point A to point B to see a particular attraction we found it much better just to walk (our hotel was near city center between the Trevi Fountain and the Spanish Steps and within a mile of both the Colosseum in one direction and the Vatican in the other ....I'd estimate a scenic 30 minute walk....which took something over an hour on the bus from the time we left the hotel. We didn't use the bus after the first day. I'd suggest a hotel near city center and
a good map.
Posted by
Ontario, Canada
5653 posts
A quick look online and I found a HOHO boat tour offered thru Viator. It does NOT go through the Grand Canal and offers little of interest to most tourists other than S. Marco and Murano. It's €32+ for 1 day, €43 for 2 days. Given that a 2 day vaporetto pass is €30, and gives frequent, unlimited travel to practically every area a tourist is likely to visit, I can't imagine why anyone would opt for the HOHO boat.
Posted by
OP
32 posts
Hello. I was speaking of the Hop On, Hop Off City tour. In both cases of Rome and Venice. I think I don’t need one for Rome. But wondering if Vaporetto and Hop On HOp Off goes through the canals?
Posted by
Ontario, Canada
5653 posts
Hello. I was speaking of the Hop On, Hop Off City tour. In both cases
of Rome and Venice. I think I don’t need one for Rome. But wondering
if Vaporetto and Hop On HOp Off goes through the canals
Did you look at the map of Venice and the outline of the HOHO route? It does not go through any canals. It only goes around the outside of Venice. The vaporettos have stops at all of the major tourist areas on the Grand Canal as well as around the lagoon. If you want to see the smaller side canals by boat, you need to hire a gondola. Otherwise, you'd use a combination of vaporetto and walking.