Hydrophobia in Venice

I would say that all hotels in Venice have "street entrances," as opposed to docks that can only be approached by small boats. Google Maps makes it much easier to zoom in and to plan the walking route from the closest Vaporetto or taxi boat stop. It's also possible to stay near the train station and walk from the station to your hotel without any boats. But from the train staion neighborhood to most sightseeing would be a much further walk, with lots of bridges and small streets, so crossing the major distances by boat means less navigating and less getting lost.

You can spend your entire time in Venice without setting foot in a single boat as long as she's okay walking over bridges. She does know that Venice is on firm land, and is not floating, right? I ask because there is a fairly common misconception that the entire city of Venice is floating. (See "Casino Royale" with Daniel Craig. Spoiler alert: It ends with an entire palazzo in Venice sinking below water because the floats that it was built on get punctured. Ridiculous. Venice is built on pylons. No building can disappear underwater.)

How is her balance on stairs? Lots of stairs up and over bridges. Not all of them have good handrails. For me, (with balance problems) that was harder than negotiating between vaporetto and dock. But Venice is enchanting! Have her wear sensible shoes ... maybe put off the Island tours in favor of walking Venice itself and watching everyone enjoying vaporetto and gondola rides.

I would suggest that you get a hotel near the Piazzale Roma. That is the big square where the buses from the airport drop off visitors. It is also a reasonable walk (over a large bridge) to and from the train station. That way when you arrive and depart Venice, you will be within walking distance to the hotel and can avoid taking any boat. From there you will have to walk everywhere if your wife cannot take a ferry. The walking is not too bad if you are in reasonably good shape and don't mind stairs and bridges.

Some boats are narrower than others. Some are so narrow and low that you may feel you have to stand instead of sit, which is probably something your wife won't like to do. Your wife will be able to see the narrowness of a boat before she has to get on the boat, and she can back off if she doesn't like what she sees.

I sure can relate to hydrophobia. I have that. The good people here have great suggestions.

Hydrophobia? Isn't that the old term for rabies? I see in my dictionary that it has been updated to "irrational fear of water", but you had me going there for a minute.
Yes, you can stick to terra firma the whole time in Venice. Not as much fun as riding the vaporettos IMHO, but a perfectly acceptable way to see Venice.

Walk near buildings, not near the water's edge.
Try a one-stop vaporetto ride if she is willing. The vaporetto is pretty big, sit in the inside center section.
Forget the gondola and traghetto rides.

Sounds to me like Venice is out of the question. Why pursue it when she is so against it?

Venice is enchanting, and I hope you'll be able to go. I would suggest getting a hotel very near the attractions that most interest her. That will let her explore without the vaporetto, if she decides she doesn't want to get on a boat.

You don't mention when you're planning to go, but FYI, I've experienced some rough water in the latter part of October and early November. I grew up on boats in the San Francisco Bay and along the coast, yet I can think of a couple of days in Venice when I was holding on to something to keep my balance. However, if you are going in the fall or winter, it's easy enough to look at the water and the sky so you can decide whether it's a good day to get on a boat.

You might also consider getting a hotel with an elevator if she's likely to be tired from the stairs and bridges involved in walking in Venice.

Be sure to get VERY detailed directions to your hotel – you can't readily find buildings in Venice just by having an address. That's probably the genesis of the horror stories she heard.

Regarding tours, there are lots of good walking tours that avoid using any boat. The RS guidebooks have some, and RS also has audio tours that you can download onto your smart phone.

My preferred tour company is Context Venice, which limits groups to 6 and has amazingly well educated guides. Because groups are so small, the guides almost always ask about interests and concerns – that might be good with your wife's worries. I've also found their customer service to be very good, so you may want to call their US office to ask about what tours might be good for your wife.

You can find some more information about Venice on http://europeforvisitors.com/venice/venice-hotels.htm and very good step-by-step routes for most hotels.

And has she considered Xanax? Serious question, considering this is clearly an irrational fear.

You don't say when you're traveling, however the acqua alta happens occasionally between autumn and spring, per the Wiki. That may be worth looking into so you understand the phenomena and the likelihood (or not) of it occurring.

Venice involves tons of walking along relatively limited paths defined by bridges. I was there four days and took a vaporetto only twice. Could have done without, though.

However water is all around, always. So if the mere presence of walking along a boardwalk with water nearby is problematic, then maybe it won't work.

In order to save some money, I once stayed at a nice hotel near the Mestre train station (one stop outside of the city center). My hotel, and at least one of the other nearby hotels, offered transportation to the city center for a very reasonable price. There was also access to the city bus system. Perhaps you can stay in that area and make Venice a small part of your trip. You can access the area without being in the city center whether you arrive by plane or by train. If your wife starts to have a problem, you can escort her back to the hotel and tour the city on your own for a day or so. If she does not have a problem, you can spend more time there on your next trip.

can your wife walk or drive over bridges?

There is a significant difference between a boardwalk and the calles and other passageways in Venice.

Generally on a boardwalk, like on a pier, the walkway is over the water and you can see the water between the boards. Usually at least one side of a boardwalk is not enclosed.

In Venice, most of the calles and other passageways are solid under foot, either concrete or paving stones, with no way to see under the surface. They are completely built up on both sides, with shops with glass windows and residences with doors and walls. The buildings are usually between 3 and 5 stories tall so there is no feeling of being on or near water until you come to a bridge. A typical view would be like this image - click here

These bridges are frequent because Venice is not an island - it is 118 islands, with canals large and small running between them and all these canals are linked by small bridges. The bridges (most of them) are solid and have bannisters or solid sides and only a few steps so they are easy to go over.

Like this

or this one

I can't imagine what sort of horrors your wife has heard about using a taxi to reach the water gate of a hotel. All buildings have a land entrance and many have a water one. The taxi owners all know how to get to the hotels, they drop you and your luggage off, you go in the door into the hotel. Easier than by land because you won't get lost. Could you please be more specific about these problems? I am in Venice between one and three times every year and have never heard of any problems with taxis and water gates.

Again, if you could possibly outline the specific difficulties your wife has with the water perhaps we could help. Is it a fear of falling in, or perhaps a fear of being swept overboard, or fear of losing her balance on moving floors?

I wish I could help...

What happened to the OP? There are a lot of good questions for him above.

Along the line of Michael's Xanax suggestion, I was going to suggest that your wife look into essential oils and natural supplements for anxiety. These might help her relax and actually enjoy Venice. There are several available and one that I use to help me relax so I can sleep is Pharma GABA. People use it for anxiety & I've heard it referred to as "natural Xanax" but without the possibility of physical dependence. Tell her to experiment with these things at home before you travel so she knows how they effect her.

Also, can you take her around water here at home (a lake, river, beach, etc.) to see if Venice is really plausible or not? If her fear is that bad, then I would not take her to Venice as she will be miserable & thus you would be too!

Good luck...I hope it all works out as Venice is a magical place & it would be a shame to miss it.