We are a family of 5 flying into Venice. If we take the Alilaguna Blue Line, our stop with be the second one (F. TE Nove) to our apartment will cost 75E, is it worth the extra 40E to get a private water taxi or it is not that much better and be a waste of money?
Thanks for your advice!
Translated into land transportation it is like saying is it better to take the airport shuttle bus into town or a private taxi for 40 extra euro?
How much further do you need to walk if you take the Alilaguna? And how important are 40 euro to you?
That is a 40 euro question that only you can answer.
It may also depend on where exactly your apartment is located, whether a water taxi can dock nearby. Could be worth it if it saves you wandering around Venice with a lot of luggage in tow looking for it.
It all depends on how lightly you traveling. How much luggage? Are the kids toting their own bags? We always walk from the train station to where we are staying Venic.e. As previously stated, how close is the water taxi going to get you to your apartment?
Our kids are teenagers and everyone will be handling their own luggage, we plan on only using carryon luggage. According to our host, the apartment is 350 meters from the Fondamente Nove stop and he will meet us there. We won't be dragging ourselves or our luggage through Venice. If we had to then I would choose the private taxi. Thank you Roberto for giving me the comparison between the shuttle bus and a private taxi.
If I were you and I could afford the 40 extra, I would totally do it. The Alilaguna is a stinky loud diesel-powered tub that sits VERY low in the water. You sit hemmed in by everyone's luggage and surrounded by people squinting out the greasy rarely-cleaned windows.
hey mrm
it is so worth it for water taxi, done it twice. thrill of a lifetime and no could shoulda woulda.. we were 4 friends that shared cost and was waiting for us at dock, a walk away from arrivals. we booked it thru motoscafivenezia.it
don't know how many days you'll be staying in venice, if interested in gondola ride we used lucky luca
([email protected]) depending on how long you want (80E/30 minutes), plus he sang for us. met in the jewish ghetto plaza, very professional and educational. stayed on the back canals away from the "boat traffic" and did cross the busy grand canal. we brought a bottle of prosecco for us girls and couple plastic cups to celebrate. great time and fun, couple emails to ask ?'s and schedule us for a noon ride.
another thing to think about is going across to the lido stop, walk down santa maria elisabetta towards the beach. your kids can bring their suits and have a fun time. europeforvisitors.com has a lots of info and the lido is included.
also saw you are going to pisa, if you plan to climb the tower, reserve your tickets ahead of time at opapisa.it only online sales.
like the other posters suggesting a day trip from florence to lucca and pisa. check getyourguide.com or luccatours.com for bike rides. i'm sure lots of shops rent bikes, go to a tourism kiosk in the piazza for info. sit and relax and enjoy
aloha
There is also a shared water taxi, which we took. It is like a shared shuttle -- you wait around at the airport for a full boat load (I think it was around a dozen on ours) and then they drop everyone off at the nearest point to where you are staying. More expensive than the Alliaguna but cheaper than a private water taxi with most of the benefits of a private taxi.
If it's your first trip to Venice, I'd splurge for the private water taxi if I could afford it. We did that once, and we very much enjoyed the experience.
Oh wow, you've all convinced me to take a water taxi! I know 40E doesn't seem like much but when you travel with 5 you need to pick and choose what is worth the extra money and you've all made this decision easy. Thank you Princess for all of the great info you provided especially the gondola ride. I was hoping to find one that took smaller less crowded canals and to have one that sings is even better.
My husband and I have been to Rome but this is our first trip with the kids. Now that they're old enough to enjoy and appreciate a trip to Italy, I want it to be a great first experience.
hey mrm
another interesting thing, schezzini.it alessandro does cicchetti (pub crawls) eating appetizers, wine and some venice history you have to email him for any questions, answers and booking.
also outside of rome is oldfrascatiwinetour.com take the train 30 minutes to countryside and a different world, famous for white wines. saw a food special about ceralli.it having the "best" porchetta.
it's a family owned bakery/pizza shop. walk around the small town, it's near the pope's summer home and lake nemi, away from the crowds. read about us and blog
@naalehuretiree (aloha to fellow big islander - hamakua) the shared water taxi is per person at venicelink.com and would cost more than a private one for mrm and her gang.
aloha
Pretty sure Alessandro is no longer doing cicchetti tours
Too bad, we did in 2014 it was great fun
His website seems to indicate he is still doing tours. One way to find out is to contact him.
https://www.schezzini.it/
Sam-
Oh wow- last I checked his website was gone- maybe just a temporary thing?
Has anyone done recently?
Thanks
I contacted Alessandro last month via email and just checked his website - it's working. He still does tours! We are confirmed for a cicchetti tour at end of May.
Also, to the OP, my family of 4 will be taking the private water taxi through https://www.motoscafivenezia.it/en/our_boats.php . I had the same considerations (first trip with kids to Italy; they are in early 20s; balancing costs). For 115 EUR, convenience of airport to location nearest our AirB&B, and anticipated beautiful views approaching Venice, it was a no-brainer.
Happy planning!
Thanks for the recommendation for the ciccetti tour, my husband and I were looking for something to do without the kids for a night.
LinZ, its so much cheaper to take a trip when there are only 2 people but multiply everything by 5 and it starts to add up quickly. The private taxi will cost us 125E, they add 10E for every person over 4, but it sounds like a wonderful way to arrive in Italy. We will have 4 full days in Venice, but one of those days we're taking a road trip up to Chiusaforte. Chiuseforte is where my father-in-law's family is from and we have to at least spend an afternoon there. But we are still going to have plenty of time in Venice to do everything we want to do.
Hi mrm -
The private water taxi is the only way to enter Venice, no matter what the cost! I mean, how many times in your life are you likely to go to Venice anyway? Definitely splurge the first time!
We took my mum, well into her eighties then, to Venice and shelled out for the water taxi to our hotel on arrival, and it was brilliant. My mum was so enamoured of the experience she insisted she pay for us to return to Marco Polo the same way at the end of our trip!
Hope you have a memorable and as good a trip as we did!
Ian
Ian, I wish my mum was splurging for us.
I'm not trying to be cheap. If you're going to Europe then you need to spend some money. I just want to make sure the items I'm spending extra on are worth it. Everyone recommends it so I think its worth the extra money.
I will add my voice to the others advocating the water taxi. The Alilaguna is something to be endured; a water taxi is to be enjoyed. Make sure you have a map showing the exact location of your apartment. The driver may know of a dock closer than Fondamente Nove.
You have taken a giant step toward economizing in Venice by renting an apartment where you can prepare your own meals. The local supermarkets are well-stocked, but you should shop at the Rialto Market for seafood and vegetables at least once. You can take a traghetto across the Grand Canal from Ca’ d,Oro to Rialto Mercato instead of walking down to Rialto bridge.
If you do want to go out once, whether for lunch or dinner, I would suggest Rosa Rossa, known as Johnny Depp’s hangout while filming The Tourist in Venice. Yes, it is “touristy” but not in a bad way. Make a reservation is advance and they will treat you well. Your kids might like to sit in the room with Depp’s signed jacket on the wall.
Lola, we always stay in apartments so that we can cook some of our own meals. We love to get local ingredients and cooking a meal in whatever country we're in. Definitely planning on hitting the Rialto Market for fresh seafood and vegetables. When we were in Greece a few years back, we went to the local butcher and asked what a particular item was that was in the display case, and the butcher said gato (cat). The look on our faces, then he started laughing, it was rabbit.
Half the fun of traveling is going local and experiencing what life is like outside of the U.S.
