is s. elena too far away to stay in venice??

It is a very peaceful part of the island, where more locals live. We've walked out to St. Elena several times from San Marco and I recall it being a 20 minute-or-so walk along the water. If you find an apartment or hotel you like there, it may be worth a shot. It is about as far as you can get from the train station, though you can also easily hop on a vaporetto to get around Venice. Don't forget to buy a vaporetto pass!

I don't think distance from the airport is much of a factor as you can take the Alilaguna Water Taxi to the airport from most anywhere, but I have not done this so perhaps someone else will reply.

It's a long walk from the sights, so you might want to rely on vaporetti unless you are an avid walker. The advantage is that is one of the few places that has very few tourists and it's quiet. It's inhabited by locals, so you will be living like a real Venetian surrounded by Venetians. If you are concerned about not speaking the language don't worry. I can't understand the venetians when they talk either.

Thank you , funny Roberto! I guess my concern would be restaurants and nights, getting back and forth, how much would vaporetto be for 2 people each ride? Im deciding now between two places.. one near san marco and one at s elena. thank you

How long are you in Venice, Elaine? If you think you'll take the vaporetto a lot, there are vaporetto passes for various amounts of time - 12, 24, 36, 48 hours and so on... http://www.actv.it/en/movinginvenice/prices#C2 . I like staying a little away from the main attractions because I love wandering in Venice.

http://venicewiki.org/wiki/Mappa_delle_Osterie_e_bacari

Use the website above for cheap Osterie and Bacari. Osterie are family style restaurants. Bacari are traditional Venetian simple restaurant that specialize in cicchetti (appetizer size dishes, Venetian tapas basically). Also using Google Maps, zoom into Sant'Elena (that's where the Venice Soccer Stadium is), then in the search box enter "Osterie". There are at least 3 right there. Ask the locals too. You can bet the restaurants in that area will be cheaper and probably better than the ones closer to where the millions of tourists stampede one another (if you thought Disney world is too crowded in Summer, that's peanuts compared to the area around Piazza San Marco).

For the Vaporetti, always buy the passes for the length of your stay as suggested by Devon. They pay themselves off if you take at least 2 rides a day (which you certainly will). Individual rides are €7 a pop.