The hotel where my wife and I are staying for our three day visit to Venice does not offer parking and since it is in the Dorsoduro section I am looking for suggestions on a reasonably priced and secure area to park our car. We will be there in late May.
We would appreciate any suggestions!
The only places to park a car in Venice are in the Piazzale Roma and Tronchetto areas at the base of the causeway from the mainland - elsewhere, you can only get around on foot or by boat. However, where are you coming from? Can you get to Venice by train? The Italian train system is great.
We are coming from Verona and moving on to Lake Bled in Slovenia after Venice.
There are lots of trains from Verona to Venice daily. There are so many that you can just go to the Verona Train Station whenever you're ready (Porta Nuova is the main one), buy a ticket, validate it by stamping in the machine, wait probably no more than 15 minutes, get on and go.
I just gotta ask...are you planning to drive to Slovenia? Are you sure your rental car agency will allow you to drive the car there? And have you researched all the requirements and pitfalls of renting a car and driving in Italy?
Doug,
We are coming from Verona and moving on to Lake Bled in Slovenia after Venice.
Do you intend to return the car in Slovenia, or will you be returning to Italy?
Keep in mind that if you rent the car in Italy and drop it off in Slovenia, or another country, you will incur hefty rental drop off fees.
If you'll be returning to Italy after visiting Slovenia, you may consider renting the car on your way out of Venice, instead of paying for parking.
Happy travels!
Do you need a car before visiting Venice?
You don't need it in Verona, which is largely off limits to traffic in the historical center, but I don't know where you are before Verona.
If you can do without a car before Venice, you can pick up one on your way out of Venice at Piazzale Roma.
You need to confirm with the rental company that you are taking the car to Slovenia. Companies restrict use of rental cars in Eastern Europe, and if you need to take it there, you need to declare it at the time of booking. That will require different rental fees and specific models that they will let you take.
Dropping the car in Slovenia will cost you a lot in rental drop off charges. I recommend you return it back in Italy if possible.
The hotel .... for our three day visit to Venice does not offer parking and .... it is in the Dorsoduro section
That rang alarm bells. No hotel in Venice proper (i.e. on the islands not on the mainland Mestre section) has parking because there are no roads in Venice. The only place you can get to by car is the Piazzale Roma where the expensive car parks are, and if you are not going to a car park the only option is to loop around and head straight back to the mainland.
Dorsoduro is at the opposite side of Venice. you will need to get a water bus to reach it whether you arrive by car or train.
Ditch the car before Verona for the reasons given.
The city parking garage at Piazzale Rome costs €24/day or the garage at Tronchetto costs €21/day (24 hours from when you leave it). These are discussed in guidebooks and each have their own web sites. So if you decide that you want or need the car, then parking should not be a deal-breaker.
ask David, a regular contributor here, about going too fast over the causeway.
If you are going to have the car when you go to Venice, parking at Tronchetto is reasonable and easy to get to. There's a vaporetto stop across from the garage. They also have secure luggage drop (inside the office) if you want to travel light but don't want to leave anything in the car.
Doug,
I assume you're aware of the usual potentially expensive "caveats" regarding driving in italy? Also are you planning to rent the car in Italy and drop in Slovenia?
Of all places in Europe to "NOT" have a rental car - Venice is number 1.
When buying a train ticket to Venice, be sure to specify the train station that's actually on the island of Venice, 'Venezia Santa Lucia'. The Mestre station is on the mainland. When you walk out the door of the Santa Lucia station, there's the Grand Canal! It's got to be one of the best-located train stations in the world.
Thanks to everyone that provided suggestions and input. For those that asked, yes we are renting our car in Italy touring several other countries and then looping back to Italy to drop the car off and fly home.
To reiterate, your rental agreement must allow you to drive in other countries, even if you plan to return it in Italy.
Thank you for the reminder about the need for having our rental car vendor aware of all the countries we are visiting, that base is covered.
