Preventing Venice Overwhelm

Answer to # 1. If you are young and full of energy you could walk. BUT, considering the distance and the amount of luggage, your best bet is to take the vaporette which is the same as a land bus -- just on water. You can buy a pass for various lengths of time and should do so as individual trips are really costly. Be sure to validate your pass everytime before you board the vap. Perhaps we can give more detail if we know the name and location of your hotel.

Answer to # 4. Venice is small and very walkable. The Rick Steves' guide book list self guided walks that are very informative.

Answer to # 5Just walk several minutes in any direction away from the crowds and you'll feel like you are by yourself compared to the tourist hot spots. Some people worry about getting lost. Don't worry. Getting lost is one of the best things you can do there as you'll wind up in places most people never see. Remember, you are on an island, so it's not like you can really be lost and never found.

1 vaporetto to San Marco stop. Vaporetto stop is right outside the train station. Buy your vap tickets or passes there, too.

2 It doesn't hurt. Most restaurants won't open for dinner before 7pm. You can ask the hotel concierge or front desk for suggestions.

3 Tickets bought in advance are skip the line tickets. You skip the line for ticket purchase. NO ONE skips the security line. 3rd party sites charge more because they can, and because that's how they make money.

4 Rick has downloadable audio guides for the Grand Canal, St Mark's square, and a couple of the churches. Look on this forum under the Watch, Read, Listen section.

How do we get to our hotel near San Marco square?

Does the hotel not have a 'how to get here' info page on their website?

1. Vaporetto (buy the multiple day pass to save)
2. Not always necessary but recommended.
3. I don't know
4. I don't know
5. Move away from San Marco square, or the calle connecting San Marco to Rialto bridge, or Rialto bridge to station and there will be no crowds. Check the map in the article below. It was created using cell phone data. As you can see the crowds tend to congregate in specific areas and routes. If you move away from those, there will be few people. http://www.pdcannaregio.it/cannaregio/turismo-a-cannaregio/e-ufficiale-ci-offriamo-come-figuranti/
6. Treviso, Padua, Vicenza, Ravenna, or Lido for a beach day (I hear it's still hot in Italy)

To avoid Venice overwhelm, don't stay in the San Marcos area. We love the Cannaregio area, back canals, where you can take sunset pictures without anyone in your frame. May be too late for availability, but if you want serenity and peace, see if you can change your lodging. ( Orange line of the vaporetto.)
Try Row Venice for 90 minute rowing lesson for both of you, about 100 euros total, again on the back canals, near Cannaregio. This is staffed by an all woman rowing team. It's harder than it looks!
Go out to Murano and/ or Burano.
After Venice, we went on to Lake Como.
Safe travels and enjoy your trip!

You don’t have a lot of time for a city that has a lot to see so you will likely spend most, if not all of your time, in the areas that will be most crowded as that’s where the main sights are. There’s not much you can do about it other than just go with the flow. I find that when I’m getting a little frustrated with the crowds in a museum it helps to just take several steps back into a corner and just people watch for a minute or two. It can be amusing, and even informative. The same goes for walking around Venice. Just occasionally duck down a side alley away from the crowds, you never know what you will discover. With so little time I would not try to get out to Murano or Burano as that will take up too much of your time, but I would recommend taking a vaporetto ride down the grand canal after dark as it will be less crowded, and magical at night with the building lights on.Do try a gondola ride, also, to get away from the crowds. Take the vaporetto from the train station to St. Marks, as the walk would be too long and meandering with all your luggage. Venice is easily walkable, so think about how often you will ride the vaporetto before buying a pass. Since you don’t have a lot of time in the city, you might walk most of the time so the pass may not pay for itself.

I was in Venice for 3 nights the end of August into September. Some areas are indeed very crowded. It depends on your priorities, but on my 3rd day, rather than stand in line to climb the Campinile (sp.) bell tower, take a vaporetto (10 + minutes) to Giorgio San Maggiore. There’s an elevator to the top of the Church bell tower on the island and the views of Venice and the lagoon are fantastic. It was so peaceful . Very few people late afternoon. A refreshing break from crowds.

BTW google maps is very helpful but remember to carry a backup charger! Have fun.

Anita has pointed out the hard truth: You have scheduled so little time in Venice that you are at risk of seeing nothing but the most crowded areas. Where should you go next? Nowhere; you should spend more time in Venice so you aren't competing with the daytrippers for a square foot of space on the Lista di Spagna. Lots of folks who give Venice so little time end up hating it.

Get a paper map. Phone maps are poor in Venice.
Get the app Chebateo for vaporetto routes and times.

2 nights unfortunately only gets you one full day of sightseeing, so you will have to work hard to get in what you want

for Q1. How do we get to our hotel near San Marco square?

Pretty much every hotel will have a webpage on their site dedicated to explaining how precisely to get to them from the airport, the station, by vaporetto. Study that and then decide if you want to do as Venetians and many tourists do and take the vaporetto down the Grand Canal, or if you want to join the herd walking, or if you want to drop a hundred Euro or so on a private water taxi.

for Q2. Do we need reservations for dinner?

Do you live to eat or eat to live? If you want popular or fancy places, yes. If you want to maximize your sightseeing time and you eat to live, a quick grab and go or pizza will do that. You won't need to reserve for those. Your choice.

for Q3. If I book tickets online for Doge's palace, I skip the line right? Why are places selling fast track/skip the line tickets for more than the cost online?

They charge extra because they can. Advertise a lot, get up the google search, promise to save money (no matter that it is unnecessary), and jack up the price. Sing all the way to the bank.

for Q4. Can you recommend a guided walking tour or boat tour to learn about this amazing city?

not a human led one, in all my many visits to Venice I've never used one. Read the guidebook, and Rick's free audio tour of the Grand Canal is pretty darn good, If you were there a week you could get a hidden Venice book and go on a treasure hunt. I've done that several times, my bit of fun, but I'm afraid with only one non-travel day that would be a waste of money.

Head to a region of the city - maybe Dorsoduro or the Ghetto - and go for a random walk and see what you discover.

for Q5. Any other tips to avoid crowds are appreciated.

Walk away from the crowds. Cross a few bridges (crowds don't like bridges, yet they are so beautiful and so much iconic Venice). Get lost - you can't get very lost really.

for Q6. Where shall we go after Venice for rest and relaxation?

No clue, really. I like Vicenza but others will have other suggestions....

Enjoy your visit to La Serenissima

Thanks everyone for your thoughts, very helpful.

Excellent advice above.

We were just in Venice last Friday-Saturday, and it was the most crowded I have ever seen it (and we have been visiting Venice for 20 years, most recently before this just one year ago. This time it was super-crowded everywhere, including areas in San Polo and Dorsoduro that I have not previously seen suffering from crowding. Bring a pile of patience and trim your expectations.

The vaporetti were so packed last Saturday we did not use them at all—-we walked everywhere (but after so much time in Venice I know my way around pretty well). I purposely booked a hotel near Piazzale Roma so we could walk there easily with our luggage—-I even enjoy the views from the controversial Ponte della Costituzione:

https://www.istockphoto.com/search/2/image-film?phrase=ponte+della+costituzione

I have had some unpleasant experiences on packed vaporetti in the past, such as getting pushed away from my spot on the rail to a packed space behind others, where I could not see anything but peoples’ backs—-no views at all (I will admit I am a small person, 5’1”). I have had my feet stepped on or rolled over by luggage, my face smacked by a backpack, and other indignities. As a result, I avoid the vaporetti as much as possible.

I will go out on a limb and suggest you take a water taxi from the Ferrovia to the dock closest to your hotel—-the taxis can enter the side canals, and might get you closer than the vaporetto. It will also be a whole lot more pleasant than a packed vaporetto. The cost, around €65 for a taxi from the taxi stand, is not a lot more than two 24-hour vaporetto passes at €25 each. It is, however, a lot more than two single-ride tix at €9,50 each. But to my mind, it is worth it these days, where you have to thread your way through the crowds in front of the Ferrovia to buy your tickets, find the right dock for your destination, then join the scrum to board the boat, possibly having to wait for the next one because the first to arrive is full.

For Doge’s Palace timed entry tickets, use the official website:

https://palazzoducale.visitmuve.it/en/home/

I would definitely make dinner reservations if you want to have a nice relaxing meal with decent quality food. If you describe what you like, people here may be able to make some suggestions. Despite what you may had heard, there are some nice, un-touristy restaurants, trattoria, and osterie in Venice. Our family of eight had a wonderful meal—-I would say a seafood extravaganza—last Friday night, in a lovely patio protected from the crowds. It was fairly €€€, but no more so than a similar experience in the US.

If you prefer “cheap and cheerful” I am sure someone can make suggestions in that category as well.