Hello. We will be in Venice this July for 4 nights. We arrive via train from Switzerland, arriving Santa Lucia on July 2. We depart July 6 from Marco Polo at 1:30 pm on a direct flight to Montreal.
We are traveling as a family of 5 (3 adults, 2 teens). My son is mildly disabled; he walks independently but is slow, uncoordinated, and tires easily. For longer distances or when we need to move quickly, we push him in a stroller. For this trip, we will have a jogger-type stroller for him (we will need the big wheels in Switzerland).
In Venice, we are staying in an apartment on the Zattere literally next door to the Chiesa dello Spirito Santo and its vaporetto stop.
My question pertains to transfers to/from our apartment when we arrive and depart. In general, when we are traveling with luggage (carryon and minimal personal pieces, but still a lot to juggle) I try to simplify our journey as much as possible because moving from one vehicle (boat, train, bus, car, whatever) to another is difficult for my son and takes us longer than average. I’m willing to spend more on private, direct transport for these transfers if that makes our arrival/departure easier.
It looks like when we arrive at the train station, the easiest solution will be the 5.1 vaporetto that will take us directly to the apartment. Easy enough.
However, when we depart for the airport, we would need to take a vaporetto to P. Roma and then transfer to the airport bus. I know the process is simple, but this would be a challenge for my son. Easier solution (for him) is to book a private water taxi directly to the airport.
Now here is my question (finally!): are we going to have trouble getting him into a water taxi? I’m assuming they pull up to the steps along the canal and there’s a bit of a hop/jump to get into the (possibly bobbing) boat. For those of you who have done this, is it easier than it sounds to me? We’ve gotten him on to docked boats before at home, but it’s quite a lot of lifting/helping on our part, and we’ve only ever done it with him strapped into a life jacket on calm water.
If this seems like it would be too risky, then we’ll plan on the vaporetto/bus to the airport.
Can you let me know your experiences with getting onto a water taxi and how easy that might be for someone with physical disabilities?
Whew, that got long! Thanks in advance for your input.