Rialto Bridge to Piazzale Roma September 4, 2023

Take the vaporetto.

But I wouldn't want to count on everyone getting on the first boat.

it is quite a short walk.

Or a few taxis could be used. Even if they aren't taking reservations there will probably be a couple at the Rialto docks.

Or a sequence of vaporettos.

(I assume pax means people)

Google is giving me a distance of 1.7 km, just a tad over 1 mile, from the San Polo (NW) end of the Rialto Bridge to Piazzale Roma. The walk as laid out by Google takes you across seven bridges. Unless this is a group of 20 youngish folks, seven hump-backed bridges will probably be a lot for at least a few people in the group. In addition, I wouldn't expect to make a walk like that without a navigational error or two unless I had a guide--and a navigational error could lead to extra bridges. Therefore, I'd estimate a longer walking time than Google's 22 minutes.

The walk from Santa Lucia Station to my Cannaregio lodging last September was shorter--1.3 km--and crossed only three bridges. It was completely manageable but not fun with a suitcase larger than a carry-on bag. There's quite a difference between three bridges and seven.

Take the vaporetto. It’s what the Rick Steve’s tour groups do. Our group was staying a little closer to St Marks, and on the day we had to catch our bus we all got on the vaporetto, and there was almost 30 of us. There is a ticket booth right at Rialto.

Thank you for the suggestions!

As far as the Regata Storica is concerned, that will likely not affect transport on the 4th. We attended last September, saw/heard no language other than Italian. Surprised us as we thought tourists would come out for it. Seems a very Venetian event. Traffic on the canal is stopped for the actual parade and races on the 3rd, so preparing for that is good.
Otherwise it was business as usual.

It might be wise to start the vaporetto transport (which is time consuming) a good while before the group needs to be at Piazzale Roma and be at the stop several minutes, like 15-20, before the scheduled departure to get in line, possibly ensuring most or all can travel together.

May I suggest if this is your departure, considering walking the route with your group during your stay, you can determine if manageable to walk. As I recall it is more or less a direct route from p roma to cannaregio and on to the rialto bridge; a few turns near rialto, but if this is the end of your trip you will likely be comfortable with navigating that area by the time you depart. Most of the bridges on this route are small. The larger bridges (2?) from cannaregio to P roma

The shortest path from the Rialto Bridge area to Piazzale Roma cuts across San Polo and Santa Croce rather than going through Cannaregio.

The shortest path does, but that route for us at least was more confusing and the only time we got “lost”. In any case, they could walk either or both routes during their trip to determine if walking may be an option worth considering for their group.

Yes, swinging around through Cannaregio, on the east side of the Grand Canal, seems more straightforward, but the sidewalks can be pretty packed on quite a bit of that route, so I wonder about keeping a group of 20 people together. That route is longer (2.2 km, over 1.3 miles, estimated at 31 minutes) and requires crossing more bridges--nine if you start from a point on the east side of the Rialto Bridge.

The vaporetto is the easiest option. I wouldn’t want to navigate very far in Venice with luggage. I’ll be using this mode of transportation from and back to the train station with my group of 23 next month.

I've walked between those places without bags numerous times. I've never stayed near the Rialto Bridge,but I can imagine dragging my bags from there...but I am used to doing that. Most people would not want to drag their bags so far, even if I might. I would recommend they take the vaporetto too.