Staying Just outside of Venice

I would stay in Padova (Padua)- it is a nice, college town with very frequent commuter trains and a few sites of it's own. (Famous Giotto Fresco's, St. Antohony of Padova, Cafe Pedrocchi) I would also look into maybe renting an apartment rather than a hotel if you choose to stay IN Venice - much, much more budget-friendly with a family!

thank you, but we only plan on 2 days for Venice and Apt seem to like longer stays.
I will look into that town.

David, my in-laws stayed across the lagoon near Punta Sabbioni. There's a vaporetto that will take you right to St. Mark's square from there. Try anything in that area.

You might want to look into renting an apartment in Venice -- might do better on the nightly rate,and it might be more comfortable for a family.

try www.vrbo.com

Thank you, I am looking at vrbo now. I did see it on other post.
Do they have a good reputation?

Padova (Padua in english) is a great suggestion. Home of one of the oldest universities in Europe, as well as the Giotto frescoes. And frequent trains to/from Venice.

I think Rick covers Padua in his Italy book, and there is also a section on it in "Daytrips Italy" by Steinbicker.

Try Vicenza, which is about 45 mins away from Venice on the Milan-Venice train line. It is a good locale and far cheaper. Bob and Jenny's B & B might work for you.

I have rented through VRBO 2 times, and have had excellent results. Both owners of the apartments were based in the US (one was in my city) so I felt especially comfortable dealing with them, not worrying about a language or culture barrier, etc., but I'm sure most of the other owners speak English well, and it's easy to communicate via the internet.
Many other posters on this site have recommended VRBO.

Hi David,

If you and your family are wanting to spend most of your time in Venice and only looking for an inexpensive hotel for sleeping then you should check out the hotels in Venice/Mestre area. It is only a 10 minute cab ride to Venice from this area. The hotels are very reasonable mostly around 100 euro's per night. We stayed in this area and I would do it again. The money I saved on hotels gave us lots of extra spending money for whatever else we wanted. Hope this info helps.

Greg

Try to do whatever you can to actually stay in Venice. Whiel staying outside is doable, it really is a different experience to stay in Venice.

An apartment would be my suggestion. You may need to add a night. Many rentals will go to a minimum of three nights on units depending on the season.

I wholeheartedly agree with staying in Venice...not Mestre. Yes, it's a whole different experience walking in Venice at night when all of the bazillions of tourists have gone and you are left with a pleasantly quiet little town.

The Hotel Malibran is an inexpensive place to stay...also try an apartment. Look at www.venere.com where you can choose 5 people in a room and see what you come up with.

Yes, do whatever you can to stay in Venice.

Here's another vote for springing for the additional bucks to stay in Venice proper. Otherwise you're riding the wave of tourists into and out of the city, and people who do that invariably just don't enjoy Venice anywhere near as much as those who stay on the island itself and can rome around in the evening, when Venice is at its most beautiful.

Having said that, check out Pensione Guerrato, near the Rialto. It's within your budget. For 175 Euros you can get a room with five beds and a bathroom. (170 E if you pay cash.) That's $255 a night. They're Rick Steves' favorite place in Venice (and ours as well). Their location is great, the rooms are charming and the staff and owners absolutely could not be more helpful.

http://web.tiscali.it/pensioneguerrato/homepenen.html

Check out this website www.cross-pollinate.com It is a bed and breakfast and apartment booking service operated by an american couple living in Rome. I just stayed at an apartment in Venice in August with my sister and her husband and we paid $175.00 a night including breakfast. Check them out I have stayed at the places various times and have never had a problem.