Hello everyone,
We will be in Italy early May. Our first stop is Venice and we are staying on Lido. I was recommended to take private boat transfer over but seems very expensive $286 for my husband and I. Would love to know if this is recommended or is public water taxi available or even recommended. How much should we expect to pay for transfer from Venice to Lido? Thank you.
The regular vaporetti go to Lido. If you have a ticket valid on them, you can ride to Lido.
Lido has beaches for swimming, otherwise there is really no benefit to staying on the Lido when visiting Venice. It's actually a pain in the rear to hop back and forth between Venice and Lido everytime you want to step out to go sightseeing. Staying on Venice Island is much more convenient...unless you want to swim in the Adriatic.
Nora, the No #1 vaporetto's final destination as it travels east from the Piazzale Roma and train station is Lido. You can catch this vaporetto anywhere along the Grand Canal.
Tim is right. We learned the hard way on our third visit to Venice that staying on the Lido only to save money is not worth it.
Here's some clarification of the terminology you need:
vaporetto - water bus that does not go to the airport
water taxi - private only and very expensive
Alilaguna - the shuttle service much like a vaporetto that takes you to the airport. It has regular routes and times.
If you're going to be getting a vaporetto pass (which you'll want to do if you stay on the Lido), the most economical way to get to your destination from the airport is to buy a vaporetto pass at the airport along with a one-way bus ticket to Piazzale Roma. From P.R. you can catch a vaporetto to the Lido. Be sure to tap your pass on the validation pad every single time you get on the vaporetto or face a significant fine if caught.
Michael's advice is the best on your options. Don't take a water taxi from the airport as it is very expensive, however the price you've been quoted is double what it should be, therefore whoever gave you that quote is trying to take you to the cleaners, more than to the Lido. The water taxi fare from the airport to the Lido is €100 (US$ 140) for up to 9 people. Still expensive, but nowhere near what you've been quoted.
Regarding the benefits of being in Venice proper, rather than Lido, it is true that it's better to be in the middle of the historical center of Venice rather than having to commute back and forth from the Lido. However if the hotel savings at the Lido are substantial (Lido is generally cheaper), then a stay at the Lido might be justified.
As Michael mentioned it is imperative that in that case you both must buy the daily "vaporetto' passes (24h or 36h or 72h etc. depending on your length of stay). Those passes are for unlimited rides during the length of time you purchase (starting from the first validation) and pay themselves off after just a few rides (each ride is a whopping €7 per person otherwise)
Thank you for your very helpful information. Michael, thank you so much for the lingo education. Very helpful to know. I didn't know we could get a pass. Thank you for the heads up. We did not chose Lido because we thought it would save money. We had checked some of the Rick Steves' recommended hotels and were not impressed with reviews on line. Also, one we were going with reviews said it was noisy. So my husband chose the Excelsior Western on Lido, a quieter place. I personally would prefer to stay more centrally located to main sites. We have reservations at Excelsior and don't know if we could cancel reservation at this point, as we are set to arrive May 3. If possible to cancel would appreciate personal recommendations of nice hotels locally (200-250 Euros) located with good breakfast offered and in a not too noisy area. I would really appreciate hearing from personal experience. Thank you
If you check on the Cross-Pollinate.com website, there a quite a few places to stay in Venice for the first week of May and they are in your price range. I have used this before and have been very happy with lodging that they have provided. There are also apartments.
Some of the transportation information advice given above needs to change based on the disclosure of the hotel name.
The hotel did as several very high range hotels has done in locating away from the main drag and providing private shuttles to their own docks.
The hotel is a Five Star L rank so is very posh, and they charge for lots of things - that's undoubtedly where the very high price of $286 came from.
Their location page http://www.hotelexcelsiorvenezia.com/en/location/ talks about their complimentary shuttle to St Marks so that's pretty good. They do mention the numbers 1, 2, and 5.1 to the public dock, but then a land taxi or bus to reach the hotel; same with the Alilaguna from the airport.
There's a great thread you could read here about other lodging in Venice proper.
I have stayed out on the Lido and, although I can't say that it's much quieter from Venice proper, I really enjoyed the vaparetto ride into town every morning seeing the city getting closer and closer. You can also get a less crowded boat from the Lido out to Murano, Burano, and Torcello as well - fewer people start from there so the boats are not as packed with sweaty bodies!
The analogy I've often seen is wanting to experience Manhattan by staying on Staten Island. :-)
Except that from Staten Island to Manhattan the ferry takes almost half hour, whereas the vaporetto from Lido to Piazza San Marco takes less than 15 min (with two stops in between at St. Elena and the Giardini). Actually shorter than the time on the vaporetto from the station to San Marco.
In the many times in Venice I've stayed at the Lido only once (at Carnival, with everything else in town booked). I didn't mind the short ride across on the vaporetto either, kind of refreshing (very refreshing actually, since it was snowing that February).
