Transportation from Airport to Venice City Center

Hello and welcome!

This topic comes up a lot
You have basically 3 options:
Bus or taxi then vaporetto
Alilaguna boat
Private water taxi (or shared water taxi)

Scroll down to Aussie’s post in the following thread for details on each method
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/italy/venice-airport-bus-and-vaparetto-tickets

If you tell us the exact location of your hotel we can give more specific advice

Most Venice hotels will include “how to get here” info on their website as well

There’s a variety of options. Our favorite has become the Aliguna boats. You walk out the airport and follow the signs for the sidewalk that leads to the Aliguna boat dock. We always take the Orange (Arancia) line because we stay near San Marco. Check their website to see which color line heads towards your lodging. It’s easy, plus I don’t like having my suitcase placed in a bus storage underneath.

There is also a shared water taxi, aka shuttle, for 32 € per person. Unlike a private water taxi, it will make several stops on the way to your stop.

https://www.venicelink.com/en/products/shuttle

https://www.venice.nu/boats-trains-buses/shared-water-taxi/

Note that not many hotels have docks where a water taxi can stop. In many cases, you will have to walk over one or more bridges to reach your hotel. This is also true if you choose a vaporetto or Alilaguna service which uses the public docks.

If you name your hotel we can help you make the most convenient choice (which is not necessarily the least expensive).

If this is a first visit to Venice or a special occasion visit to Venice, bite the bullet and take a private water taxi. Yes, it is the pricier option, but arriving that way is memorable. And the memories are all you have left once the trip is over! If the cost difference matters a lot, one can always make up the difference by replacing a few restaurant meals with picnics. We paid about a hundred euros for the arrival trip which we booked in advance and the driver politely refused a tip. Our return water taxi was booked through the hotel - the taxi docked at their water gate. That one also cost a hundred euros. Our Venice visit was the end of April, 2024/

The private taxis are now around €135-145, depending on where your hotel is an. Whether you reserve in advance.

Getting to Venice from Marco Polo Airport. [Make sure you have seats on the right/starboard side of the aircraft, for a view of Venice as you fly into Marco Polo.]

Do take a look at your hotel website – there may be info there. Otherwise,

1. Water taxi will get you close, maybe to, the door of your hotel. Can carry about ten people, will cost about €140 for the boat. No need to book, taxis are waiting at the Marco Polo dock.
2. Shared water taxi. Minimum of two people. Book in advance, wait at the desk in the terminal for the others sharing the taxi. Costs about €30 per person. Google “shared water taxi Venice”, use the venicelink dot com web site. Will get you to a vaporetto stop near your hotel.
3. Alilaguna ferry, as per below.
4. Bus to Piazale Roma, then walk to your hotel, or take vaporetto to the nearest stop. Buses leave from the outside the terminal, tickets at the machine.

Water transport in Venice.
1. Gondolas. Only for pleasure, not for transport. 90 euro for half an hour for the boat, more for evenings.
2. Traghetto – big gondolas, two oarsmen, about ten passengers, for crossing the Grand Canal. Found at Rialto, San Toma and a couple of other places. Cost 2 euro per trip, can save a heap of walking.
3. Water taxis, which are like a floating limo, costs to match.
4. Vaporettos - ACTV. Are like a floating bus, operate on a bunch of routes. Get the app Chebateo for routes and schedules. Vaps do not service the airport. Vaps are not water taxis.
5. Alilaguna ferries, service the airport, run from Marco Polo via a bunch of stops to the main part of Venice, Murano and Lido. They stop at some, but by no means all, vaporetto stops.