transportation passes or walk in Venice?

Both! Walk, walk, walk- sure that's free. Ride the Vaparetto too. It's a great way to see Venice from the Grand Canal. People say you'll get lost walking in Venice no matter what, but that's a good thing. If you are there for several days maybe only get a pass for a few of the days.

You'll need to look at your Venice itinerary, determine what sights you'll visit, and do the math. Single vaporetto tickets are relatively expensive, and for four people could add up over several days. Walking is fine, but if you purchase a transportation pass, you can hop on and off vaporettos at any time, never have to stand in line to purchase individual tickets, and you can use some of the passes for bus transportation to and from the mainland. These passes can be very valuable when you are short on time, or your feet ache, or the weather turns bad.

I would walk and take breaks in the piazzas and squares that are everywhere. It is really quite easy to see the highlights while walking. the alleyways have nice gelato shops or great window shopping and mini fruit stands,. And of course it is a lot cheaper to walk. the boats are crowded with line-ups. However for Lido you will need at least ard trip tix if you go there.

How long are you going to be in Venice?

We are going to be in Venice for 5 days, but we are planning 2 day trips to Verona and Padua.

I'd buy a pass. Indeed we did buy passes and they were terrifically handy. We walked our socks off, but we took vaporettos several times per day, too, especially if we had dinner pretty far from "home." Certainly you will take one from the station to your lodging and back again. A 72 hour pass is Euro 31.35 online for high season. A single ticket is Euro 6.50, whether you go one stop or all the way down the Grand Canal. 5 trips more than pays for the pass. Your kids will love the vaporettos. You can even ride all the way around the island, go to Murano and Burano. There are options for 12 hours to 7 days. http://www.veniceconnected.com is the place to buy at least 7 days before you need them. You can also buy museum passes online and save a few euros.

I found that walking was most of the times faster than the vaporretto. Then again, we stayed near the san stae stop, which did not bring us the faster boat. But when your feet are tired and you want to sight see the beautiful scenery on the grand canal, the vaporretto was nice. We used both equally. I felt I got my money's worth with my 3 day vaporetto pass.

Quote: "........a gelato won't always perk them up (also not cheap)" Gelato is 1 - 1.20 euro per scoop for take out, generally speaking. I find gelato to be satisfying especially on a hot day and inexpensive.

If you buy in advance you can get a significant discount on the vaporetto passes at the Venice Connected website. I would go with the passes. It does depend partly on where you are staying. Kids tend to get cranky when they are tired and a gelato won't always perk them up (also not cheap), so sitting down on the vaporetto and watching Venice roll by can be a nice break. You will walk plenty in Venice, even using the vaporetto a lot.

I'd definitely get the 3-day vaparetto pass. It's such fun to hop on and then hop off at some random location, and just wander. You can always find your way back to San Marco or to another vaparetto stop, and continue your journey. You'll still get in plenty of walking. And it's fun to take Rick's Grand Canal cruise after dinner, in the dark .... it feels like you're in Disneyland. Another fun thing: we were standing on the Accademia Bridge at sunset, when a big procession of gondolas (with an accordian player in the first gondola and all the gondeliers singing together) came down the Grand Canal right underneath us. You'll love Venice!