Venice

Stay on the islands by all means.

Oh my gosh - do NOT waste your Venice vacation staying on the mainland in Mestre. I can't believe this idea is even still alive. No matter how much you think you'll save, staying in Mestre is NOT your Venetian Vacation.

There is nothing like being able to get up at dawn and watch the day break in Venice, plus you want to be able to hang out after all the day trippers leave (otherwise you will be one of those day trippers) I would rather do 2 nites in Venice than 3 nites in Mestre. If you have time a trip to Burano is fun.

Linda, Stay in Venice! This will give you an advantage in seeing the real Venice, early in the morning and late at night - without tourist crowds. This is when Venice is at its best! Especially at night! Piazza San Marco is not to be missed in the Evening!

No contest. Stay in Venice.

The reason people stay on the mainland is that Mestre is cheaper than Venice. As a sage travel guidebook once put it, "Secaucus, NJ is cheaper than Manhattan too." You aren't spending a lot of time and money going to Europe to see the local equivalents of Secaucus.

Linda, we stayed on the mainland for one night on our first trip to Italy and it was one night too many! Don't waste your time on the mainland; there's no comparison to being in Venice. Have a great trip!!

I concur! Stay in Venice. We spent a few extra nights in Venice prior to getting on a Mediterranean cruise, and I am SO glad we spent those extra nights. Once you are on the island, it is very easy to get around - either on foot or by vaporetto. Getting to the island is not a lot of fun - the main station area is not the most attractive. Avoid doing that every day. There is nothing better than spending a lovely evening sitting outside a cafe drinking the wonderful (and cheap) wine and having a fantastic dinner. You won't want to have to worry about getting back to the mainland after that.

No question stay in Venice.