Venice Area - Hotel on Lido, logistics question about luggage, etc.

I'm a little confused by your questions which seem to indicate that you think the train station is not in Venice. It is. It's called Venezia S. Lucia and they have a left luggage facility where you could leave your bags then go explore the city. I think that's what I would do. It's a shame you're staying on the Lido instead of in the city.

Thank you! You're correct, I didn't realize that there was a train station in Venice. That will make things much easier.

Staying on the Lido just adds another layer of complexity to an otherwise easy experience. The Lido is not in Venice proper so you'll take a boat back and forth. It would be much easier if you chose ANYWHERE on Venice Island.

Thanks - yes, I would have loved to have booked something on the island but the prices for rooms available on such short notice were out of my league. Hopefully there will be a next time.

Celia, yes you can take the Alilaguna Blue Line from the Airport to the Lido at 15 Euro each ticket 1 way. Then you'll need another ticket from Lido back to Venice Island to actually sightsee...8 Euro each 1 way. If you're really serious about you would rather stay on Venice Island then I would suggest you inquire at the B&B Venezia http://www.bbvenezia.com/ We've stayed there in the past, and it's super clean and super cheap and located in my favorite area of Venice Island...St Elena. You might also try the Hotel San Lucia http://www.hotelslucia.com/ on Venice Island located right at the train station which would be super convenient for you. In which case you could just jump on the cheap ACT Bus from the Airport directly to Piazzale Roma and be right at your hotel...no need for Alilaguna ticket. Maybe it will work for you if you are interested.

OK,now you've got me really kicking myself! I wish I'd checked out this website before making the reservation (non-refundable as the reservation was less than 7 days before our arrival). Your options look excellent. Thanks so much for the wealth of information!

Celia, don't kick yourself too much. You're still going to have a wonderful time. And others to this board will be able to benefit from your experience. I'm reminded of people who buy a railpass for train travel in Italy, then come on to this site asking how to use it. The response is always "You shouldn't have bought a rail pass." :-) Happy travels. And, to cheer you up, here are some photos I took when we stayed on the Lido in May of 2011.

Wow, your photos are gorgeous! And you just raised the next issue I have to resolve - buy train tickets from here or once we're there? I thought I read that it's cheaper to do from here. Any thoughts?

It depends on the cities you're traveling between. There are significant discounts available on the high speed trains that become available starting 120 days before the date of travel. There are no discounts ever on the Regionale (milk run) trains.