Venice Arrival

Hi - kids are 4 & 6, well travelled

How old are the kids?

It depends on the weather and the time of day. And of course on your budget. When I stayed in the S Zacc area I've tried the bus once and the Alilaguna a couple times. I also took a taxi ride on the Grand Canal just to see what it is like. Forget the bus for the S Zacc area. It got me to the train station quickly, but then I had to ride a vaporetto for the length of the Grand Canal. The Alilaguna costs (fuzzy memory) something like $15. Because of wake rules, it has to go pretty slow and it takes a while for the 8 mile route. The reason that I did not enjoy the rides is that the windows were dirty and there was barely a view. If you taking the boat at night or in the rain, this will not be an issue, but one a bright sunny day it drove me crazy. The taxi from M Polo is I've heard $120+. It will give you an excellent daytime view. If you have not been on the Lagoon before, there is not much to see out there. It is a huge wetland expanse, with no surrounding topography. If you've driven from SF to Napa using Route 37, you've crossed exactly the same thing, except the Lagoon is massively larger. I continue to take the Alilaguna, knowing that I am likely to miss a view of ducks. For a great view of the Grand Canal use the Vaporetto and sit at the bow. You will have to race other tourists for those bow seats. It's a great view. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nRAiH64byvc If I were a kid I'd love it. Use the taxi money for double doses of your nightly cicchetti FYI re motion sickness the Lagoon can be choppy and the Alilaguna can gently roll a little, nothing serious for me (more so taxis)

bob - It looks like Alilaguna has reshuffled their schedule again and scrapped Linea Oro. frankly, it's not much of a loss. the service was supposed to be an express but only shaved about 15-20 minutes off the time and cost not quite double. www.alilaguna.it is the official website. If you take Alilaguna to San Marco you'll likely want linea Blu. Cost is 15 euro per person. Possible 13 euro if in advance online. 4 year old travels free. 6 year old is full fare.

Hi neighbor! Although ridiculously expensive, we splurged on the private water taxi and were SO glad that we did!! it was very exciting to enter Venice this way, and so beautiful. Plus, we felt like we made the most of our time in Venice by getting to our hotel quickly without the slow boats and transfers etc...more time to enjoy the beauty of this magical place! We bought a voucher ahead of time on Venicelink.com to hedge our bets against any further increase in price by the time we arrived. it was very easy and hassle free. We would do it again!!

If budget is an issue, and if you have plenty of time and if aren't carrying too much luggage, there are two options. 1. ATVO, a regional bus company, has bus motor coaches with room for your luggage beneath the passenger compartment. Buses run nonstop between the airport and Piazzale Roma. You buy tickets at Marco Polo airport, at a machine at the curb where buses pull up. 2. ACTV, the Venice public-transit agency, operates the Linea 5 city bus to Piazzale Roma, with local stops along the two-lane road through Mestre. Once you are at Piazzale Roma, you can take a beautiful 40-minute vaporetto ride down the entire grand canal to St. Zaccaria. If you have the money, SPLURGE! and take the water taxi it's so cool, much quicker, exciting and unforgetable!

The Alilaguna is our choice when there. Take the vaporetto everywhere else and make sure you get the multiday pass. Get your passes from a tobak shop at the airport and avoid the crowd near the vaporetto stop.

Hi Bob, I'm going to Venice later in the year when it's colder! I bought Rick Steves 2011 Venice guidebook. He goes into such detail. This will be my first trip to Venice. I've been to Italy many times, but never made it to Venice until my next trip! Rick even talks about traveling with children. It is very much worth getting his book.
You may be going before I'll be there. I hope to hear about your adventures!! Happy Travels!!

Hi Bob. My wife and I and our 7 year old daughter arrived in Venice last week and took the Linea Blu on the Alilaguna. It's a bit slow but pretty easy. I highly recommend looking at the "Venice for Visitors" blog which gives yoiu step by step directions, with pictures. Also, you can save a few euros by purchasing the tickets in advance at the ALilaguna web site but remember to exchange your voucher for real tickets at the ticket booth and also remember to validate the tickets by ing them into the yellow machine before getting on the boat. It all takes much less time to do than to read about.