Venice boat route from airport-Grand Canal?

The vaporetto is the Venice equivalent of a public bus, but does not serve the airport. A somewhat more expensive boat that does is the Alilaguna (https://www.alilaguna.it/linee/mappa). I haven’t taken one, but have heard that they’re really not all that pleasant. Then, there are water taxis, but they’re very expensive. You could just take inexpensive ground transportation (land bus) into the city, buy vaporetto passes, and ride up and down the Grand Canal as much as you’d like.

You have several choices of water transportation between Marco Polo airport and the hotels on Venice. The "vaporetto" you mentioned would be the Allilaguna water bus (not usually included in the regular vaporetto pass). It has more than one route that stops at specified vaporetto stops on either the Grand Canal or around the perimeter of the island, depending on the route.

Then there are shared water shuttles- much smaller boats that carry smaller groups, and would equate to the van shuttle services one can find on land. These usually have a specified route and stops, but a slight deviation to a stop closer to your hotel may be possible. Some stops would be on the Grand Canal.

And finally there are the private water taxis. Expensive, but they will take you as close to your hotel as possible without any intermediate stops. That may or may not include the Grand Canal, depending on your hotel's location.

There are three ways to get from the airport to your hotel.

First: You can take a water taxi but it is the most expensive. A private one cost about 100-120 Euros. There is a cheaper shared water taxi system now but we haven't used it and can't comment.

Second: There is the Alilaguna boat. It takes longer and you probably will not be able to have a trip down the entire Grand Canal.

Third: The least expensive is a combination bus and vaporetto (vap.). It does take longer, but it will give you a trip on at least part of the Grand Canal and be easy on the budget as well.

There are two bus lines serve the airport. One is ATVO and is NOT affiliated with the vap. system. The other is ACTV and IS affiliated with the vap. system. At the airport you can get a vap. pass for various periods and can have a one or two way bus fare added to it A good site maintained by the ACTV system has current prices and such. Don't remember the url so just Google it.

If you take the third option, take the # 5 ACTV bus from the airport to Piazzale Roma. Then take vap. #1 or #2 (depending on where your hotel is in relation to the vap. stops) down the Grand Canal . We've made that trip many times. Easy peasy.

Be sure to validate the vap. pass on the bus. Do not wait until you get on the vap. Also, validate the pass each time you use the vap.

There is a site called veniceforvisitors.com that has a lot of good info. that you might want to check out .

You must have been on the Alilaguna “Blue” line last time; it goes around the outside of the Venetian island, not down the Grand Canal. See the map of the Alilaguna lines here:

https://www.alilaguna.it/en/lines/lines-map

If your hotel is near La Fenice (is that what you mean by “near the theater”?), you could ride the Alilaguna Orange line which enters the Grand Canal just past the train station and follows the Grand Canal to the San Marco stop. Your stop is probably the one just before that, S. M. del Giglio.

The Alilaguna tickets are 15 euros each way, so if there are 3 or 4 of you, it would be 45-60 euros. Compare that to the price of a water taxi (shared or private) and decide if it is worth the extra cost over the Alilaguna. It would be for me (we’ve done both ways, but not the bus+vaporetto combo).

We arrived in Venice about 9:00 am on a Monday and splurged on a water taxi for our party of three. Honestly, it was one of the highlights of the trip! Traffic was heavy with goods being delivered by boat to hotels and restaurants so the taxi driver really had to get creative on how to get us to our hotel. We traversed the grand canal several times, went down dozens of small canals, saw lots of good-natured shouting between our driver and delivery men over right of ways and who was going to back out of a canal so another could pass…talk about an introduction to Venice! It was a grand tour. Finally we arrived at our hotel where we climbed through a window just above water level to enter. It was a “Toto, we’re not in Kansas anymore” experience for sure!

If you take an Alilaguna boat from the airport, you won't see anything anyway.
The luggage is stored on the deck outside, and the people are stored in the cabin, down a few steps.
The only windows are at high eye level, and usually salt encrusted from the water.
You are not allowed to stay on deck, but must remain in the cabin for your journey.
It's efficient, but you won't see much!
Better to take the bus in, then get your vaporetto passes to get to the hotel.

Thank you all for your quick responses. As this is to be more of a fun "moment" for my nieces, I am leaning toward the private water taxi. I think they would get a thrill from this vs. alliguna. Does anyone know if you sit inside on the private taxis or out in the open? Hoping for something that is out in the open for best views. And yes, our hotel is the Fenice et des Artistes. Our Rick Steves tour starts the next day after we arrive.

When we did this with our family (5), the taxi was a boat like a Classic Chris Craft with a small covered cabin (wood) open to the back, and seating both in the cabin or outside. Or one could stand up in the open area like the boat captain, holding on. That was the most fun.

Like these photos:

https://www.motoscafivenezia.com/en/our_boats.php

Kathy, you can get information about the shared taxis on venicelink.com. We’ve used this twice, and it’s been seamless and fun! The counter is in the main hall of the airport…we waited no longer than 15 minutes while they gathered a group of 6 or 7 people and then headed out to the docks. Not sure how they plan their route…I suppose it might depend on the destination/hotel. It looks like the fare is €32 per person now…we’ll be using them again in September. Have a wonderful time…your nieces are very lucky!

If you use the water taxi - I have never, but I agree with you that it would be a valuable experience for you and your nieces - you can decide if you want to be in the cabin or outside near the stern. Maybe weather or beautiful views or jet lag would help you decide at the moment. And you can move back and forth as the mood takes you. You can also ask for a specific route, and if it would extend the time you can be prepared to pay for the extra...

In your circumstances I just might do that myself...

Hi all,
Thanks for the information on taxis from Marco Polo airport. I have decided to book a private water taxi, hopefully a wooden "Chris Craft" type with an open area in the back and/or the roof. I know these run around $100+. I have one suggested website, "Consorzio Motoscafi Venezia", which looks perfect. Does anyone have any other recommendations based on my criteria?

Thanks for being so helpful!
Kathy S.

all the water taxis that I have seen in Venice are basically almost exactly the same.... you will enjoy

Kathy, we just booked the water taxi through our hotel, assuming they would have a preferred service. And yes we got the classic style where we could stand up. Just an option. You and your nieces will arrive in style!