Venice - hotels and transportation

Choice of hotel is a bit of an open topic. One piece of advice - buy a paper map of Venice. Phone maps are, at best, a bit ordinary. Paper maps are good.
If you have a paper map, with your hotel marked, you can ask for directions easily.
(If you asked me for directions, I would probably say “Look, it is all too complicated. And I am happy to walk with you”.. It is a delight to meet people, their stories, where they have come from.)

Look, maybe a bit long and boring. Just our experience after about a dozen visits.
Getting to Venice from Marco Polo Airport. [Make sure you have seats on the right/starboard side of the aircraft, for a view of Venice as you fly into Marco Polo.]

A paper map of Venice is the best three euro you will ever spend. Sure, people say that getting lost in Venice is fun. Getting lost, hauling your luggage and not being able to find your hotel is nobody’s idea of fun. Buy that map at the Tabac or bookshop at Marco Polo.

Do take a look at your hotel website – there may be info there. Otherwise,
Water taxi will get you close, maybe to, the door of your hotel. Can carry about ten people, will cost about €140 for the boat. No need to book, taxis are waiting at the Marco Polo dock.

Shared water taxi. Minimum of two people. Book in advance, wait at the desk in the terminal for the others sharing the taxi. Costs about €30 per person. Google “shared water taxi Venice”, use the venicelink dot com web site. Will get you to a vaporetto stop near your hotel.

Alilaguna ferry, as per below.

Bus to Piazale Roma, then walk to your hotel, or take vaporetto to the nearest stop. Buses leave from the outside the terminal, tickets at the machine.

Water transport in Venice.
Gondolas. Only for pleasure, not for transport. 90 euro for half an hour for the boat, more for evenings.
Traghetto – big gondolas, two oarsmen, about ten passengers, for crossing the Grand Canal. Found at Rialto, San Toma and a couple of other places. Cost 2 euro per trip, can save a heap of walking.
Water taxis, which are like a floating limo, costs to match.
Vaporettos - ACTV. Are like a floating bus, operate on a bunch of routes. Get the app Chebateo for routes and schedules. Vaps do not service the airport. Vaps are not water taxis.
Alilaguna ferries, service the airport, run from Marco Polo via a bunch of stops to the main part of Venice, Murano and Lido. They stop at some, but by no means all, vaporetto stops.

Thank you for your very prompt response and advice.
Any suggestions re hotels close to vaporetto stops and preferably no bridges to cross?

Take a look at hotels in Dorsoduro, close to eithe the Accademia vaporetto stop, or close, or on, the Zattere. (Look, I should apologise for the paper map suggestion, but this is how it comes into play.) And novels set in Venice are great. Look for books by Philip Gwyn Jones. [Caveat. Phil is a friend. We shall dine with him mid April]

And another suggestion.
Take the number of nights you intend staying in Venice.
Multiply them by six.

Our first visit was six nights.
Our next was about fifty.

Last year we stayed at Agli Alboretti, through booking.com.
Traditional small hotel, just behind Accademia.
Wonderful location, easy walk with no steps to vaporetto and other Dorsoduro attractions and bars/restaurants.
Hotel itself has good restaurant.
It has a (very small) lift - important to check in small hotels as not all do.
If you want something a bit more modern, Hotel American, one very small bridge away.

Well, the high end Hotel Danieli has the vaporetto stop named after it (San Zaccaria "E" & "F"), but only the No 2 Vaporetto and the Alilaguna "B" stop there. The No 1 Vaporetto stops at San Zaccaria "D", has 3 hotels, the Savoia & Jolanda, the Paganelli, and the Londra Palace.

Hotel Ala is right at S Giglio vaporetto stop -no bridges or stairs
Lovely staff, quiet campo, excellent bkft, elevator, AC

We’ve stayed there every visit to Venice and will when we return

https://www.hotelala.it/

Thank you Aussie, Lin C, Sam, ChristineC.
You all have been very kind and generous taking the time and trouble to write and sharing your experience.
We are somewhat concerned as we are what you could euphemistically refer to as “seniors”.
We intend to stay (pre-cruise) for three nights before going to cruise port Marghera for embarkation on a Costa cruise.
Blessings to you.

a second for the Ala. Just a few steps from the vaporetto dock, also convenient to San Marco Square and S Moise Church, and the other was towards La Fenice opera house. One time when we opened our window over the side canal we were entertained by the sound of gondolas

You might like this list: https://europeforvisitors.com/venice/bridges/