We will be in Venice 4 nights...
We are mostly content to travel by foot much of the time, but wish to see Guidecca, San Giorgio, Burano AND Murano while we are there - does it make sense to buy the Connected discount card
(and, a related question, does it cover vaporetto service to those places - and does the vaporetto serve all those places?)
many thanks!
Yes, the vaporettos cover all the places you mentioned. Since a single ride is 7 euros. What you mentioned involves at least 6 rides, so that is 42 euros. You can get a 72-hour unlimited ride pass for 40 euro, so that would be a good investment. If you are arriving or departing from the airport, you can add on bus transfers, either one-way or round trip for an additional 4 euro each way. Since you are there 4 days, you might even spring for the 60 euro 7-day pass.
Jtraveler,
Sam has given you great advice in terms of getting the 3 or 7 day pass while in Venice.
You can read more about the various vaporetto passes here:http://www.actv.it/en/movinginvenice/prices
Here is a map of the vaporetto routes:http://www.actv.it/sites/default/files/ultimamappa.pdf
Enjoy your trip!
Thanks both of you - Yes, sounds like we're better off to bite the bullet and get the 7-day, if just for convenience of not buying tix over and over again.
The vaporetto map I've seen, but still can't make heads or tails of the routes yet!
As many times as I've been to Venice I've hardly ever taken a vaporetto. On the one time I visited Murano/Burano we just bought point to point tickets and didn't have the need to ride the vaporetto any other times. Using a vaporetto to get from San Lucia station to some point down the grand canal with your luggage while arriving/departing can be useful. Other than that we just strolled wherever we wanted to go. We took a couple of traghetto rides to cross the Grand Canal, but they were only about 1 euro each so no big deal.
Just saying - don't think you're going to be spending a lot of time on the vaporetto. Walking along the twisting side canals is the fun way to explore Venice...and the vaporettos don't go there.
We used the vaperetto to get from the train station to Rialto Bridge near our hotel & never used one again, although we did not go to Murano or Burano. We walked everywhere. The furthest walk took maybe a half hour. We loved it.
We just got back from Venice a week ago, and I have to say that the Vaporetto rides were some of the highlights of my trip. I loved being on the outside and watching Venice glide by. It looked like a movie set. And the multiple day passes - totally worth it. Especially when we'd be wandering, get lost, and just jump on a Vaporetto to get back to where we started from.
We took them to Murano, Burano, and San Giorgio as well. Definitely worth it, in my opinion.
Thanks everyone! So... if the 7-day pass is going to cost $60 per person and I need it to visit Murano, Burano and St. Giorgio, but nothing else, it sounds like a not very good deal. On the other hand, will I be able to use it for transit on the shuttle from MESTRE to St LUCIA? I am a NYC resident and pretty used to walking 2-3 miles a day just to get to work. I would probably agree with those of you who say you had no trouble walking most of the time around Venice Proper.
We spent a month in Venice and walked everywhere. We grouped our "other island"visits and bought a 24-hour vaporetto pass, using it from 1:00 pm one day until 1:00 pm the next. This worked well for us.
Some stops don't have a ticket stand so having a pass comes in handy. I got a pass just incase we wanted to use it and stop walking.
Jtraveler,
The vaporetto map I've seen, but still can't make heads or tails of the routes yet!
Check this website for more detailed info regarding the vaporetto
routes:
http://europeforvisitors.com/venice/articles/vaporetto_routes2_table.htm
Check vaporetto timetables here (effective May 30, 2015): http://www.actv.it/sites/default/files/ultimorario.pdf
So... if the 7-day pass is going to cost $60 per person and I need it to visit Murano, Burano and St. Giorgio, but nothing else, it sounds like a not very good deal.
You need to decide if buying the pass is a good deal for you
depending on how many times you may want to ride the vaporetto during
your stay in Venice.
You mentioned that you're used to walking to work on a daily basis
in NYC, so I definitely do not recommend buying the 7 day pass.
If you plan to visit Murano & Burano on the same day, then you may
benefit from the 24 hour pass or just buy the point to point tickets
at 7€ per ride (each way)
Since you will be in Venice for 4 nights, that means that you will
have 3 full days in Venice. So I presume you will walk around for 1-2 days then
one day you will travel to Murano & Burano.
On the other hand, will I be able to use it for transit on the shuttle from MESTRE to St LUCIA?
Here is an excerpt from the official website: http://www.actv.it/en/movinginvenice/prices
under 'Tourist Travel Cards':
The Travel Cards are the most economical solution for people who want to get around Venice and its surroundings on Actv’s land and water services. They allow unlimited travel and can be used on all the services - both waterborne (except those of routes Alilaguna, and Actv routes no. 16, 19 and Casinò) and on land - that provide urban services within the municipality ("Comune") of Venice (land services on the Lido and in Mestre except land-bus routes for journeys having Venice Marco Polo Airport as departure or arrival point ).
Let me just make a minor adjustment to Priscilla's excellent post. With a 24-hour pass, you do not need to do it all in one day. You can spread it over two days if you plan it right.
We activated our pass at 1:00 pmnand went over to San Giorgio. Admired the church and the views, then rode the vaporetto to Giudecca and walked around a bit, then found a waterside place for lunch. We picked up a vaporetto going clockwise to Piazalle Roma and down the Grand Canal. We got off at Rialto to go home for a bit to freshen up. Then we walked to Fondamenta Nuova and caught a boat for Murano. We walked around the island, stopping in at a couple of famous glass places with no obligation because we were on our own. We timed the ride back to coincide with sunset which made for a spectacular ride.
The next day my husband went for a swim in the public pool in Cannareggio, then we caught the vaporetto at Sant'Alvise to go to Sant' Erasmo, the "garden island.". This is an island full of farms, and not much else. It makes for a nice getaway from the city, but not if your time is limited. We walked for hours, enjoying the sunshine and views, and then caught the vaporetto back to Venice. All within the 24-hour pass.
If, as it sounds, you are planning to stay in the city on the mainland called Mestre, technically part of Venice but an industrial city like a thousand others, and with nothing in common with Venice other than the government, you will wind up every time you commute into the beautiful city at Piazzale Roma which is a pollution filled traffic circle where the buses turn around, and then it is a fair walk into the areas where most people congregate. It would be quite a longer walk to Dorsoduro.
Or, by train, you will arrive at Venezia Santa Maria station. You walk through the station and you are at the top of a flight of stairs overlooking the Grand Canal. The vaporettos will all line up waiting for you but you can join the hordes all walking along the same wide path towards Rialto.
No Nigel, we aren't staying in Mestre - I was just asking if we could use a savings card for our arrival transfer, and to get back to the railstation at the end of our visit.
