Venice Transportation Questions

https://www.motoscafivenezia.com
This is the private water taxi we used just 2 weeks ago. We did from airport to hotel (140E) and hotel to train station (70E). Highly recommended on this forum.

Was that price per person or together? How much luggage were you allowed to bring?

Do you think walking to the train station would be possible?

Rome2rio is a fun tool to begin your research but please don’t rely on the info there

Which hotel? Your hotel website will usually have instructions for how to get there

Options from airport are:
Water taxi- link to official site above
Bus and vaporetto combo
Land taxi then vaporetto
Alilaguna boats

Think of the vaporetto as a “ water bus”

There are no gondola rides to/from airport
The quote that hotel gave you is absurd

This topic comes up a lot
If you search the forum you’ll find all the info

Walking from St Marks to train station will not be fun
There are bridges, steps, canals to cross and crowds to contend with
Vaporetto will get you there and you’ll probably want a length of stay vaporetto pass while in Venice anyway

Where do you think your luggage will be stolen from??

Lots of websites explaining transportation in Venice
Here’s one:
https://www.introducingvenice.com/transport

ETA
Above link is a bit outdated as far as pricing
See Dario’s post for current

1. The least expensive would be a land bus from the airport to Piazzale Roma Square. Then you can either walk or take a water bus to your hotel.

2. Nobody's interested in stealing used clothes that have no value in Europe , but you can easily keep an eye on your stuff when you travel on trains, buses and water buses. Pack light and use only wheeled suitcases if you are going to walk up and down Venice stepped bridges.

3. Ferries and water taxi are two different things, so there is nothing odd in different prices. Everywhere around the world a taxi costs more than a bus. Same for water taxi and water busses. The Alilaguna ferries are public transit that carry many passengers and stop only at fixed points. One Alilaguna ticket from the airport to central Venice costs around €15. A single ticket for the water buses inside Venice, called vaporettos, costs €9.5. A water taxi is a speedboat that won't take other passengers, won't make intermediate stops and will take you as close as possible to your hotel. The usual fare from the airport to San Marco Square is around €150, not 270.

A gondola is a row boat, it's a touristic attraction that always returns to its starting point. It is not a way to travel around Venice. The fixed fare is set by the City, it's €80 per Gondola for a 30 minutes ride before sunset. Each boat carries up to 5 passengers. You pay the Gondolier €80, you decide who gets on.

This is all so helpful thank you so much!!!

This may be a dumb question but, are those gondola priced per person or per boat? My wife wants me to double check while we have such a strong amount of the community helping us!

We were in Venice a year ago--our 10th visit. The easiest and cheapest way out to the islands is by bus that takes you to Piazzele Roma. Taxi's can also take you to and from the same place--just over an arch bridge from the train station.

As was said, the vaporetto is the water bus for Venice and it's a very expensive €9.50 per trip. There are different daily passes that can be purchased, however. The water taxi's are very, very expensive--a luxury we cannot afford. Same with the gondolas.

I would suggest you go on Google Maps and find your hotel so you can figure out how to get there from Piazzele Roma. If you take a vaporetto, you will have to make sure it stops close to your hotel. We stayed in an apartment 50' on a side street from the train station--easy to find.

My granddaughter and I hooved it all over the city. She once asked me where we were, and I told her I had no idea where we were or where we were going but we'd eventually get there anyway. My best advice is to travel with a 21" rolling carry on bag and pack as lightly as possible.

Gondola pricing is per boat

There is a water shuttle boat (like a bus in other cities) that will take you from the airport to St. Marks. There is also a shuttle boat that will take you to the train station from St. Marks. I have taken it the other direction but am sure it goes the way you need it too.

https://www.veneziaairport.it/en/transport/water-bus.html

The water bus Charles is referring to is the Alilaguna boat
Not a vaporetto-no vaporettos at airport

We have used the shared water taxi (eight person, if I remember correctly) from the airport to a dock near our hotel several times and will be again in September. One can reserve spots ahead of time, but we have simply gone to their desk in the main terminal hall after deplaning and have never waited more than 15-20 minutes for a taxi to share. One never knows if your flight might be delayed, so we’ve never reserved and paid in advance. In checking, I see that the cost is €32 per person and is a wonderful way to enter the beautiful city. We also prefer it to the water buses as you’re dealing with luggage and the taxi makes it so much easier.

www.venicelink.com

We visited Venice last week for the first time. It is hot and crowded but amazing. We arrived at Marco Polo and made our way to the Alilaguna Vaporetto docks where we bought our tickets for the blue line which was our best route. I would suggest to know your landmarks and Campos, anything to help your walk. Since we stayed at Campo Santa Maria Formosa, the ticket office suggested we get off at Ospedale. We did, but while maybe quicker I would have chosen San Zaccaria which is an easier walk with luggage. Google Earth street view helped me a lot to count bridges, twists and turns. There are time tables at the vaporetto stops so you can plan your departure day ahead of time.

Current pricing of vaporetto passes for trips within Venice (but not to and from the airport) is 25 euros for 24 hours, 35 euros for 48 hours and 45 euros for 72 hours.

If you tell us the name of your hotel, you'll get more specific advice. Any form of shared transportation is going to go to pre-determined stops, which may be more convenient or less convenient, depending on the precise location of your hotel.

I'm big on walking, but I wouldn't want to pull a suitcase all the way from Piazzale Roma to the San Marco area upon first arrival in Venice. Therefore, I'd either take the bus to Piazzale Roma and then a vaporetto to the nearest stop to my hotel, or I'd take the Alilaguna. The other options are substantially more expensive, and there's enough to spend money on in Venice without using pricey transportation when there are other options. (But I'm cheap.)

Given the horrible quote your hotel has given you for private transportation from the airport, I wouldn't trust the staff there to provide good advice on oruist activities in Venice. I'd expect them to send you to restaurants and tours giving them kickbacks, etc.

Water transport in Venice.
1. Gondolas. Only for pleasure, not for transport. 80 euro for half an hour for the boat, more for evenings.
2. 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.
3. Water taxis, which are like a floating limo, costs to match.
4. Vaporettos - ACTV. Are waterbuses, 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.
5. 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. Google for route maps.

I find the alilaguna is the easiest way to get from the airport to near where you are staying. There are two lines, blue and green, and they stop at different stops. You can buy your ticket at machines in the baggage pick up area, or go through the doors and buy your ticket from a person where you can also buy a vaporetto pass for the length of your stay. The vaporettos can be quite busy, so may be a bit of a struggle getting on and off with your bags when you first arrive and don’t know exactly where you are going. Using the vaporetto to go to the train station won’t be as most passengers will get off at that stop.

We used the Orange line of the Alilaguna this past May ,
to Madonna D'Orta stop for Cannaregio, after which it continues to the Grand Canal. Check the online map.
Safe travels!

1. I always take the Aliguna boat at the Venice airport to go from the airport over to the islands that make up the main part of Venice (shaped like a fish), down the Grand Canal. That Aliguna line is the arancio (orange line). Last year it was 14€ to ride it.

2. To get to the Venice train station from your hotel, you will want to go to the nearest vaporetto stop and take the vaporetto (water bus) to the Venice Train station to take a train to Lake Garda.

   1. Rome2Rio would be referring to the Aliguna price in that range. The private water taxi is much more. I haven’t taken a gondola ride since 2006 which was around 80€ per boat.

Woah, what a fantastic response thank you!

We are staying at Il Sogno di Giulietta e Romeo!

Il Sogno di Giulietta e Romeo

Is on the opposite side of Grand Canal from St Mark's- near Rialto Bridge- closest vaporetto stop is Rialto Mercado (IOW not exactly a 10 min walk to St Mark's- who told you that??)

It looks like maybe only 1 bridge to cross from the Rialto Mercado dock but it is on a canal so a water taxi can get you right to the door.

4-5 min walk from vaporetto- don't know if this link will work but here are walking directions- you can search yourself on Google maps- Put "Rialto Mercado ATV Fermata" in the FROM box and Hotel name in the TO box:

https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Rialto+Mercato+ACTV+Fermata%2FStop,+Venice,+Metropolitan+City+of+Venice,+Italy/Il+Sogno+di+Giulietta+e+Romeo,+Campo+San+Cassiano,+1858,+30125+Venezia+VE,+Italy/@45.4396481,12.332217,18z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m14!4m13!1m5!1m1!1s0x477eb1db7801d825:0xae3cf2d30dc72786!2m2!1d12.335224!2d45.43936!1m5!1m1!1s0x477eb1c4b17aa2bd:0xa4758f7d47dc09d5!2m2!1d12.3317875!2d45.439549!3e2?entry=ttu

The Alilaguna Orange line stops at the RIALTO stop- this is on other side of canal from the RIALTO MERCADO stop so the Alilaguna doesn't work as well for you. You would have to cross the Rialto Bridge on foot first- not fun with luggage but not impossible either.

Your cheapest option is airport bus to Piazzalle Roma- then Vaporetto 1 or 2 to Rialto Mercado. (Buy your vaporetto length of stay pass when you buy your bus ticket)

This appears to be the only direction for arrival on your hotel's website- your hotel is in the San Polo district:
The Hotel has a private dock for those wishing to arrive by boat via lagoon.

Seriously if you want to splurge- arriving in Venice in a water taxi is the way to go.
Book it here:

https://www.motoscafivenezia.com

Don't worry about being late or whatever- they will monitor your flight as needed. Follow the signs at airport to the docks- it's all a moving sidewalk now. There will be lots of water taxis waiting- show your voucher and off you go.

Yes, get the 72 hour vaporetto pass and take the vaporetto from Piazzale Roma (where the bus from the airport will drop you) to the Rialto Mercato stop and walk. Remember that riding the vaporetto along the Grand Canal is a sightseeing joy in itself, even if you are lugging luggage. And your chances of getting a decent seat or at least a good place to stand are better from Piazzale Roma than if you were trying to come from the train station stop.

hey hey 25brittsanders
i totally agree with
cathy @ venicelink.com with the shared water taxi (under shuttle or water taxi - private transfer)
ChristineH @motoscafivenezia.com (fill in form and get cost, it is splurgey and so so worth it!~)
we have done it 4 times, they take your luggage inside boat, comfy & not crowded, takes you right to your place. no need getting lost, zigging & zagging down narrow alleys not knowing where you are, jetlagged and feeling loopy, keep name and address with you to give driver.
order online and paid for before getting there. remember hotel check in 3-4pm (unless they allow early check in) check out 10-11am.
after checkin go roaming, don't be alarmed if you go down a dead end alleyway with a canal meeting you, turn around and take another way, the fun of it, have a good map. it will be busy/crowded and hot, maybe not so much where you are but closer to train station, rialto bridge, st marks square.
your days are so short, see what you can, restaurants/bars/cafes/bakeries/gift shops. catch a gondola on the side canals. they do cross grand canal but it's busy with all the boats on it. it's a must for you and wife, we took a bottle of prosecco/plastic glasses and celebrated our friendship enjoying vacation. wear comfy shoes, lots of walking up stairs/steps/bridges, light clothes for the heat.
you just counting the days to this fabulous trip, no stressing, just enjoy, go with the flow
aloha