We are considering buying the unlimited ACTV bus and vaporretti pass for our trip from Marco Polo airport to St Mark's square. How long does the bus trip take from Marco Polo to Piazzale Roma where we would then get on the vaporretti? Is there a difference between the orange ACTV bus and the blue ATVO bus?
Karen - You go out of the airport and walk down to the docks and either take a Water taxi which is about $100 to Piazza san Marco - AND - worth every cent of it - You will never forget the trip of 30 minutes OR take the local water service into the square for about 7 euros each. Forget the bus please - You're in Venice, Italy - Enjoy the water!!!!
Ciao, Greg
NO, take the Alilaguna ORO (gold) line. It takes you directly from the airport to St. Mark's Square without stopping along the way. Water taxis are mega-bucks. See the link for a map and schedule. However.....you did not say when you were going to Venice. This line is suspended from November 3 through March 31st.
In direct answer to your questions for a change:
The bus from the airport to P le Roma takes about 20-25 minutes. You would exit the bus and walk for about a minute to the Grand Canal and pick up a vaporetto to San Marco.
the orange ACTV bus is operated by the same folks that run the vaporetto and your pass would cover the ride from the airport.
The blue ATVO bus is a private system and is not covered by the pass. Last time we were there it cost 3 euros.
the ATVO bus is an express and the ACTV bus is a local with stops in between.
The multi hour passes can make sense if you are planning to make several vaporetto trips while you are in Venice.
The number 1 Vaporetto is an express, doesn't stop at all the stops and takes about 20 minutes to Get to San Marco
The number 2 Vaporetto stops at every stop and takes about 40 minutes.
I would not recommend the unlimited Vaporetto pass. It's such a waste of money because Venice is so easily walkable. Sometimes taking hte Vaporetto is actually more trouble than just walking. For places where you absolutely MUST use a Vaporetto like Murano or Burano, save all of those trips for a single day and buy the 1-day unlimited pass. You'll save lots of money.
I'll offer an opposite opinion to Tim's. I loved having the vaporetto pass. My last trip to Venice was the first one where I bought the pass. While I agree that Venice is quite walkable, I enjoyed being able to hop on a vaparetto and go to another neighborhood anytime that I wanted.