Venice Vaporetto Pass

Nikki, you can go to www.veniceconnected.com and buy the tickets in advance. You might need the 72-hour ticket with tickets to and from the airport. You can print out the ticket voucher at home. This voucher has a PNR number on it. When you arrive at Marco Polo, you walk over to the Hello Venezia kiosk on the left side as you walk towards the exit and show your voucher. They will give you your tickets. Note that the vouchers are date specific so make sure you know your dates. You can also buy pee coupons on this website as well. Yes, you pay to pee in Europe if you want the nicer clean toilets.

There's no reason to buy them in advance. And you can buy them at the airport along with a 4 euro add on for the bus into Venice. 8 euros if you're wanting to get back to the airport. (Are you really flying into Venice for only 3 days then flying out?)

There's a bit more info to give but you have confused me by saying Get from airport/train to hotel when arrive and Leave hotel to train/airport. The answers are quite different depending on which side of the / slash you are on each time. Which is it?

Agree with Nigel. You may not necessarily need the vaporetto to get to the airport. The train station, yes, but not necessarily the airport. We found the Alilaguna to be easier for the airport. You need to kind of firm down your arrival and departure itinerary prior to buying the pass so you know what you will need. With that said, we also found that taking the vaporetto in Venice is not at all needed and the passes to be kind of a waste of money. If you do decide to buy it, do it once in Venice. No need to purchase ahead of time.

First, vaporettos do not go to the airport. The Alilaguna boats and the water taxis do go the airport. The Alilaguna boat is a nice alternative to the airport bus to the Piazzale Roma and subsequent vaporetto. The fare is 15Euro. The Alilaguna boats do not stop at several of the available vaporetto stops. Take a look at www.alilaguna.it and check out the route maps. Make sure it stops near your hotel.

...taking the vaporetto in Venice is not at all needed I try to avoid contradicting publicly what other people say, but while it is possible to navigate through Venice by walking, and crossing all the delightful little bridges is charming, seeing the palazzi from the Grand Canal and riding under the Rialto Bridge is really the way Venice was built to be seen. Also, the vaporetti are the only means to get to the islands, another important aspect to fully experiencing Venice and the Venetian lagoon. Otherwise it's just pretty much a shopping street from the train station to Piazza San Marco, which is what most day trippers experience if they don't take time to venture into the back streets and neighborhoods. Venice is all about the water and being on it, seeing the city like a floating mirage and approaching it through the Bacino, as was done at the peak of its power and influence.

My experience with the vaporetto pass is that it saves a lot of money, but I always go to Murano, Burano and Torcello. I buy the pass at the train station when I arrive (vendors have signs posted) and just scan it every time I board the vaporetto. Individual tickets can get expensive, and I like the option of just taking a ride when I want.