water taxi in Venice

There are definitely shared taxis. Some of the other posters on this site can likely tell you specific ones but you can also Google shared taxi Venice and likely find it easily.

The pdf map in your hotel's directions is one of the clearest I have ever seen in Venice. I think it lays out your choices very well.

As you see, Venice is always a city of choices. There are always different ways to get to places. It is the nature of the place.

Your hotel is somewhat inland through quite crowded areas and on relatively narrow lanes (except for the bit around S Marco). You could see that as a challenge and hate it and decide you MUST be taken to the front door of your hotel or you will get lost - or you could embrace it and revel in all the things you see as you experience Venice for the first time at eye level, and stroll the short distance to your hotel. Based on what I see on the map, and with my fairly detailed knowledge of Venice, I as an experienced person could walk to your hotel from the vaporetto in about 5 minutes. As a new person, and with so much to discover, I can see it easily taking 10 or 15 minutes. After you have done the route a couple of times you could be as fast as me if you are in a hurry and are going at off peak times.

Where are you coming from, and what is your prefered method of visiting? Fast, check it off, or slow and savour the moment? Are you self starters, or do you want to be in a group with somebody holding your hand? Which is more important to you - the best bang for the buck or first class?

Then I can help you with the choices...

Is it the 2 of you?

Thanks Nigel - it's not so much that I don't want to explore, it's just the timing. After an overnight flight, with luggage, I think we would rather just get to the hotel. Spending almost another 2 hours to get to the hotel doesn't appeal to us but ..... Neither did a very very expensive taxi so I was looking for other options - like the shares taxi which I will look into. Exploring is exactly what we want to do, sans luggage!

Nigel wasn't kidding about that PDF from your hotel. For anyone else who wants to see it, here's the direct link: http://www.hotelcolombina.com/Uploads/File/EN_infomap_colombina%281%29.pdf. Many Venice hotels have pretty good directions on their websites, but this is really one of the best.

Be SURE to print it out and have it handy when you land. However you get to your hotel, you will find its detailed directions invaluable. It's famously said of Venice that you can't help getting lost, and that's part of the charm and the experience. I agree with this. However, I also agree with your statement that coming off a transatlantic flight, you just want to get to your hotel quickly without getting lost - and you'll need these directions to do that, trust me.

If the concern is the long time, here are a couple of considerations:

If you decide to go any of the water routes, Alilaguna, private water taxi or shared water taxi, you will start by walking 10 minutes or so with a backpack only or 15 minutes or so with small luggage or even longer with large luggage from the exit at the airport to the docks. The docks go, in order, private taxi, shared taxi and Alilaguna, but they are all very close to each other. There is a long channel after the boats leave the dock before the get into the open lagoon and can go faster. Before they leave the channel they are speed limited. They can then go around the large fish shaped group of islands called Venice either clockwise or anti clockwise. During the time they are in the open lagoon they all go fairly fast, with the taxis faster than the Alilaguna. When they are in the canals (except the Giudecca) they have to go slowly, as slowly as vaporettos because the wake is dangerous to the building and is eroding them. The Alilaguna takes you on a fixed route to the named vaporetto docks on the Grand Canal or the Giudecca Canal, in the order named. Private taxis - for a huge price - take you to the nearest water gate or private dock. Your hotel has a private dock of its own, probably on the opposite side of the hotel to the land entrance. A shared taxi may or may not take you to the hotel's dock.

Because of the long walk at the airport and some slow boating at both ends of the ride - and if it a shared taxi you may be the first off or the last (who knows?) - the water route, while romantic, may not be the fastest.

It is likely that the "overland" route on the PDF from the hotel, is as fast or faster than a water route. The bus stop is just a matter of a few steps outside the airport door, the bus is fast, the bus is frequent and the bus is really cheap. You then connect to a vaporetto at P Roma which is very clearly marked, and then you can either ride frequent but slow and exceedingly scenic vaporetto down the length of the Grand Canal to S Marco and then the 10 minute walk on the PDF or a much faster vaporetto which goes around the bottom of the main Venice past the cruise ships and along the very wide and much faster Giudecca Canal to a different dock at S Marco, with the other 10 minute walk to the hotel.

Either way, bus plus vaporetto is much cheaper and probably faster than a boat when everything is counted in.

Would you rather walk at the airport or walk at San Marco Square? You have to walk at one end or the other.

Or the really interesting, and probably overall fastest, way of bus to P Roma, then a private water taxi (very expensive) either slowly down the Grand Canal, or faster at speed around the Giudecca Canal to your hotel's private dock. Might save 10 or 15 minutes (maybe) for quite a lot of money, but virtually no walking.

I hope this all helps.... my fingers are falling off.

I would go either Alilaguna or the land route to piazzale Roma (with the bus or even a regular taxi), then a vaporetto from there.

The water taxi holds 9 seats but what are the chances you are going to find 4 or 5 more people at the airport that are going to your hotel? And if the people sharing the taxi are going to different hotels, it's not that the water taxi charges only once if they make multiple stops at different hotels. After unloading the first passengers, the next departure to the next hotel starts a brand new fare, which is lower, since you are already in the city, but still stiff considering the short distance.

There are several companies offering the shared water taxi,,which must be booked in advance. This one charges €27 per person, with a two-person minimum.

http://www.venicelink.com/index.php?page=shop.product_details&flypage=000flypage_escursioni.tpl&product_id=54&category_id=10&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=43&lang=english

This one is €20 per person with one piece of luggage and a fee for extra luggage:

http://www.sharevenice.com/en/how_it_works.php

But it may not be faster---you can wait from 20 to 45 minutes for the others in your ride-sharing group to arrive.

I agree with the others that your best options the bus plus vaporetto. You will get a ride down the Grand Canal, which is a real treat even for the travel-weary.

We have on previous visits to Venice used the Alilaguna. However, the ride across thelagoonnis not all that scenic,mas the boats sit low in the water and the windows are generally too dirty to be of much use. Some routes go down the Grand Canal others go around the outside. And it does take a good hour for the journey. So next time I would do the bus plus vaporetto, if we were to arrive by plane.