FHurdle

Several years ago my family, at my urging, used the Aliguna water bus to get from the airport to our hotel. It was a pretty miserable experience in the mid-afternoon. We waited quite a while to get on the bus and it was overcrowded, so we had to wait 30 minutes for the next one on a floating platform that made everyone seasick; but if you didn't stand on the platform you wouldn't be able to get on the next bus because of the crowd. Then when the next bus arrived, everyone in European style pushed and shoved and it was all we could do to get on it.

We're going to be arriving in Venice at 7:15 p.m. on a Saturday night in June, which would likely put us at 8-8:30 in trying to get on the water bus. Does anyone have any experience of using the bus at this time of night? I don't want to have to battle a crowd.

(I wrote about our rather miserable experience on my blog, for anyone interested):
http://colrebsez.blogspot.com/2012/0...alilaguna.html

nytraveler

Like public transit anywhere in Venice it will often be crowded except during the wee hours of the morning. If you are talking about coming in from the airport again I would assume it to be similar - if not exactly the same.

If you want to arrive by water a taxi is not SO much for a group of people.

Or you cold take a bus to the train station and there get a vaporetto - yes, again possibly crowded.

janisj

It will likely be crowded -- as crowded as your last time (?) - who knows . . .

But I would definitely take a water taxi. Especially at that time of night -- the water bus takes a looooong time.

FHurdle

As far as the time, our hotel is on the first stop of one of the lines and the second stop on another. So the trip is only about 15-20 minutes. It's just the thought of the pushing crowds and not getting on the boat that I can't stand.

It's only my daughter and me, so a water taxi is out. I'll just have to decide between the bus, which served us well in the past, or the water bus.

flanneruk

On June 15, the sun sets in Venice around 2100.So on a 2030 departure, you're not going to see much from the Alilaguna, and you won't be able to predict the crowds for the waterbus till you get to its quay.

I'd get the bus to the station, then a vaporetto. Crowded public transport is part of the Venice experience, and if you don't like crowds you really shouldn't be going to Venice in June anyway.

But you WILL get onto the bus at the airport and onto the vaporetto at the station. There's no way of predicting whether there'll be a repeat of your last experience at the Alilaguna quay.

annhig

I too would opt for the bus and vaporetto as your experience of the Allilaguna was so bad last time.