What time is your flight and where is it headed? The airport check-in desks at the Venice airport don't open until around 5:15 or 5:30.

Courtyard by Marriott VCE my fav for this priceline.com
or booking.com or Marriott.com has a new Visa signature
CC got 70000-50000 points for first use good forfree stays.
Might consider that if time.

Hi Zoecat, my flight is at 7:00am from marco polo and we are flying to India via Vienna.

We are looking for a place in the range of 100-120 euros having good connectivity to airport during the early hours.

We also had to be at the airport for an early international departure in September. We stayed at the Titian Inn which was literally 5mins from the airport and they provide a shuttle service.

When we arrived at the airport at 5am there already was a very long lineup to check in.

The hotel is a basic 3 star but clean and they do provide breakfast starting at 4:30am.

thanks Royal, I will check Titan inn out.

Is there a good bus service from the airport area to the central areas of venice like St Mark Sq? We are on a budget and don't want to spend on taxis. Appreciate your inputs on a cheap mode of transport.

Buses don't run inside Venice. The only transit is by boat or on foot. The cheapest way from the airport is to take a bus which will drop you off in Piazzale Rome next to the train station on the edge of Venice. You can then take a water bus, called a vaporetto.

Some details: there are 2 buses at the airport going into Venice. Here's a good description of the differences: http://europeforvisitors.com/venice/articles/venice_airport_buses.htm. From the same site details about taking the vaporetto: http://europeforvisitors.com/venice/articles/venice-vaporetto-water-buses.htm

Venice is a beautiful city unique in the world. Research a bit so you know more about what you're seeing.

If you stay in the vicinity of Piazzale Roma, you will have access to the vaporetto for getting around in Venice, while also being close to the bus stop for your airport transfer. I'd put up with the early morning inconvenience on departure day rather than stay near the airport for two nights or one night in each location.

This website has lots of info re Venice-airport
http://europeforvisitors.com/venice/articles/early-flights-from-venice-airport.htm

Why in the workd would you think you need to be at the airport 3-1/2 hours before your flight? That's just ridiculous. We had a 7:00 am flight also and got to the airport at 5:00; the line of people already there moved pretty quickly once the check-in desks finally opened up and there was plenty of time to spare before the flight.

Stay near Piazzale Roma in Venice and then take the 5:00am bus to the airport. You'll arrive at the airport by 5:20am, which is plenty of time to check in for your 7:00 flight. The Venice airport is small and easy to navigate.

I'm sorry, I don't have a specific hotel to recommend. You might check venere.com or tripadvisor.com or do a search here using the Search the Forums tool.

Thanks Zoecat, Mimar, Kayd and Hazel1 for your useful comments

Mimar, your webpage on Venice Airport buses is a lifesaver...I didn't know this option existed...which means there's so much research still to be done!

Hazel1...what can I say....I had assumed that for 'international' flights, one would need to arrive that early....well we do so in India...lol

I am really excited about this trip...it's great fun to plan and there's quite a bit of learning too!

Thanks all of you for making this so much easier for me

Your flight is not really an "international" flight. You are flying to Vienna, Austria, which is considered a domestic flight within the Schengen treaty zone.

Your final destination is irrelevant.

For this flight I'd arrive at the airport no earlier than 5:30. With only 2 days in Venice take zoe's advice.

As Zoe and J62 indicate, staying near the airport -- if only for one night -- you'll lose a significant part of the experience of Venice. Staying in Venice, in a city with no cars, no trucks, no traffic noise, just the water lapping in the canals, is really a special experience. Don't cheat yourselves of any of it.

here's another vote for staying in Venice. if you are within walking distance of the piazzale Roma, you'll be able to catch and early bus to the airport and get your flight with ease.

no point in getting to the airport before 5am in any event - there won't be anyone there - except other tourists!

Even if you aren't within walking distance, there is a night VAP that you can take to Piazzale Roma.

In 2005, hub and I also had a 7 a.m. flight and got there in plenty of time. It took 10 minutes to walk to the Rialto stop where we caught the 4:15 a.m. VAP, 20 minutes to reach Piazzale Roma. We then took a taxi to the airport and were there before any of the airline desks were even open. It doesn't sound like that has changed much.

Enjoy Venice!

Thanks guys, I really do want to stay in Venice.

I am looking for a budget place to stay in Venice....but there doesn't seem to be any at that time of the year ( 19-21Apr'12)

My budget is upto 100 euors. Any recommendations would be helpful.

Yes, Venice is an expensive place. However, ff you search this forum, you will find several threads with suggestions of inexpensive places to stay in Venice.

I am getting a double for 171 euros for a 2 night stay at Hotel Helvetia http://www.hotelhelvetia.com. It's in Lido with the vaporetto terminal at a minutes distance.

Can't seem to get anything close to a 100 Euros anywhere else yet.

Is this a good option? Will I get a vaporette to Piazzale Rome in time to catch the 5:00am bus to airport?

Arrgh...why is Venice so expensive??!!!!

The Lido may be too far away.

Have you checked venere?

Well it seems that both ACTV (could not get the timetable...the website doesn't seem to be working fine) and Alilaguna http://www.alilaguna.it/lineablu-eng.html do have early morning departures to Pizzale Roma and Marco Polo airports respectively.

Can anyone confirm if they have taken the vaporette from Lido to Marco Polo at 4:00am (by ACTV or Alilaguna?
Which is a better service?

Also recommendations for other Lido budget hotels will be welcome (for April 2012).

TDudette - I have been checking venere earnestly for a month now and have been disappointed each time...sob!

Staying in Lido will require you to take the vaporetto to & from Venice proper each day, at a cost of 6.50 euro per person, per trip.

So for 2 people the added cost of staying in Lido is 26 euros per day. That cuts your hotel budget to 74 euros per night.

Yes, Venezia is very expensive .....

As already suggested, Lido isn't best location for your purposes. Better would be to use www.venere.com and/or www.eurocheapo.com to research accomadations in one of the siestere close to Piazzale Roma. Start by looking in Santa Croce siestere ..... for example >>>>

http://www.locandamarinella.com/

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You'll see good reviews .....

http://m.venere.com/mt/www.venere.com/inns/venice/alloggi-marinella/?ref=1298088&un_jtt_v_review_tab=yes

And another area of Venice to investigate is in 'Cannaregio' ...... Hotel Bernardi?
http://www.hotelbernardi.com/en/

You can also find comments/feedback on this hotel on 'Venere' as well as 'Trip Advisor'.

Google Venice convents. We are staying in one for about 90 euros a night five minutes from San Marco.

No, no, NOT the Lido. The Lido has cars. Plus it's a longer, more difficult trip to get to the airport. And not Mestre. Neither will give you the true experience of staying in Venice. To get this, you may need to extend your budget a little.

As I remember, Venere.com is not a good source for the cheaper hotels. You will probably have to contact them individually.

Here's one recent thread:
www.fodors.com/community/europe/can-you-suggest-reasonable-accomodations-in-venice-for-2-nights.cfm

Another booking site is www.eurocheapo.com. It has several options for your dates.

JBX, JDudette & J62 - yes, staying in Lido actually doesn't make sense. And thanks for the tip on the 2 hotels - Locanda Marinella is not available but Bernardi is offering a rate that fits my budget.

I loved Saraho's suggestion and have written to a few convents including the hightly rated Istituto San Giuseppe that has convents in Rialto and Pizzale Roma.
http://www.sangiuseppecaburlotto.com/OSPITALIT%c3%80/default.aspx
The website is in italian but hail Google Translate Keeping my fingers crossed for a positive response.

Thanks guys for making things seem doable one again...

Mimar...we were posting around the same time...will check both links...thank you

Nehak,

to get the best range of accommodations, you might try Trip advisor. put in your dates and parameters, [price, mainly] and you will get a list of what is available which you can arrange in price order. there are then links to the hotel booking sites offering those hotels.

you may also find cheaper places by looking at the B&B list.

there are also places which will not be in TA, [eg convents] but you should be able to find something this way.

I'm seeing some availability on venere..com for your dates/budget, I.e. Locanda Herion for $144/nt. Keep checking - you'll find something.

Thank you all for the helpful suggestions.

I am not going to Venice now.... but atleast now I know what to look for when I finally do go there.

I had actually booked Hotel Bernardi for 99 euros a night for a double (thank you JBX) and had received a positive reply from convent Istituto San Giuseppe but decided against it coz of the 10:30pm curfew.

Really disappointed as Venice was to be the final leg of our 15 day trip...but, what the heck....there's gotta be a next time! Keeping the dream alive...

I am kind of nervous reading this thread. We have a Sat. May 19th flight from vce to frankfurt on Lufthansa for a connection to the states. We have a 6:50 am flight and the shuttle can leave us at 4:20 or 5:15. I have asked some other blogs and was assured I would have enough time getting there at 5:15. Tonight I read that there can be long lines on Sat. and early in the morning. Several blogs on here said there were long lines. Am I taking a chance getting there at 5:15?

Read my answer to your other question.

They are used to handling long lines. They have them every day. The whole boarding and loading process in Europe is generally more efficient than in the US, and all those feeder airlines that are controlled by Lufthansa are particularly efficient. Even Alitalia gets everyone on board in time.