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Best way to get from Marco Polo Airport to a hotel near Rialto Bridge

Best way to get from Marco Polo Airport to a hotel near Rialto Bridge

Old Dec 22nd, 2010, 12:31 PM
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Best way to get from Marco Polo Airport to a hotel near Rialto Bridge

Hi there...I know there are many options and I have read about each. I wanted your personal point of view re: which way to travel from the airport to somewhere near the Rialto Bridge. I read in Rick Steves that a water taxi is about 100 euro and a water ferry about 13 euros. So....is it worth the extra $40 to take the taxi vs. 13 x 5 of us? Also, any other option? We will have traveled from US and I have a feeling we will be tired so I thought this might be the time to go the easiest way and bite the bullet and spend a bit more. If there is an easy relaxing way that is lesser expensive I would love to know about it. Grazia
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Old Dec 22nd, 2010, 01:22 PM
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I feel with 5 people, the water taxi would be worth the extra 40 Euro. It will be faster, easier and more fun. It is what I would do. However, you don't need to pay 100 Euro for the water taxi-

Order in advance from venicelink.com and the taxi will be 75 Euro. You can also order in advance at a discount your passes (based on your arrival date) for the vaporetto (public water bus) from veniceconnected.com.

When you order, you receive a voucher which you take to the venicelink/veniceconnected desk at the airport (easy to find) to receive your purchases. You may need to notify your bank in advance of ordering that you will be purchasing from Italy.

Here is a link to the page for advance ordering your taxi from venicelink-

http://tinyurl.com/285w8sk

Link for Veniceconnected-

http://www.veniceconnected.com/choos...ithdrawal-date

Living Venice is a nice sight for Venice information-

http://livingveniceblog.com/

Enjoy your trip!
zoecat is offline  
Old Dec 22nd, 2010, 03:22 PM
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hi,

by far the cheapest option is the bus - you have a choice of two. the ordinary one, run by the same people who run the vaporetti, is €2 each way and is included on a vaporetto pass; the quicker more luxurious one which goes from just ourside the airport building is €3, and doesn't stop until it gets to the piazzale roma [the bus station in Venice] where you can get a vaporetto to the rialto [line 1, the stopper, or 2, the express, both stop there].

but with 5 of you, i think that I'd be going for the water-taxi too!
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Old Dec 22nd, 2010, 03:35 PM
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The fastest and least expensive solution is to catch the ATVO bus in front of the terminal for about 3E each and get off at Piazzale Roma as you enter Venice. From there, you can pay a water taxi to Rialto[ maybe 50E] or take the vaporetto to your stop. If you plan to buy a vaporetto pass anyway then do it then and save the 6.5E charge. That is what we did, and we are in our 70s. It also saves a 10 minute walk to the boat boarding dock at the airport.
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Old Dec 22nd, 2010, 03:52 PM
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Since there is five of you, I suggest taking the taxi. Easy and quick. 75 or 100 euros is worth it.
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Old Dec 22nd, 2010, 04:16 PM
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You need to find out exactly where your hotel is and where the closest dock is - what matters is where the water taxi can put in. If you pay the extra for it - and then find you have a long walk over several bridges to get to you hotel you might not feel it;s worth it. (We always do the water taxi - but we always get a hotel with private dock - so the bellman comes to the boat and deals with the luggage).

Based on the number of people I would spring for the few $ more for the water taxi - esp after an all night flight.
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Old Dec 23rd, 2010, 03:01 AM
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Please listen to nytraveler. Dock location matters. If you can't find it on Google maps, email the hotel to ask.

Be aware that weather conditions affect water taxis more than buses but you won't know whether the conditions are disabling until you get there. Just be mentally prepared by knowing the alternatives.
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Old Dec 23rd, 2010, 03:38 AM
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Andrea, when do you arrive, and what hotel are you staying at. The weather conditions, the sirocco, is pushing up big aqua alta, and we saw about 120 cm this morning. That will be a bigger determinant than whether the water taxi can reach your hotel dock.

For the next few days, the highest tides wil be at night - 130 cm at 1:00 AM, Christmas Day, which will make midnight mass a rubber boot venture.

Walking over bridges is not hard - wading through six inches of water is hard work. In your favour, Rialto is higher than say San Marco, so there is less flooding.
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