have a wonderful time, sharone! I love Venice and hope that you come to love it too.

Can I piggy-back onto this with an auxillary, but related, question?

I am taking the Alilaguna orange bus from VCE to Giardinetti on our upcoming trip. I have been assuming that I can wait till I get to the island and check into our apartment (3 min. from Giardinetti) to buy my 72-hour passes, thus avoiding the lines at the airport.

(I assume I can buy my Alilaguna tix at the Alilaguna pier, since I have done that in the past with hardly any wait.)

<strong>My question:</strong>

Can I buy our 72-hour passes at the ticket booth at any stop...or only at major ones? Giardinetti would be convenient, but any stop within 10-15 minutes of our apartment (which covers a lot of stops, because Venice is so small) would work for me.

Thanks.
ssander

If you arrive with a few Euros (enough to get you through the better part of the first day), there is an advantage to buying online -- though it is a small one.

By paying with credit card or PayPal in advance, you conserve some of your cash, and can delay your first trip to the ATM to a more convenient time.

Other than that, as Greg said, there is no advantage to an advanced purchase, since you still have to turn in your voucher for a real ticket when you get there.

ssander

not sure ssander. but you can buy passes with the alilaguna added on, so you'd only need to make one visit to a ticket office if you bought it at the airport.

the last time I was there there were hardly any queues at all - there are lots of windows at the main ticket office just outside the arrivals area, to the left of the as you come out through the doors [on the way to the main exit].

Duh...I'm wrong...since you can just use a credit card at the booth, saving cash is irrelevant.

Disregard my previous post.

Sorry.
ssander

annhig...

Thanks for the info, but we will be in Venice 4 nights and do not plan first use of the 72-hour card till mid-morning of our second day.

I already bought the vouchers for the Alilaguna ride on the assumption that a combined card might not allow for the delayed initial use of the 72-hour card.

If I was wrong...oh well...

If there isn't a long wait <strong>in</strong> the airport, I'll turn in my voucher and also buy the 72-hour pass.

Otherwise, I'll turn in the Alilaguna voucher outside at the pier ticket booth and get the 72-hr pass later in the day after we've settled in at the apartment.

On the other hand, if both go on the same chip-card without immediate activation of the 72-hr pass, I might as well buy the passes online using PayPal as I did for the Alilaguna tix.

Either way, we'll be fine.

Thanks, again.
ssander

no probs, ssander, I'm sure you'll sort it out somehow.

understandably people think that they will gain some advantage from buying on line in advance but in Venice that appears not to be the case.

I was surprised that when we came out of the arrival lounge last time there was virtually no queue for the ticket office, ditto when we went to buy tickets for the rest of the group I was with at the Piazzale Roma ticket office. OTOH I saw long queues by the ticket office at the Ferrovia vaporetto stop.

Enjoy Venice. Last time we stayed two weeks in Canareggio and loved that area, lots of good restaurants. Food and wine tour there sounds like fun.

<i><font color=#555555>"I assume I can buy my Alilaguna tix at the Alilaguna pier, since I have done that in the past with hardly any wait."</font></i>

The airport has undergone major renovations in the past year, including the area around the docks. The Alilaguna website says the Dockyard Ticket Office is open.

<i><font color=#555555>"Can I buy our 72-hour passes at the ticket booth at any stop...or only at major ones?"</font></i>

The numerous point-of-sales locations are officially highlighted here:

http://muoversi.venezia.it/en

If you want to avoid long booth lines, it's easier to purchase multi-day vaporetto passes online here:

http://www.veneziaunica.it/en/e-commerce/services

The single advantage to an online purchase is to avoid long lines at the ticket booths. When purchased online, you receive a PNR code, which is accepted at machines that are located at point-of-sale booth locations. If the PNR machines intimidate you, you can take your PNR to a ticket booth window, which means you have to wait in line. Sometimes the PNR machines have their own lines, because a lot of tourists can't figure out how they work. Quick and speedy convenience can be a coin toss in Venice. At least you get to pick your poison.

NYCFoodSnob...

Thanks for the update. I did, in fact, purchase my Alilaguna PNR vouchers at the Unica site, so I know about that.

The map link you provide indicates I can get the 72-hr passes at either the Giardinetti or Vallaresso piers...but only inside the airport, not at the Alilaguna pier.

I appreciate the info.

How do the machines work? Scanner? Type in PNR?

Are there English instructions? My Italian is limited but I feel I may well be able to handle the machines.


Thanks.
ssander

<i><font color=#555555>"The map link you provide indicates I can get the 72-hr passes at either the Giardinetti or Vallaresso piers...but only inside the airport, not at the Alilaguna pier."</font></i>

I would never use the ticket counter inside the Marco Polo Airport. That chaos is insane.

Alilaguna and ACTV (vaporetti) are two separate companies. They are rarely in cooperation (except when sharing docks). The Alilaguna dockyard kiosk is Alilaguna property. A lot of tourists don't know about it.

Vallaresso and Giardinetti are adjacent docks, separated by a bridge with steps. Vallaresso is for the "local" boats, while Giardinetti is for "express" and Alilaguna. There are PNR ACTV machines at both docks, ticket windows, too.

<i><font color=#555555>"How do the machines work?"</font></i>

The machines change with time. Some of the older ones are a graphics nightmare. You may encounter more than one style machine. The digital screens offer five languages.

On the Select-an-Option screen, you can choose "Collect Tickets Purchased Online." Follow the instructions from there.

There is a not-so-great video on YouTube of someone purchasing an individual ticket on a machine in Venice. I can't seem to post the link.

Sorry, Fodor's is not working for me today. Had to post individual sentences to get it to Preview and Submit. Somebody needs to get their coding in order.

NYCFoodSnob...

I found a couple of good YouTube videos...looks pretty straightforward....thanks for the tip.

Also, we used the dockside Alilaguna kiosk on our last visit, and it was pretty much deserted. Thanks for tipping me off that you can't pick up ACTV tix there. I'll wait for later in the day or the next morning to do that when I have time to find one of the machines pictured in the YouTube videos.

ssander

Another question...

Do I have to validate a 72-hour ticket every trip or just on first use?

Thanks.

ssander

Validating - paying - passing the timed-travel-card over the small validation machine that are stationed at each dock entrance before you board a boat; they all mean the same thing.

It seems more complicated than it really is. Once you figure the process it out, it makes sense.

All tickets and travel cards used to board an ACTV boat look the same. They have an electronic strip, which also states how much money/time you have left on the ticket/card. Each validation time gets recorded whenever you perform the act of validation. The boat's inspectors carry small "readers." When asked for your card, the inspector will seek proof that you validated it before entering the boat. If you did not, you will be subject to a fine.

There used to be "imob" videos on the internet that showed the small validation machines and how they work. The imob cards are no longer being created, but the process for validation remains the same. I assume you can find new videos if you take the time to search.

Just be aware that you will see some people boarding without validating their cards, particularly at vap stops that don't have gates. They are probably travelling on a monthly pass, and they don't need validating at every trip.

The imob card has been re-badged as the Venezia Unica city pass. This is a personalised pass, with photo ID, and can be re-loaded with vap trips.

The Unica pass costs about 50 euro, so it is good for frequent or long stay visitors. It has a five year validity, and each vap ride costs about 1.30 euro.

Just a general note: I had been to Venice several times and ridden the vaporetto without every seeing an inspector. The last time I was there, I saw three of them. Either it was a coincidence or they're stepping up inspections.

Helpful information. Thanks.

<i><font color=#555555>"Just be aware that you will see some people boarding without validating their cards"</font></i>

There are so many wonderful things to look at in Venice, I don't usually study what strangers are doing before they board a boat. The truth is, many tourists still try to game the system. Unless you ask direct questions and then extract honest answers from strangers, there's really no way to know what someone is doing. You can stare at people and try to guess what they are doing and why they are doing it, I suppose that's how some people define fun, but I never see the point of speculation. If you want information, just be rude and ask, and suffer the consequences.

<i><font color=#555555>"The imob card has been re-badged as the Venezia Unica city pass."</font></i>

While Peter's statement is correct (and perhaps useful to someone), I left it out because this thread is titled "1st time." Understanding the tourist cards and how they work is complicated enough. Explaining the Carte Venezia/imob/VeneziaUnica City Pass adds many more layers of complexity. Unless you plan on being a frequent visitor, or staying for weeks at a time, the added expense of this card is absolutely a waste of money. However, keep in mind, Venice is happy to take your money.

Some people like to let it be known that they are only paying 1.30€ per ride. Perhaps it makes them feel special.