Jespere

3 of us will be arriving at Marco Polo (from London) late afternoon 20 April - DH & I have always arrived by train before and DS has never been to Venice, so we'd like to travel to our rented apartment (near Rialto) by water taxi.

Should we reserve in advance, and is the VeniceLink (website price 95 euro) different from or preferable to the Motoscafi (100 euro)?

Is one more likely than the other to take a route we request (happy to pay extra), weather permitting? Any advice would be appreciated - thanks!

Grassshopper

I just hopped on a taxi at the airport. You walk about 5 or 10 minutes to the dock. It's not cheap but it is by far the most fun way to get to your apartment! I'm sure if you offer to pay, the taxi driver will take you the way you want, provided it's not crazy.

Jespere

Thanks - nothing crazy in mind, just wanted the experience of cruising up/down the Grand Canal.

Anyone have any idea what a "normal" water taxi route to the San Polo side, near Rialto towards San Silvestro, might be??

Grassshopper

We got onto the Grand Canal a bit before the Rialto Bridge and had plenty of time along the Grand Canal.

nytraveler

Would estimate in the range of 80 to 100 euros - depending on the route. Have you figured out the directions from the dock you will be dropped orr at to your apartment?

We never reserve in adavance and have never hd to wait for one at PiazzaleRoma.

Jespere

OK, I'll assume we probably won't have to wait at the airport either. So do I need to get a voucher inside the airport before we proceed to the dock?

nytraveler - instructions for our apartment say to tell the taxi "Riva del Vin per Calle del Catasto." The apartment is by San Silvestro.

Do the taxis generally cut through - how do I describe this - Cannaregio or Castello, or go up by the Ferrovia to get to the Rialto area?

Thanks again, everyone!

ellenem

To reach your location, chances are the water taxi would enter the Canale della Misericordia at the west end of Fondamenta Nuove and follow the canals to the Grand Canal, turn left onto the Grand Canal, pass under the Rialto Bridge, and pull over on the right at Fondamenta del Vin. It is the most direct water route.

arvedg

If you want to make the long tour from the airport over Fondamenta Nove down nearly to Arsenale crossing through Castello (Guess at Calle Santa Giustina), passing St. Mark's Square and riding up Canal Grande will be 150 Euro. I took this tour a few days ago - it was a very nice present

No need to book in advance. In the airport you will find a large counter (impossible to miss). Pay there, get a voucher, walk to the water taxis (5-10min) and there you go. The driver will be told by the counter already which route you want to take. Lean back and enjoy!!

Jespere

Thank you all so much for the detailed and complete answers to all my questions!!

caroline_edinburgh

It is cheaper to pre-book via the Venice Link website, rather than just picking up a water taxi at the airport, either way. The default route (at the current flat fare of E95) will involve cutting through Cannaregio and going down part of the Grand Canal, but you can pay E20 extra to add on travelling the length of the Grand Canal.

(Never thought I'd think the price of a watertaxi was worth it, but had to book one last month since we were arriving with 10 bags!)

zorrosf

Make sure you tell the dispatcher that you want to travel down the entire length of the Grand Canal to your hotel. It may cost you a bit more, but split 3 ways, it will be negligible and well worth the cost.

caroline_edinburgh

But a lot cheaper if you pre-book online & get the flat fare, like I said.

Jespere

Thanks again for the advice, everyone!
I'll pre-book now and see about adding on when we arrive.
-J.

caroline_edinburgh

As you've probably found by now, you can also pre-book the Grand Canal 'extension' - will also probably save money.

Jespere

Hi Caroline - thanks so much for your helpful comments!

I saw that "extension" - now I'm wondering if I should just book the basic 95-euro fare now and then negotiate with the driver later, depending on the weather (not sure it's worth the extra 40 euro if it's raining).

Any additional thoughts??

caroline_edinburgh

Hm, good point, Jespere. Not having done it, I'm not sure (and like I said, we only got a water taxi at all because it was the only way of transporting all our bags - we were actually moving here, with *all* our clothes & a few other things). Since there are 3 of you to share it, it's a holiday and DS hasn't been before, I might be inclined to say go for it. We were quite surprised & pleased by the amount of the Grand Canal we got included in the basic price - I haven't been able to work out yet exactly which canal we cut through, but am pretty certain we came out somewhere just above Ca'D'Oro (but after the Cannregio Canal). But we were then going down as far as the Rio San Barnaba - if you are going to somewhere near Rialto, you wouldn't get as much of the GC included in the basic price. And of course you wouldn't go past the Doge's Palace & Piazza.

Pierina

We are thinking of taking a water taxi. We are 2 couples with 4 pieces of luggage so the price is 95 Euros for the 4 of us? What is the price if you prebook? We are staying at Casa Baseggio. Does anyone know if the taxi will be going on the Grand Canal. Thanks in advance!

ellenem

Pierina, Your hotel is close to the Canale della Misericordia and so by normal route the taxi would drop you well before reaching the Grand Canal. You would have to make a request for a special route to include the Grand Canal.

JoanneH

Motoscafi: Be aware that they can and will sometimes drop you not at your hotels water door but at the nearest dock to it. And IMHO they totally lack any customer service skills.
I was with a group in June and two ladies wanted to stay behind and shop longer and so I arranged for a Motoscafi water taxi to pick them up at a set time and return them to the hotel water door. I confirmed this on making the reservation. Ladies are no show back to the hotel so after appx 1/2 hour I called the company and was told they were picked up on time and dropped at the hotel. I informed them that was not the case and after they contacted the driver I was told he had just dumped them on a pier off the g canal that he considered walking distance to the hotel. On asking exactly where he left them they said they were not sure. The hotel told me it had to be one of two piers appx 1/2 mile from the hotel and on checking I found them standing at the first one wondering how to get to the hotel. On recontacting Motoscafi I was basically told to forget they got to the hotel.
SO Heads UP........................................
When you make your reservation check if your hotel has a water door.
If it does not you will be dumped at the nearest pier sometimes not that near hotel,which is clearly stated on line, however if it does have one do not get out until you are delivered to it. And if they give you a hassle you can always call the police.
You are paying for their service to deliver you to the correct place not just dump you where ever.

willowjane

What great advice you are getting! I am filing this away.