HELP! ~~~ Trip to Venice, Italy
 

I am departing in one week for Venice, Italy and have not had an opportunity to do much research. My biggest concern is getting from the airport to the hotel. Is the only way to travel by boat? Someone had posted info. about renting a car in Venice ~~ is this possible? And also, is it possible to take a trip to Tuscany from Venice? I will only have one week.

There are a number of ways to get to your hotel--it depends on where it is located. Have you asked the hotel their recommendation?

You can rent a car at Piazzale Roma in Venice. If you mena a day trip by car to Tuscany, that is not recommended. How much time in Tuscany were you considering?

You can get from the airport to your hotel by boat; i.e., water taxi which will take you either to the door of your hotel or as close as possible to the door if your hotel isn't on a canal, or water bus which will take you to a "stop" on a canal and you can walk to your hotel from the "stop."

Or you can take a land taxi or a land bus to the western edge of historic Venice, and then walk the rest of the way or take a water bus and walk--depending on where your hotel is located.

With only one week, I wouldn't advise a trip to Tuscany.

If you are only going to be in Venice (on the island), having a car is not recommended as you won't need it and can't drive it on the island. The water taxi's (vaporetto's) are fine and get you from point A to point B.

I agree with the ellenem about Tuscany. You can take the train to Florence and spend a day there if you really want to go in the Tuscany area. The train will be much cheaper than renting a car for a week anyway. There is plenty to see and do in Venice and since you are walking on foot most of the time, the day can escape you before you know it!

Hi, Roxie,

the best way to Venice from the airport rather depends on where you are staying.

if you are near st. Marks, then the allilaguna boat or even a water taxi may be the easiest option.

if you are staying near the station, or along the strada nuova area or even santa croce or san polo areas, then a bus to the Piazzale roma and walking/vaporetto may suit.

ther are two sorts of buses - the direct ATVO bus [blue] - 3e each way or 5.50e return, every 20 minutes from the stop right outside the exit from the airport.

there is also a local bus that starts from a different stop, takes longer, but only costs 2e.

they both end up at the P. Roma whence you can walk, or get a vaporetto to a stop closer to your accommodation.

the allilaguna boat leaves from the dock at the airport - follow the boat signs. l haven't dont this, but I think that there are two sorts - one quick, and one quicker. it puts in at the dock near st. marks, so it is convenient for hotels that end of teh town.

Most convenient wil be the water taxi but it wil cost about 90e!

why not ask your hotel what they recommend?

regards, ann

My suggestion is to take the BLUE ATVO bus directly to Piazzle Roma. It the least costly and also the quickest. Then you go to the kiosk along the canal where you purchase a weekly vaparetto (water bus) ticket - put the ticket into the yellow stamping machine and you are good to go for the entire week. I'd purchase a RT bus ticket at the airport...the kiosks are clearly marked...so that you do not need to buy a ticket for your return trip to the airport. Ask your hotel which stop to get off at from the vaparetto and take the vaparetto they advise from Piazzele Roma to that stop. It will probably be a No.1.
Taking a water bus from the airport is more expensive and, you then have to change to a local vaparetto if your hotel is not in the San Marco area....it also takes about 3 times longer getting to Venice than going by BLUE ATVO bus.
I believe that it is important to have this weekly pass as most of the vaparetto stops do not sell tickets and you do not want to be caught without a ticket even though it's relatively rare to be checked..they do check! You cannot pay for your vaparetto ticket/pass with a credit card so you might want to be sure to have enough euro - if you carry an ATM card there is an ATM machine near to where you buy the tickets...just ask and you'll be pointed in the direction of the ATM...5 seconds from the kiosk where you buy the ticket.
PS - See Tuscany on another trip. Venice is a wealth of wonders and beauty. We often stay for 2 - 3 weeks!
Have fun!

If you're going to be there for a week, and expect to visit a reasonable number of churches and museums, you could look at the Venice Card (www.venicecard.com) instead of just a vaporetto pass. If you buy it ahead of time over the internet you get a discount, and you can use a credit card to pay for it.

If you're going to take the land bus to Piazzale Roma, it makes much more sense to buy your vaporetto pass at the airport and take the Orange ACTV bus, which IS covered by the pass (the Blue ATVO bus is NOT covered). From my recent trip report:

To buy the 72-hour vaporetto pass, come out from getting your luggage, turn left and go past the long line at the ATVO desk on your left (where people are getting Alilaguna tickets) to get to the ACTV desk on your right, where there will be no line – no credit cards, you have to have cash. The pass covers the ACTV Orange #5 bus to Piazzale Roma, which takes around 20-25 minutes (it doesn’t cover the ATVO express blue bus, which maybe takes five minutes less) and of course then covers the vaporetto to your hotel.

Obviously, you can also buy the week-long pass instead of the 72-hour pass at the airport, whichever you want.

Yes, the only way to travel is by boat. There are no cars, trucks, or taxis in Venice. Everything (people included) is delivered via boat. They have the equivalent of taxis and buses, but they're boats.

Just to be sure the terminology is clear: A vaporetto is NOT a water taxi. It is a water bus--just like a land bus, it has set stops along the canals. A water taxi is a smaller boat that operates just like a land taxi, taking you as close as possible to your destination (even to the door if they have a landing dock on a canal). Of course the water taxi is much more expensive than the water bus (vaporetto).

No - you cannot take a car to your hotel in Venice since there are NO STREETS. There are only canals and pedestrian walkways.

So yes- you must take some sort of boat to your hotel.

You should contact your hotel to find the exact location and how they reco you arrive - based on how close they are to vaporetto (boat bus) stops, if they have a private dock etc.

Another option is to take a motoscafo (boat taxi) but it will cost much more.

You will then have to walk with your luggage from the dock to your hotel.