We are leaving for Venice on Sunday, and hadn't planned on bringing extra footwear. My husband had checked some time ago that the tide would be high when we were there. Could anyone tell me how high it could be? We didn't really want to bring boots, but I could get rubbers here if waters are expected to be very high. (This is a very short trip, so we plan on packing very light!)Thanks!

Hi Carol,

If you are referring to Acqua Alta, when the very lowest portions of the city are flooded, don't worry.

The floods don't last more than a few hours.

Hi carolv, you might check out this website for info:

http://www.europeforvisitors.com/ven...acqua-alta.htm

Happy travels!

Pardon my ignorance, but if portions of the city are flooded for a few hours, are there other options from getting from point A to point B? (or do we go through the water?) I was only in Venice once and never considered any of this. I had read about acqua alta on this forum.
It doesn't sound like we need special footwear, as long as we know what to expect. Thanks!

http://www.venicebanana.com/eng/maree.htm

Go to above site and you can learn a bit about acqua alta - high water.

I'm visiting Venice for 3 nights from 17th Feb. This will be my 6th time there and am not taking boots. There was a pretty bad one at the end of last October. I was there 23-27Nov and there was none. I expect it more likely not to happen in March but if it happens, you can either 1.walk on the elevaterd wodden paths or 2.if the water is that high, can buy a cheap pair of boots locally or your hotel will have some for sale or will lend you for free. After all, the Venetians are ready for eventual acqua alta.

Visited there at Christmas and got to experience acqua alta for two days. It's great...even in the cold. Hotels provide throw-away boots and the water's down by early afternoon. My daughters and I loved the experience. Pigeons all over us in San Marco one day and water up to our knees the next.Talk about a conversation starter!

Thank you for your replies. I went to both websites and the photos were fascinating. I guess we'll just wing it when we get there.

Recently Venice has been experiencing the opposite problem and some of the smaller canals have in fact been left high and dry by acqua bassa, exceptionally low tides. This is a situation that, like acqua alta, typically lasts only a few days at a time. Here's a website you might be interested in:

http://veniceblog.typepad.com/venice...ter_again.html

There was acqua alta on Dec. 28 when I was there. Luckily I had taken along lightweight waterproof Rockport boots, and these were great. There were a couple places where walking through several inches of water was unavoidable, despite all the platforms. Never mind buying boots in Venice - how would I get to the place to buy the boots without walking through the water in front of the hotel and next to the vaporetto platform?