travelfan1

I'm torn between where to stay. I have reservations for a deluxe room (630 Euro) at Locando Orseolo...wonderful people/great breakfast/central location...the La Rosa Di Venezia apartment is available (519 Euro) ...more room/central location and I can have coffee, be up and about and enjoy views while DH sleeps. Then we have the Al Campaniel bnb in the Campo San Toma area...for a grand total of 210 Euro. No view, coffee in the room and on the other side...calling to the part of me that says go cheap and spend the money elsewhere. Which leads me to the question...how difficult is it to get to the other side of the canal? Time?

I wanted a nice place/canal view since DH is extremely reluctant to visit Venice, however he is also very budget minded and would opt for Al Campaniel if given the choice.

I have never had so much trouble deciding on where to stay...they all offer something different and I just keep vacillating. Help!

travelfan1

If it makes a difference this will be in February not during the carnival.

Zerlina

There's a traghetto - public gondola - from San Toma to Sant'Angelo on the other side of the Grand Canal (and vice-versa, of course). The fare is 0.60 Euro. The beauty of taking the traghetto is that you can then get to Piazza San Marco - in 5-10 minutes - without running the overcrowded Rialto-San Marco gauntlet. But look - or ask - at the traghetto station what the hours of service are.

Zerlina

And don't forget that many of the things you might want to see are on the San Toma side of the Grand Canal: Accademia, Ca Rezzonico, Peggy Guggenheim, Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari, Scuola Grande di San Rocco, to name only the "biggies". I also find that there is a bigger and better (i.e., good food for less) choice of restaurants in San Polo/Dorsoduro than in San Marco. And a very nice cafe on Campiello San Toma. And the best chocolate shop in Venice, Vizio Virtu, on Calle del Campaniel.

WillTravel

I used the vaporetto to get back and forth, and I know I used the San Toma stop at one point. It's really no big deal at all.

I know Al Campaniel has pretty good reviews, but of course it's still going to be on the budget side. Is your usual travel style such as to splurge on accommodation, or do you typically choose simpler rooms?

I hope you'll enjoy Venice even if your husband does not, whichever place you choose.

curmudgeon

I don't think I'd worry too much about which side of the canal you are on. Assuming you have a vaporetto pass, they are quite frequent, and typically stop on alternate sides of the canal as they go along their route.

In February, there is the potential that it will be cold enough that you want to hang out in the room and warm up for a while, or that the aqua alta limits your movements for a few hours. That might make me favor the nicer room with a view.

Phyllish

Does the Actv pass cover the vaporettos as well?

Phyllish

Think before posting. ;o) Meant to ask if it covers the traghettos?

Zerlina

No, the ACTV pass does not cover the traghetti. Each traghetto is privately owned.

But, excuse me, you're worried about a fare of 0.60 Euro?

Girlspytravel

Travelfan-INCONVENIENT? San Toma? My dear, first of all, San Toma is a vaporetto stop on the #1 and #82-which means that you can get on here, (at San Toma) and then get off at the next stop which will be on the opposite side of the Canal-before and/or or after San Toma. The vaporetto pass you will buy (if for 5 days or more-should be the Venice Blue Card) will take you to both sides-there are waterbus stops all up and down the Grand Canal, so that should be no problem at all-if you want to do some walking, you can go down by the Accademia bridge and walk over to the other side there, or walk up (northbound) from San Toma and walk over the Rialto to the other side there-it's just a few minutes walk-making sure that you stop and do some shopping/looking along the way. In addition, as Zerlina mentioned, there is a traghetto crossing right there at San Toma which is fun-this is what all the locals do-it is a bigger gondola that takes you directly across to the other side for .60 Eurocents. But at San Toma, you could not BE more well located to everything-to all the sites-you can walk EVERYWHERE from here.

Now, the best part of staying in San Toma (other than the fact that you will be staying some yards from the Mayor of Venice's home that is?) (smile) Is the most excellent chocolate shop, one of the best in Europe, I submit-right there at your B & B-Calle dei Campaniel-their truffles, brownies ARE NOT TO BE MISSED-and they are open every day until around 7pm or so. VIZIO VIRTU is the name of the shop-and it is right on the right as you get off at vaporetto stop San Toma. I'm no chocoholic-I've actually thrown away gifts of expensive hand-made Brussels chocolates-but this chocolate? I LIKE. I understand their hot chocolate is terrific too-but those truffles and brownies I had were the best-I foresee multiple trips there for me in the future, alas.

Travelfan-the area around San Toma is truly rich with culture-I, for one would always recommend staying here-so near as it is to the Scuola di San Rocco, the Frari, San Giovanni Evangelista for concerts-right next to Ca'Rezzonico-you can't go wrong here.

Phyllish

Zerlina- no, certainly the 0.60 euro fare won't break us, but it just might cut into our daughter's gelato allowance. ;o)

Anyway, don't want to get any further off the original post than already, but found this after I posted my original query.

"The multi-day pass DOES also cover the traghetti crossing the Grand Canal. I used the traghetti many times and they were always covered by my 72 hour pass."

Good to know our daughter's gelato per diem will remain intact. ha!

Girlspytravel

First of all, Zerlina, when I was in Venice in March, the traghetto fare was still .50-in fact, I asked the traghetto gondolier "ancora .50? and he said "si" -(I thought it might have gone up since last year, but no) That's why I'm asking, do you know for a fact it's gone up to .60? It's quite possible, because water trasportation fares go up every year in Venice.

And Phyllis, it is NOT true that the ACTV transportation cards cover the traghetto crossings-if that were true, you would not see locals give the .50 coins to the gondoliere who operate the traghettos-they would simply use their vaporetto pass-they cannot do this. You will see the .50 Euro cent pieces lining the inside edge of the gondola when you take the traghetto-and each person pays when they get on. I have taken them many many times, and no one gets on unless they pay their .50 Eurocent. I don't know where you got that information, but it is in error.