I'm traveling to Venice for two nights with my family in mid-February (arriving by train), and am debating on where to book our stay. I'm looking primarily at Air BnB rentals, as we are a family of 5. I did consider booking two rooms in a hotel, as we are doing this at the beginning of our trip; however, that seems less cost effective in Venice. One of the apartments I'm looking at is located approximately 10 minutes walking distance from Santa Lucia station. The second apartment is located in Castello and a quick 2 minute walk to Rialto bridge, while the third is in San Palo and approximately 5 minutes from Rialto bridge/15 minutes to San Marco square. My other option is Hotel Sant'Antonin, which is also in Castello.

As pricing is comparable enough, I'm curious what your recommendations are for where to stay? Obviously staying closer to the main tourist areas is desirable, but it's tempting to choose the option of walking from the station to our lodging rather than hauling bags and children on vaporettos twice in three days.

Thanks in advance.

With only two nights there, and a party of five including children, convenience ie proximity to the station is definitely your priority. You really don't want to be trying to get children and luggage on and off a vaporetto. So walking distance of the station is what you want to aim for the closer the better. Once you arrive, having dumped your luggage and freshened up, then you can go and jump on a vaporetto, and enjoy the ride down the Grand Canal, your first sight of the Rialto Bridge, the beauty of Piazza San Marco, etc. etc.

And depending on what times you arrive and leave, I would strongly advise investing in 24 or 48 hour vaporetto passes so that you can see as much as possible in the short time you have there. You can buy them at the ticket booths outside the station on the left of the waterside as you look at the Grand Canal.

Hope this helps!

Good advice from Anne, minimising wrangling luggage and kids. Do get a paper map of Venice before you arrive - phone navigation in Venice is tough.

Thank you Ann and Peter for your advice. I reserved the apartment closest to Santa Lucia station. After wrangling bags through Madrid and Barcelona last month, we've realized that minimizing steps and stairs with luggage (and kids) is necessary.

I will certainly consider the 24 hour vaporetto pass-I had a bit of sticker shock when I saw how much an individual trip costs! And thank you for the suggestion about having a paper map for Venice-we have experienced Google maps getting a bit temperamental with walking directions in particular.