I meant to go on the gondola ride with another group.

Was that guy over 6 feet tall? OMG that was nearly 40 years ago! LOL...I don't think so. I have a memory of boys taller than me.

Someone above already mentioned it, but standing on the platform waiting for the vaporetto, the entire platform rocked quite a bit. That definitely could set someone off who is sensitive.

I have a family member who gets nauseous just riding around in a car and uses pressure point wrist bands. They seem to help, if not only for physical symptoms.

I also agree with comments above about boat ride to San Erasmus. It's way the heck out there - you'll spend 2hrs each day (1hr each way) commuting to Venice.

All the boats to San Erasmo stop at Murano along the way, so they cross wide spans of open water. If there is any wind then the boat ride can definitely be choppy. After your daily commute a gondola ride will feel like terra firma.

J62 -

Thanks for the heads-up regarding the long trip to and from San Erasmo. I had an idea that it was kind of far away, but it was the only thing I could find. Plus, we are young, don't have too much to spend, and the place we are staying at is cheap. We're only going to be there a couple of days so we'll live.

ipod_robbie -

Since the boats to San Erasmo stop in Murano on the way, do you think we should take advantage of this and hop off on that island to do a little walking around? Like I said before, we only have a short amount of time. We arrive Saturday morning (11am) and leave Sunday evening (6:30pm). Any "must sees" in that time span?

Thanks again for all the help!

Personally I think a trip to Murano is a waste of time, unless you are really looking for some unique glass items and will be spending several $100s. All the same items are avail in Venice proper for the same price.

It is a pretty setting (several islands together).

Since you will be stopping there on your way to & fro I'd say sure, stop by for a gander, just set your expectations low so anything you find or enjoy will be a bonus.

I just read the details about arriving 11am sat/departing 6:30pm Sun. I'm assuming that is by train.

In that case, I think you really, really should reconsider changing your hotel location.

If budget is really tight, consider staying in Venice Mestre (on the main land). While also not as nice as staying in Venice proper, at least it will not be 1hr+ out of your way just to get to hotel, then another 1hr back to Venice.

Here's why I say that.

Upon arrival 11am Saturday what do you plan to do? Assuming you have luggage, you'll want to go to your hotel to checkin. You won't get to your hotel before 12:30pm at earliest, after 1hr commute. Grab some lunch near hotel perhaps, you can make it back to Venice proper by 2:30 or 3.

What about Sunday? You have to checkout of your hotel. What will you do with your bags for the day? You can't leave them at the hotel - you'd have to spend 2+ hrs (all of it on boats) just to retrieve them and get back to train station.

If you stay in Venice Mestre, you simply get off the train there (instead of taking it 1 more stop to Venice S. Lucia), checkin, drop off bags - you can be in Venice proper in no time.

Sunday, you can check out, leave your bags at hotel for the day, take a 5:30 or so shuttle train (every 10-15min or so) From Venice to Mestre, get your bags in 10min and hop on your 6:30 train (which will be 6:40 out of Mestre).

Well we did the trip and stayed in S'Erasmo. It was a far ride just to get to and from our hotel/hostel, but it wasn't as bad as some of you may think. My hubby did NOT get boat sick once which was SUCH a relief!!! Thank you all for all the med suggestions and for the encouragement!

The boat ride to our hotel was actually kind of peaceful at the end of our long day on Saturday and beginning of our day Sunday. Sunday we checked out in the morning and walked around Venice with our backpacks. We're young and only had one days worth of clothes and bathroom supplies to haul around. We left the rest of our stuff in our apt in Florence.

It definitely was not enough time in Venice so hopefully we'll get to go back soon. I think at least 3 days is needed in Venice. It was just one of my very favorite cities! Thanks again for all the help/suggestions. I'm sure I'll ask more on our next weekend adventure!

It's time to bring back the classic thread "Lifejackets on Gondolas in Venice?"

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34476606