We are considering a hotel in Lido, Venice during our 4-night stay in September. The site and traveller comments say that it is a 5 min. walk to the vaporetto station and 10 min. ride to the City Centre. Before we make a reservation, we want to be sure it is as easy and convenient to get back and forth, especially at night.

I always stay in the Lido because usually things cost much cheaper and you get a better hotel for the price - yews it is only a 15 min or so boat ride to San Marco but at night they go less frequently but I found it no problem - but if the savings are not huge then stay in Venice proper. But it ain't in the boon docks as some will say - you will have to buy a boat pass each day however (two one-ways make cost more than a day's pass but many staying in Venice proper also buy boat passes for the day as a few trips can cost more than a pass and a pass can take you to Murano, Burano, Torcello, etc. Islands each different and awesome for their own reasons.

I suppose if your budget doesn't allow for a Venice accommodation or you prefer a posher room to being IN Venice then ok. Personally, I cannot imagine not being in Venice proper. To me it's rather the whole point in staying instead of day tripping. I've been to Lido, there's nothing wrong with it aside from the location.

Personally, I cannot imagine not being in Venice proper.>

I see your point but if staying in the Lido means I can afford to stay in Venice I'll take the Lido to be able to stay in Venice - greater Venice that is? Anyone will enough euros in their budget would be better off in Venice proper - except perhaps folks who are driving - there are cars on the Lido last I knew and hotels with parking.

PalenQ. all true, we agree.

We took a vaporetto to Lido just to see the place....liked it very much
It has a very deferent feel than Venice, and yes there is a ride to" town"
but I would consider staying there ..
After the huge crowds in town, Lido seemed relaxing and charming.
Also, a good connection to and from the airport .

I think that so long as you are happy getting the vaporetto at night, it should be fine.

far better than Mestre, for example.

We thought the Lido was just fine and not because of the money. The vaporetto ride was enjoyable. The beach was nice. For us it was 5 minutes at most to the dock and (I agree) 15 minutes to Venice, not 10.

Thank you all for the comments. This is not a budget consideration for us. Lido sounded nice and off the beaten path. My husband and I like to roam the city but don't feel the need to be in the "thick" of it. And I found a hotel that sounded very nice, great reviews, and seemed to be in a convenient location to the vaporetto. It sounds like there are pros and cons to staying in Venice vs Lido.

What hotel are you looking at in Lido? We stayed there several years ago. It was fine, but if I were going to Venice again, I would stay in the city. The vaporetto was not much of a ride from Lido, but quite crowded. And the restaurants/beach on Lido were only OK, nothing special.

If it is not a budget consideration, I would definitely stay in Venice proper. We stayed in Lido on our first trip to Venice after college and wished the entire time that we were staying in Venice. On each successive trip we have stayed in Venice itself.

I think regardless of where you stay there are some "thick" of things you might want to consider doing. One is San Marco; if you don't want to be there during the day then go in the early evening (provided you can still get transportation back to the Lido). I think you'll realize why so many people think this is an almost "magical" place.

The Lido has cars. The real experience is staying in Venice proper without the noise of cars or trucks or vespas, just the lapping of the water in the canals. If you can afford real Venice, don't cheat yourself. Just find a hotel away from tourist central, specifically away from Piazza San Marco and the Rialto bridge. Then you'll be IN Venice in the mornings and evenings before the daytrippers descend.

The Lido is like a lot of places in Italy, Venice is unique in the world.

If it's not a budget consideration, then the only reason to stay on the Lido is to visit friends/family, or to be near a beach.

The Venetians love their Lido, but most have never experienced the Hampton's. The beauty of a sandy beach is all relative.

Venice has tons of charming, off-the-beaten track places to stay. Why wouldn't you want to step outside and have the real Venice right at your toes? Why on earth would you want to invite a need for public transport schedules? I don't get the op's query.

Hi, TeriLS, I too would vote for staying in Venice proper. Hub and I visited the Lido on one of our trips. The beach and casino are there for summer so that might be for you.

But the magic and mystery of Venice is best experienced by being there. It was more than a 10-minute trip for us also and, on the way back, we inadvertently got a commuter Vap and ended up going some non-Venice parking place first and it took almost an hour!

If weather is stormy, it might not be the most pleasant Vap ride either.

we stayed in Sant Elena...just enough away from the crowds, but closer to town than Lido.
We could walk to SM or take a vaporetto for a couple of stops.
The place is calm and green.. We would stay there again.

p.s.
it was Best Western hotel on St. Elena.
When we were consider it, some posters said we should stay more central, but
we were extremely pleased with the hotel and the soroundings..

If budget isn't a consideration, there are plenty of pleasant, off-track places to stay in Venice. I like the Dorsoduro area, myself.

There's nothing wrong with staying on the Lido, but I prefer a pleasant stroll back to my accommodation at night vs. the vaporetto. Another consideration: With a somewhat centrally located accommodation, you can stop back midday for a break. That's generally inconvenient if you're on the Lido.

If you aren't doing it to save money, I would absolutely stay in Venice, not out on the Lido.

Time will depend on a couple of things.

The boats don;t leave every moment - you may have to wait for 30 minutes to get one.

The congress center is on the Lido. If there is a congress when you are there, there will be hoards of people trying to get on every boat and you may have to wait 2 or 3 boats before one has room.

I would not stay there since I want to be in the center at night. But check the schedule of the congress center before booking a hotel there.