Lilly

Where do you purchase the 3-day individual pass for the vaporettos? Can you purchase it in the train station as you arrive in Venice or is there another location that you purchase it at?

Patrick

It's very easy to purchase right in the train station upon arrival. One of the best bargains in Venice! Since a lot of people stay for three nights, be aware that the pass is actually good for up to four "days" or at least three 24 hours periods. If you buy the pass at noon on Monday it is good until noon on Thursday, even though that is the "fourth" day.

Jim

Youmight want to do a quick cost benefit analysis of the price of a pass versus individual tickets. We just returned from three days in Venice, and only rode the Vaporetto three times, from the Stazione to the hotel, round trip on the #82, and hotel to the Stazione. Venice is very walkable and getting away from the vaparetto stops is the best part. Check out the P. Margharetta, it was just like something out of Fellini movie.

Patrick

Jim is, of course, right if you only plan to stay in the central area. On the other hand if you are planning to go to Burano, Murano, Lido, etc. the pass includes all that.

M & J

3 day pass. We recently returned from Venice. We bought that three day pass and loved it. Walk out of the train station to the kiosh by the grand canal. Simply ask for the three day pass and the price is posted.\<BR>Enjoy Venice. The city of magic and dreams.

Maurice

I second (third?) that! Buy the passes.<BR>Yes, the kiosk at the dock on the grand canal beside the train station sells them. 35000L (What's that now? 35E?)<BR>The main reason is convenience. DO you really want to go digging for change every time you catch the boat?<BR>I wonder if the money and finding change is easier now that the Euro is in use? I always found myself with a ton of 1000L or nothing smaller than a 50000L. (Darn bank machines!). It's fun to just hop on - hop off wherever you wnat.

sarah

Hi Lilly,<BR><BR>I have an even better suggestion. When we were there a few months ago, the vaporetto conductors never even asked for our tickets. If they do, and you don't have one, there is a big fine. So you can actually by a one-day or single pass per person, and provide it when asked. Especially if you are not going to use it much. On our trip to Murano, nobody asked for our tickets (we purchased the 3 day pass anyway, not knowing about the infrequency with which the tickets are checked onboard).<BR><BR>You can buy some pretty Venetian trinkets with the saved money, and you'll still be contributing to the economy!

Karen

I don't want to to come off sounding dishonest, but in Rome we bought bus passes for every route and were never asked for tickets. No one was validating them in the yellow boxes either. They just walked on the bus and no one cared, especially the bus driver. I think these people have decided to take their chances for the once in a blue moon check. The exact was true in Venice. We bought a three day pass and did't validate it until the end of the second day.We kept forgetting. Again, we never saw anyone with a pass, validating them or paying any money at all. This was also true in Florence. I don't know what the deal is but I almost felt foolish spending 18E for each pass in Venice.

Phil

Sarah, Karen:<BR><BR>You *are* dishonest. In much of Europe, public transport works (quite efficiently) on an honour system. The reason you rarely have seen anyone punching their tickets is that most residents use season tickets.<BR><BR>Please pay your fare.<BR><BR>Phil.

second

for respecting the honour system. It serves everyone's interests - the regular working stiffs who use public transport (should they also pay the tourist's share?) and our own - if abuse occurs, they'll start having regular checks, which will add significantly to the cost of tickets. Pay up - if we can afford the plane fare, we can afford to help maintain the resources that we use.

elaine

some friends of mine went to Venice last year with their kids. They boarded the vaporetto without tickets, the man telling his family that he'd heard that if you're smart you can ride without having to buy a ticket. BTW, he's an attorney.<BR>one minute after they boarded the ticket collector asked for their tickets, and imposed a large fine because they didn't have any. A yelling session ensued, but eventually they had to pay up.<BR>Nice lesson for the kids, in more ways than one,I thought.

Getting over

Just got back from a trip to Italy - it was great and SO cheap. For example, I saw a great purse in Florence and since the shopkeeper wasn't paying attention, I just took it. I love it. Then I went into a church to see the great sights, and the lady at the desk didn't notice I hadn't paid yet. I was able to see everything for free. I figure I bought gelato outside the church, so I still contributed to the local economy, right?<BR>Then, at dinner, our waiter completely forgot to include the wine on our tab. We didn't say anything and he never charged us. Cool! I just love Italy.

Tom

Always amused me to see the scofflaws rush to the front of the vaporettos whenever the guys started asking for tickets. <BR>Similar incident in Cinque Terre when the conductor asked someone for a train ticket - it was a stampede to get away from that guy. <BR><BR>I'd recommend just buying your tickets and validating them properly - it's not worth the hassle of playing hide and seek with the conductors.

J. J. Rodriguez

Is there such a thing as a 2-day vaporetto pass?

Joanne

What a shame! It's okay to cheat on tests in school. Succeed at any cost, right? Now it's okay not to buy tickets for public transportation in Europe. With the money saved you can buy trinkets. That's terrific!<BR><BR>We went to Venice in May this year and on our first vaporetto ride our tickets were checked. Likewise on our train from Venice to Milan a conductor came through and checked tickets. We had ours. No checks on buses in Rome, but we had tickets. Doesn't make us saints, but at least we're honest.<BR><BR>j

x

JJ - not sure, but I recall there was something between a 1 and 3 day pass - maybe a 36 hour pass? You might do a search online under Venice and vaporetto.

snorkelman

a 24-hour vaporetto pass which will cost 9,30 Euro (for 72 hours it will cost 18.08 Euro and a 7-day pass costs 31 Euro). Just remember to validate it the first time you use it (There are little machines at each vaporetto stop) and the passes can be purchased at vaporetto ticket offices as well as Tabacs/ newsagents. Try to sit at the front of the vaporetto to get a good view. If it is crowded, you will probably be stuck in the middle.

elaine

when you validate your pass, take a look at the stamp on it and make sure it starts with the correct day.<BR>You will need to know the names of the days of the week in Italian.<BR><BR>I mention this because the last time I bought a 3-day pass, we bought them on a Sunday, but we didn't realize until later that the stamp printed "VE", which stands for venerdi, Friday, falsely indicating that we'd started using them on the past Friday. When we tried to use the passes on Tuesday, they were refused as having expired.