KayTKay

Can vaporetto tickets be purchased in advance? And if so, what web site?

Thanks so much!

mcnyc

I've never looked, but I've never had a problem walking up to the ticket booth and purchasing my tickets (both day passes and single tickets) on the day of.

leuk2

why would you buy them in advance? If you where taking a bus downtown, would you buy the ticket in advance? Buy them in Venice, I suggest the one or 3 day ticket, depending on your length of stay. You can hop on and off at your leisure.

Cjar

We purchased in advance last fall but I worry way too much. I believe I used Venice connected which I think is now http://www.veneziaunica.it/en. However, as mentioned above, it is really not necessary. The ticket machine was really easy to use. I read a lot on the website Europe for visitors and slow trav and of course Fodor's. Have a great trip.

kawh

no need to book in advance... but absolutely do pay the fee they charge for luggage... we have seen people issued tickets and 'i don't speak italian' doesn't work at all. have mostly seen this on the way back to the rail station... just when you're thinking that nobody ever checks!

NYCFoodSnob

Unfortunately, now that the online discounts are gone, there isn't much advantage to purchasing the Tourist Travel Cards in advance, unless you're the type of traveler who hates pulling out a credit card in public and hates putting a U.S. credit card into an unknown Italian machine. I haven't heard of anyone losing their credit card in one of those machines (yet), but there are plenty of machines that don't work, or offer limited transactions that do work while others don't.

I did witness several tourists trying to purchase a Travel Card, using a credit card. The machine for the line they were on was not accepting credit cards for some reason. The machines don't offer an explanation when things don't work, and there is rarely any official around who can answer questions. A tourist who followed the credit card failures in the same line had a PNR, and that same machine had no problem spitting out her card. Go figure.

If it's pouring rain and windy (and sometimes the rain is freezing cold and the winds ferocious), it's quicker and easier to do the PNR Travel Card transaction than it is to deal with the credit card procedure, especially if you want a receipt.

If Venice is struck by a sudden storm, the lines at the machines for vaporetto tickets can grow instantly insane, especially around the busy portals. You can find yourself soaking wet in line for 10-15 minutes, only to discover when you get to your machine that it won't accept credit card transactions. This happens more often than you think.

So, depending on particulars, I guess one could say there are some who would appreciate the ability to purchase their Travel Cards in advance. And yes, this is one place to do it:
http://www.veneziaunica.it/en

KayTKay

The last time we arrived in venice by train the lines to purchase the vaporetto tickets at the booths outside the train station were ridiculously long.

Unfortunately, we needed the tickets in order to ride the vaporetto to our hotel to avoid the long walk with luggage.

Hence, one reason why someone might want to purchase tickets in advance.

I realize that it might seem minor to most, but I prefer to attempt to alleviate as much line standing as possible when traveling, especially when with a group.

Thanks for all the advice.

I'll let you know how pre purchasing goes.

kawh

sounds like a good business opportunity... buy a bunch of tix and resell them at a super-high price to avoid the lines! (why is my mind so evil?)

NYCFoodSnob

<i><font color=#555555>"The last time we arrived in venice by train the lines to purchase the vaporetto tickets at the booths outside the train station were ridiculously long…Hence, one reason why someone might want to purchase tickets in advance."</font></i>

Things do change in Venice, so I could be wrong, but I don't think there are separate machines for PNR transactions only, which would be the only way to avoid a long line, if one exists. That means, if machine lines are long, you have to wait on them anyway if you pre-purchase. A PNR will not get you to your own machine or to the front of any line.

All you get when you purchase vaporetto tickets online is a PNR code. You can't board a boat with that. The machines that dispense Travel Cards to credit card/cash purchasers are the same machines that dispense pre-paid Travel Cards via a PNR code number.

KayTKay

Thanks NYC. I'm still doing my research. Obviously if that is the case it won't be worthwhile. I'm continuing to look into it.