Venice area recommendation
 

Hello everyone,

We are going to be in Venice for three nights in June. I have found several good apartments in different neighborhoods but having a hard time deciding what's the ideal location for our purpose.

I am trying to pick a place based on convenience (from airport, to train station, attractions), local/authentic charm and budget.

To give some context:

- we will be landing in venice at 9am after a long flight from US. we have two kids ages 9 and 5. I "think" will have 1 large and two medium sized bags.

- we will be taking a train on the forth day to car rental place in florence. ideally, we will start around 1pm.

Originally I was planning to stay in San Marco but there are several threads recommending Dorsoduro, Cannaregio or Castello instead. I have been relying heavily on google maps to understand how much we will have to rely on walking or public transportation but it's not helping me reach a conclusion.

Is there a map or site that makes it easier to understand public transportation options for Venice? Which area would you recommend for us?

thanks,
m

meg--

Public transportation in Venice means the Vaporetto. The website below tells all about it.

http://www.venicewelcome.com/actv/vaporetto.htm

The best place for your purposes would seem to be the one that's closest to a vaporetto stop.

Vaporetto is the only public transit within Venice. And they run through the Grand Canal plus outside channels for Venice the areas you mentioned. For that reason, you will find that the fastest way between A to B is usually by foot. You still walk a lot even if you are staying right next to a Vaporetto stop once you get there.
Be sure you understand the reasons people recommend other areas. Dorsoduro, for example, is quieter; but may not be convenient to where you want to visit with children.
Locate the points of your interest and evaluate pros and cons that go with each accommodation location.

Also with your morning arrival combined with staying an apartment usually requires a special arrangement, if offered, to check-into your apartment in the morning. If not, some places might have ad-hoc ways to store your luggage until someone can give you a key in the afternoon.

There are no less than 4 ways of getting from the airport to your accommodation, and you need to think what is going to suit your pocket and your circumstances best.

1. The easiest way is a water taxi from the airport - about €100 - will take you straight to your accommodation, wherever it is, assuming it has a nearby water-dock. you have to walk for about 5 mins with your luggage from the airport round to the doc under covered walkway.

2. if you want an easy transfer from the airport, but at a lower cost you might like to think about the Alilaguna, [a cross between a water bus and a water taxi that zooms across the lagoon from the airport to several points in the city, depending on which line you pick]. it's about €12 pp so ½ the price of the water taxi.

3. The SITA bus from the airport which takes you to the Piazzale Roma [a large bus station over th other side of the grand canal from the railway station] from where you either walk to your accommodation or get the vaporetto [water bus].

4. The ACTV bus which is [i think] now the same price as the SITA bus but stops more often on the way and doesn't have a luggage compartment underneath. it too goes to the P. Roma and you proceed as above.

As you are arriving by air, but leaving by rail, you could cut down on your transport problems [so long as you travel reasonably light] by booking accommodation reasonably near to the station - perhaps near the wonderfully named Rio Terà Lista di Spagna. you could walk there from the P. Roma when you arrive, assuming you get the bus, and it would be a very short walk back to the station when you left later in the week.

with children, one quite small, in tow, I'm not sure that I'd want to be bothering with getting them and their luggage as well as your own, on and off a vaporetto after a long flight. Time to explore the vaporetti after you've dumped your luggage and got settled.

<1 large and two medium sized bags>
<we will be taking a train on the forth day>

Taking a train with that much luggage and two kids in tow is going to be a hassle. I would figure out how to pack lighter, less.

As far as where to stay in Venice, I loved the Dorsoduro (have been to Venice only twice, stayed there both times).

Why not rent the car when leaving Venice, much easier with all that luggage and two kids.

I second the Dorsoduro. There's an Alilaguna stop at Zattere. But I also agree with greg that you should locate your sightseeing points and then decide where you want to stay.

Unless you were going to spend a couple of days seeing Florence before picking up the car, I also second HappyTrvlr's suggestion of renting the car when leaving Venice.

but you aren't carrying/dragging luggage when you are sight-seeing and the vaporettos make getting around Venice a real pleasure. Better IMO to decide on accommodation for convenience of arrival and departure, which is when the real hassles occur.

I absolutely agree that you should rent the car in Venice, at Piazzale Roma, when leaving, but only if you are not planning on staying over in Florence.

Why drag your family and luggage on to the train when you can just get in a rental car and go? You're going to have to get in the rental car when you get to Florence, anyway.

A vaporetto will take you from your Venice stay to Piazzale Roma, where you'll have to walk a little way to the car rental office.

Try to pack light. The large suitcase may not be what you want to drag around. There are really nice wheeled bags for children.

You are better off with more smaller luggage than with a huge body bag that is a PIA for anyone. Definitely pack less and assume that the 9 year old can take care of his/her own luggage (a very small wheelie). Otherwise train travel will be hell keeping track of 2 kids plus all that luggage.

Do realize that you need to board or descend from the train in only a minute (jump on as soon as it pulls in and be ready at the door with your luggage to get off the moment the train pulls in). Review the procedure with the kids so they understand the need to move quickly and stay with you at all times. A wandering child can easily cause a missed train.

i don't think that it will be necessary to be able to jump on the train in double quick time in Venice, nyt - it's the terminus so there should be plenty of time to locate the train and get on it.

Getting off of course may be a different matter but they will most probably have had time to watch what others do at intermediate stations and copy them.

I agree about packing light - there are usually ramps and lifts on and off platforms but not always and those there are can be difficult to locate. either book apartments with washing facilities or find the locations of launderettes in the places you are visiting.

We stayed at this apartment last June, its just off San Marco but very quiet. The vaporetto stop is Rialto, about 6-7 mins away, with one bridge to cross. But we took a water taxi which dropped us at the end of the alley near the apartment, barely two minutes away. Much more convenient with our bags, also cost effective since we were four of us. he location was also ideal, my mom was with us and she could come home during the hottest part of the day to rest a bit and then step out late afternoon/early evening. This might work for you with the kids. The apartment is small but convenient and perfectly suitable for a short stay. The link to the apartment is below, you can also email the owner Nina, both her husband Francesco and she were extremely nice and helpful. [email protected]
http://www.vrbo.com/369242?%0Autm_so...wnerInquiry%0A

BTW, the apartment building also has a washer/dryer in the landing which you can use.

After several trips, I would recommend Cannaregio in the north part of Venice. Main reason is that it is not soch a touristy, crowded place and it's just one vaporetto ride or a medium-longer walk from central Venice attractions which is enjoyable by itself unless on a crowded day. Second reason is that there you can see the real Italy which includes restaurants that provide also for locals and not only tourists, making a significant difference in prices. That goes for accommodation as well.

<i><font color=#555555>"Is there a map or site that makes it easier to understand public transportation options for Venice?"</font></i>

Unfortunately, there isn't. There is a learning curve to figuring out the work of Italian graphic designers. It's just the way it is. Once you figure out the madness, once your brain adapts to the mind-numbing visuals, you begin to realize the genius behind the awkward and ugly designs.

You'll be lucky to find a (decent) apartment in June that will rent to you for only 3 nights in Venice. If you find one, I'm already suspicious, unless the apartment is part of a hotel. If this is your first time to Venice, I would recommend a hotel. You simply can't underestimate the value of having desk help to assist you with any problem or question you may have.

The neighborhood you select is not as important as the precise location of the apartment and its proximity to a boat dock for the Alilagina service, a vaporetto, or a water taxi. Until you "learn" Venice, I recommend you ask about specific locations that you are considering, and those of us who know Venice well can respond.

In Venice, there's no such thing as "convenient" if you put airport, train station, and Piazza San Marco in the same sentence. Pick your priority and plan accordingly.

If you're anything like me, you'll ignore the baggage barkers who insist on telling you to travel with no bags. Silliness. Of course, you'll want to control the burdens of travel, especially when trying to find your home in Venice, but 3 bags for 4 people seems very conservative to me. I often travel alone, and I'm never without a 4-bag minimum. In Italy, naked only works if you're a statue. Happy research.

no-one here has suggested that the OP travel with no bags.

we have suggested that they try to travel light - if they followed your example, nycfoodsnob, they would have no fewer than 16 bags. [or do you allow the children to travel light[er] and only bring two each - which would make it 12 between them?]

A wheelie each and a back-pack to allow hands to be free for children/ice-creams would be ideal and eminently doable for all but the most dedicated fashionista.

No one suggested no luggage.

<i><font color=#555555>"no-one here has suggested that the OP travel with no bags."</font></i>
<i><font color=#555555>"No one suggested no luggage."</font></i>

Apparently, the two of you think literal language is the only one that exists. When it comes to education, I'd ask for my money back.

Thanks for very informative responses! Appreciate it!

Good to get a confirmation that Vaporetto is the most effective way to go from point A to point B, and then of course lot of walking. I like the suggestion of picking an area and then finding something close to the Vaporetto stop.

When I was set on finding an apartment in San Marco square (before I read that it's too crowded and no sight of any real italian life), I had narrowed down few apartments close to:
- S.Maria del Giglio
- Sant'Angelo/ La Fenice
- Campo Santa Maria Formosa

Later on, I found places near Guglie, Madonna dell'Orto Station, School of Architecture and close to Fondamenta Nove. As I said earlier, I am now all over the place :)

There are many options still available through booking.com, airbnb, vrbo etc. I had looked at hotel options too but most hotel rooms are fairly small and then usually they just put extra beds for kids - which makes it feel even smaller. When jetlagged, I figure we will be waking up at odd hours and having some extra room to walk around without disturbing everyone plus a small kitchenette will come handy.

I am open to explore the option of renting the car from Venice directly. Earlier I saw many threads warning not to do that so we were hoping to avoid getting a car as much as possible. Unfortunately, we will be leaving from Venice on Saturday and most smaller places are only open till 12:30 which is why we thought of picking it up from Florence Airport.

Given that we are going to have laundry facilities available for the most parts, we are going to travel light but with kids - we do tend to take few extra things :) By two medium size bags, I meant two cabin bags + one check-in back which is not the largest size bag available. Kids will also have their mini-bagpacks that LOVE to carry around themselves and usually we have one adult bagpack for snacks, water, book etc.