I know there have been other strings on this subject; I've looked. However, none are recent.

We will be in Venice for 6 days beginning Sept 21, dropping off car at airport at 1:00PM. Trouble for me with the transport card is that there is a 3 day and a 7 day. Not sure how much we will need to use the vaporetti in 6 days. And I see that there is also a separate airport transfer card.

I've gone to the Hello Venice site. But there is also a Venice Connected site: www.veniceconnected.com On the Venice Connected site it has different prices for different times of the year. For our arrival the 72 hour transport card is 28.05 Euro on Venice Connected (buy on-line). Not sure about Hello Venice. Does that sound like a good price?

Of course, since we will be there for 6 days we're thinking of perhaps waiting until we get there to see how much we use the vaporetti. If we think we're really in need of it we would purchase the transport card then. However, it will cost more money that way.

OK. I'm stumped. Any advice? (Don't get me started on the Culture Card!)

Others have purchased their transport cards from the "Venice Connected" site at the discounted rate but I chose not to and I'm glad I did. Although I would've loved the discounted rate, I didn't like that the hours started on the day you designate to pick it up (whether you pick it up on that day or not). So, if I chose to pick it up upon arrival and my flight was somehow delayed, then it didn't matter because the clock was already ticking.

Our plan was to purchase the 72 hour pass but in the end, we only got a 24 hour pass on our last day. We really enjoyed walking around the quaint little streets and taking our time getting around.

It appears that the price for the 72 hr pass has gone up from the 25euros I paid 2 years ago. It appears to now be 33euros.

http://www.actv.it/english/navigazio...iffe_vaporetto

Never used the site so cannot say. If nervous, I would just purchase upon arrival. Have you thought of the Venice Card? It provides transport from the airport and unlimited travel on all public transport.

When I was there four years ago, it also covered use of public toilets, something to be considered.

We were there last fall. We purchased the 3 day ticket. You can go to the different islands, Murano, Burano. We always seem to use the vaporetto - so convenient to hop on and off.

Kenav, Not saying you should do it but when we were in Venice last time around (2002), it never dawned on me to buy a vaporetti card for the first 36 hours (I was very tired and it was well before I got introduced to this forum)!! I did buy a seven day card after that but in my nine days using the vaporetti, I was never once asked for it. In your shoes, I would consier buying two three day cards just in case you find yourself doing something away from Venice during one or more of the days.

We bought 7 day passes through Venice Connected last April at 37.50€ each. Even though we were going to be in Venice only five days, it was the better alternative for us. We had been to Venice before and knew we were going to use the vaporetto a lot. Single tickets are very expensive. By buying them throught their web page, we got a lower price. At that time, it would have been 50€ ea. for the 7 day pass if bought locally. We picked the tickets in their office at Tronchetto.
Even though we were never asked for our tickets, we had to scan them every time we used the vaporetto.
You buy the tickets from Venice Connected, not Hello Venice.

Any particular reason you are returning the car at Venice airport? I'd recommend you seek to change that to Piazzale Roma, right in Venice.

The Venice card is now the Venice Connected card. You pay according to when you are going to use it which could vary from week to week, but also from day to day! (Weekends are high time.)

Not sure which of the museums we will be going to yet, thus not sure if the "culture" type of card is worth it for us. I see that the museum card which is 18 Euros covers:
Doge's Palace
Museo Correr
Museo Archeologico Nazionale
Monumental Rooms of the Biblioteca Nazionale Marciana
Ca' Rezzonico - Museum of 18th-Century Art
Museum of Palazzo Mocenigo
Carlo Goldoni's House
Ca' Pesaro, Internazional Gallery of Modern Art + Oriental Art Museum
Glass Museum - Murano
Lace Museum - Burano *


I went to a site europeforvisitors.com/venice/articles/venice-connected.htm which advised:

"Unless you want to plan every detail of your visit ahead of time, you'll find it easier to simply buy a 12-hour to 7-day "tourist travel card" from any ACTV ticket office or vaporetto ticket booth. This card, which looks like a standard vaporetto ticket, will give you unlimited public transportation on boats in the Venice Lagoon, and you can pay for museums and public toilets as needed."

J62 - We already reserved the car for pick up at Marco Polo airport and return there. Perhaps we can change it to return to Piazzale Roma (for same amount of money??) Do you suggest we do this because it is a quicker way to get to our hotel (central Venice), and also cheaper than the transport we would have to take to go from the airport to central Venice?

Anyone else?

Yes, that's why I recommend you return the car in central Venice at Piazzale Roma.

Regarding vaporetto passes, in my experience your usage in the 1st few days will greatly depend on where your hotel is located. If it is walking distance to St Mark's/Ponte Rialto areas then you're more likely to walk everywhere you want to go for at least the 1st few days.

(1) Thanks J62.

(2) As for the "culture card" - we've looked at what it covers an are still not sure we are going to buy it.

Any suggestions about what you thought were the best of the sites you went to in Venice? A mix of churches, palazzos and museums?

I answered a similar question about vaporetti a few days ago. You can see all of Venice on foot. I think it is as tiring, in most cases, to walk to a vaporetto stop (getting lost on the way) , get the right vaporetto, get off at the right stop and walk to your hotel (getting lost on the way), or wherever, as to walk to your destination (getting lost on the way) in the first place.
I think that the 24 hour ticket is a waste of 2€. If you get a 12 hour ticket and validate it at 9 a.m. and use it till 9 p.m., are you really likely to use it later that night or before 9 a.m. the next morning? Take a cruise along the GC from one end to the other (Ferrovia - San Marco) in the morning, take another vaporetto from San Zaccaria to Fondamente Nove, 'do' Murano, Burano (Torcello - not really much to see, though the mosaics in the cathedral are splendid), San Giorgio Maggiore - go up its Campanile - much better view than from San Marco's, and cheaper, and less queuing, Giudecca, then take the vaporetto back along the GC in the opposite direction as night falls.

Bert4545 -

Thanks for your opinion. I think we will NOT get the vaporetti card - at least in advance as we don't know really how much we are going to use it. However, the single ride is pricey. So maybe we'll do that 12 hour suggestion/itinerary you gave.

Another question - on the "Venice Connected" site (and Aliliguna) there is "returning ticket" for Marco Polo to Venice. This means round trip, (airport-Venice-airport) correct?