Can anyone comment on the availabilty and differences between the Venice Card (Blue/Orange) and the Carta Venezia which costs 40 euros for people from outside the Veneto region. I will be coming from outside Europe and intend to stay in Venice for 9 days. Any clarity on the subject much appreciated!

For nine days, the Carta Venezia might be a good deal for you. You will need a passport size picture. You'll then pay 1 E for vaporetto and only 50 cents for traghetto.

I've been puzzling over the Blue and Orange cards for us, but for seven days, and one spent out of the city going on a day trip, I'm not sure it is worth it.

In March 06, we stayed for 4 days, and maybe took 2 or 3 vaporetto trips, and one traghetto. We mostly walked.

I've been adding and adding, and I think it is important to us to figure out just how much we might use the cards. So far, I'm stumped. I think I need a caculator and daily plan to figure this out.

That's exactly my problem too. How much will I use it? The Carta Venezia is a smaller initial outlay if it is available to "short stayers"! Either way the thought of not having to queue is a big turn on!

Wella, do you mean queing to buy tickets each time? Won't that limit us (pardon my inclusiveness; I've been working on this today, too) to the Orange or Blu card?

The darn website was down today for the Orange and Blu cards. But if the included discounts and other benefits are enough, I think I'm leaning that way. I'm going to check the site again.

Anybody else out there with thoughts on this?

Ok,I'm bumping us up but this isn't looking to be a popular topic.

Wella, if you're still reading, the Orange and Blu Venice Card site is back up and working.

I did sit and add up some numbers, and I think that because of the discounts available for so many of the places we are planning on visiting, that we will buy the Blu card.

My hope is that we can get it at the airport, so it will cover our ACTV bus ride to Piazzale Roma, where we must go to pick up our apartment keys.

And it will be kind of fun to walk on boats and not worry about tickets.

There are dozens of discounts with the card. Also, I added up proposed vaporetto journeys, and came up with about 10, which would more than cover the cost of the week's pass.