Before I order transportation and museum passes from this site for our late November trip I have a specific question about activating the PNR code.

My son age 12, husband and I will arrive at Marco Polo Airport Thursday morning Nov.25 and will depart Tuesday late morning. For us it appears the most economical transportation pass would be the 7 day. We will also purchase the civic museum pass.

Will the 7 day transportation pass work for transportation from Marco Polo to the train station stop or do we have to purchase the Alilaguna Airport transfer as well?

My older son will arrive from the Netherlands Thursday evening arriving at the Treviso airport. I understand that the Venice Connected pass does not cover this airport so we will make alternative arrangements for that. I have not researched that yet and would welcome advice on that also. He will depart Venice on Sunday the 28th so the 72 hour transportation pass makes sense for him.

We just learned that his girlfriend will join us on Friday evening to Sunday, also coming into Treviso. For her the 48 hour pass would work, I think.

Since our groups' passes will not be activated all at the same time or even on the same day can I still book them all at once? The days of the month are color coded as to mid/low season and the color code changes from Thursday to Friday.

I would greatly appreciate any thoughts on the most efficient way to go about booking this in advance.

Don't bother to pre-book the transport passes, they are easily bought at the information desk just outside the doors where you leave the airport arrivals area. Credit cards are accepted. You could buy everyone's ticket at this point, but they are also available from big vaporetto stops.

The passes cover bus travel to the Piazzale Roma where you can catch your first vaporetto, or, if you prefer, you can add travel on the Alilaguna boat from the airport to Venice, and then get the vaporetto to the stop nearest your hotel.

There are special buses from Treviso airport to Piazzale Rome scheduled to coincide with flights.

I wish I were doing this right now!

I believe the Alilaguna has to be purchased separetely.

Thanks, I thought perhaps there was a savings to book in advance but if they are the same price at the airpot we can pick them up there. The Alilaguna boat is an additional $30 per person so I'm not sure we'd opt for that but I'm glad to know that we don't have to make that decision in advance.

I wish there were a quicker way to get #1 son to Venice from Treviso. It says the bus takes 1 1/2 hours with a stop in Mestre. Would a sharing and splitting the cost of a cab be possible?

There are two buses from the airport to Piazzale Roma.

-ACTV local orange bus that is part of the transit system covered by your pass. You must manage your luggage yourself--no place to store it. This bus makes stops along the way.

-ATVO blue express coach bus that is a separate fare— 3 euro per person. There is luggage storage beneath and no extra stops, so the trip is a bit quicker and more comfortable.

http://www.atvo.it/index.php?lang=en&area=23&menuid=35

<<Will the 7 day transportation pass work for transportation from Marco Polo to the train station stop or do we have to purchase the Alilaguna Airport transfer as well?>>

It will work for the no.5 bus from the airport to P. Roma. You can then use the pass again to take a vaporetto to the closest stop near your hotel. If you do not wish to take the bus, you can purchase in advance a separate discounted ticket for the Alilaguna transport.

<<Since our groups' passes will not be activated all at the same time or even on the same day can I still book them all at once? The days of the month are color coded as to mid/low season and the color code changes from Thursday to Friday.>>

You need to book them based on the day they will begin to use the pass. This may require separate transactions (although, I've not done this). Activation begins when you convert the PNR for the pass. The color codes relate to the discounted price you pay when paying in advance for the day the pass is to begin. It is a nice savings and worth the advance purchase.

This link to the Venice Connected website provides more details-

http://www.veniceconnected.com/how-u...ervices-venice

this link will provide lots of information-

There IS a discount for pre-purchase of your Venice Connected Pass, quinnsmom. And that discount depends on how soon you do the transactions, so get hopping .

I'd do separate transactions per arrival party. Everything is by an email link anyway, so it's not as though you are going to have to snail mail stuff to each other.

RE TRANSPORT WITH PASS FROM AIRPORT: Last late summer, I made the decision that I would NOT use the Alilaguna water transport from the airport (at that time 25 E both ways with a potential 23.75E discounted price) but I WOULD pay extra 3E (at that time) for the ACTV Blue Bus (direct airport service) to Piazzale Roma and then the vaporetto transfer to Rialto.

Well, we ended up taking the regular city 5D bus into Piazzale Roma because I was browbeaten by a frugal Venice Connected clerk (God Bless Her!) When I picked up our passes at the Venice Connected desk, I asked the clerk where to get the Blue Bus and its tickets. She said sternly, "You are crazy to take that this time of day. There's more than enough room for you to sit right now, there will not be that many stops, and it's free with your pass." So we meekly boarded the 5D bus (we also could have taken the 5), placed our luggage in the little luggage corral, and took our seats. In 20 minutes we were there. I'd say we only stopped four times. (Note: airport our return via the 5D was more crowded and had more stops, but considering I didn't have to pay one more dime, it was worth the hassle.)

Thank you very much folks, that is helpful info! I will book the transportation and museum passes in advance and in 2 separate transactions...those of us arriving on Thursday in one transaction and my son's gf, arriving on Friday separately.

Quinnsmom:

I just ordered my passes online from VeniceConnected for Thanksgiving weekend. Have the PNR and will pick up tickets at the automated machines at the airport.

Weekender,
I just did the same thing and also ordered our civic museum passes at the same time, as well.

Quinnsmom:

Don't be all jealous about my €5 toilet pass...

What is 5D? When we arrive Marco Polo to go to P.le Roma, do we look for #5 only, or any bus #5 with a letter added?

"Don't be all jealous about my €5 toilet pass..."

Ha! We're living dangerously and skipping the toilet pass. I figure if I really have to go badly we'll duck into a place and order a €30 Bellini. Then I'll feel like I got a discount on the drink.

Don't be all jealous about my €5 toilet pass...>>

one time I went to Venice i was singing with a choir which was performing in a church where there were no loos. I almost lived in the toilets at the back of the campo san Bartolomeo. they started to look at me funny.

on a later trip, we stayed nearby, and I noticed that they were stamping people's toilet passes, I suppose to stop them being used too often.

Definitely try to use the facilities whenever you get a coffee or a meal.

I still have most of the toilet cards I ordered via Venice Connected--but I am using them as an excuse to return to Venice. Similar to your Bellini strategy.

Quinnsmom:

Allrighty then...I will be on the lookout for an American woman wearing Land's End boots drinking Bellinis at Harry's Bar. I may let you use my pass if you buy me a drink.

"Allrighty then...I will be on the lookout for an American woman wearing Land's End boots drinking Bellinis at Harry's Bar. I may let you use my pass if you buy me a drink"


Done! And sure I'll be the very first American to sit there listening to American show tunes in rubber boots that I probably don't need watching her kids feed the pigeons while drinking a fantastically overpriced, too sweet adult beverage just to say she's been there, done that and have it really and truly be one of the most special, wonderful, lump in her throat moments in her adult life.

Hey but they give you a little cup of potato chips and a couple of olives, too. All that plus the loo and the drink is practically free.

If the weather is good ( no rain or fog), I would spend the money and take a water taxi from airport to hotel. It is a magical trip. Then economize and return to the airport via bus.

I agree Richard, we did hire a private water taxi when we arrived on our first visit a few years ago but we arrived by train so it wasn't too, too expensive. That first glimpse of the Grand Canal was beyond anything I could have imagined. If we are exhausted after the flight we might reconsider.

Sorry, Dayenu--I didn't see your question. Buses will be practically in front of the Marco Polo arrivals exit. If you are picking up your Venice Connected passes, the desk clerk will tell you where it is (BTW,if you aren't using a VC pass, I believe there are ticket machines in the hall).

Once you have your ticket or pass, exit the terminal, and cross a road to another sidewalk in front of the terminal. Buses are lined up across the length of it. Look for "ACTV" signs on the stops and on the sides, etc of buses. Then look for the route number (5 or 5D), which will show on the LED display on the front of the bus.

Enter through the front, validating your ticket/pass on the electronic reader (watch to see how others do it). Your luggage goes toward the middle of the bus in a little luggage corral.

"ATVO" buses are different, and I had originally planned to use this option until the VC pass desk clerk shamed me into the ACTV bus (and given that the ACTV bus was barely full at our arrival hour, she was right). ATVO cost extra, are non-stop, and have room for luggage storage underneath. They used to be blue but apparently have changed to some sort of green. If you choose to pay just a bit extra for this bus, make sure it says "Venezia" on the front because there is an ATVO bus to Trevisio airport.

Both ATVO and ACTV buses end up at the Piazzale Roma, where you disembark and then head for the vaporettos. Tip: Notice where the bus parks whan you arrive at the Piazzale Roma--it will make departure day MUCH less confusing.

I totally understand why people would shell out for a water taxi, especially if one's hotel has a specific dock, which our hotel certainly did. If we had been a party of four instead of a party of two, I probably (again, given that the taxi would pull right up to the door of the hotel) would have put it in the budget. But comparing the per person of the bus to that of the water taxi, my teenage daughter shook her head: "Mom, that's a senseless waste of good wine money."