Have heard that Venice is having more than its usual share of flooding this Novemeber. Anyone been there recently? I am worried we could have difficulty getting to the airport in Venice and leaving Venice for our flight to Amsterdam to connect to our flight home. Is this a real possiblity or a silly thought? My husband thought perhaps we should skip Venice next week and see Florence instead, and go back when Venice is not under water?
Not sure how serious the flooding really is in terms of getting around the city, seeing the sights, and to and from airport....(I know the city is usually traversed in water taxis, but if the water is too high the bridges get "too low" to go under...)
We welcome any comments before we enter the non cancellation time on our hotels!
THANKS!
Laura

getting to the airport is not what represents a problem in venice. the airport is well outside the city.

the problem is with high/low tides and the occasional lunar neap tide which floods st. marks square almost always at high tide.

the last time i was in venice, the local authorities had ingeniously laid out a "ponte" of folding tables for residents and tourists alike to navigate the square from the vaporetto stop to the higher ground beyond the piazza.

it was fun!

Aqua Alta- high water is a common problem in Venice at this time of year. You won;t need to worry about airport connections- the airport is about 0.5 hour outside the city. You will probably find that it's only St Marks Square that's flooded and the duckboard walkways enable you to keep your feet dry!!

I am also planning to be in Rome and Venice for Thanksgiving week. If Piazza San Marco is flooded, are the Basilica and Doge's Palace affected? Will we still be able to take the Secret Itineraries Tour?

I guess if you haven't experienced the phenomenon of aqua alta it can sound scary. Last Jan 1 as we were leaving, the water started to rise. Our trip to the airport via water taxi took us under several bridges & we seemed mighty high but the drivers are all experienced & we made it fine. On Jan 2 when our friends were leaving, it did reach aqua alta & they did have a problem getting to the airport because the water taxi couldn't get to the arranged pick up point (they were staying near San Marco). They were helped to another location & made their flight.

The flooding is generally only around San Marco (so yes it <b>could</b> affect getting to the Doges Palace and possibly cause a cancellation of a secret itin tour.

Unless there's something really serious going on I'm unaware of, I can't imagine not going to Venice because it <b>might</b> flood. Here's a link to the weather forcast for next week

http://venice.citygo.info/venice/weather/weather.php