Hi Fodorites. I have been studying the posts on getting to Marco Polo for our flight home at 10am on November 11. I would plan on doing the bus from Piazzale Roma or the Alilaguna. BUT - what if the water is high that morning as a result of acqua alta? How will we get from our hotel to the Piazzale Roma? Are there times when the Vaporetto will not run? or times when the Alilaguna will not go because of flooding? Will the water taxis go if the water is high? If the high water can be a problem, should it dictate where we choose our hotel? Should we try to stay near (walking distance?) to the Piazzale Roma for that reason? Your good advice would be much appreciated.

Acqua alta causes problems on the smaller side canals and in the walkways of the city. the vaporetti and Alilaguna boats still run, since they stick to the Grand Canal and other main canals that have high bridges. A private water taxi may find it difficult to reach your actual hotel during acqua alta depending on its location because a low bridge made the route impassable or the hotel water door was inaccessible.

Passarelle (raised walkways) a set up on the streets and even onto the stationary docks to reach the floating vaporetto landings. You can get a glimpse of this on my brief video called "Rialto" at my Shuterfly site.

http://ellenem.shutterfly.com/

Thanks Ellenem. I enjoyed your photography. I understand Italy is a photographers paradise, and I am looking forward to it. Where did you stay in Venice? It sounds like selecting a hotel along one of the main canals might be the way to go. And on other threads, Zeppole has recommended NOT staying in San Marco area that time of year, because that is the lowest part. Kind of too bad, because it might not be so crowded with tourists then.

The video was from a trip at the end of November in 2007. For that visit, we stayed at Hotel al Ponte Mocenigo near San Stae. Selecting a hotel along a main canal is NOT necessarily the way to go--the choice can be hit or miss, depending on the property. We passed some hotels along the Grand Canal that were obviously below the water level at acqua alta. The problem is this: "ground level" in Venice, both inside and outside buildings, varies from area to area and building to building.

On the morning we experienced our deepest acqua alta, our hotel was fine, though we could see that the water covered five more steps at the water door than the day before--four more steps and we may have been in trouble. The pavement in front of the building next door was under six inches of water.

Our hotelier was monitoring the sidewalk on the opposite side of the canal and made statements like, "We are at 120 cm [above sea level] while over there is 110 cm." If I remember correctly, San Marco is at about 65 cm. If there is acqua alta, San Marco gets it first. Even with acqua alta, San Marco is crowded with tourists--perhaps moreso because they are photographing the flooding and restricted to walking in the arcades and passarelle by the water n the piazza.

During acqua alta, we rode the vaporetto from San Stae to San Zaccaria, the stop near San Marco. We walked off the boat onto the floating landing. From the floating landing, we walked across passarelle since an inch of water was washing across the stationary dock. This connected to more passarelle since there was four inches of water in front of the Doge's Palace. The entire Piazza San Marco was under 4-7 inches of water, the depth varying with the undulations of the piazza.

For all of this, unless there are the truly extreme conditions of last year, the acqua alta is tidal and recedes in a few hours.

Thanks for the detailed explanation. I tried to book a room at the hotel you stayed in, but the booking sites say there are no rooms available when I am going to be in Venice. Hard to believe they are full. Perhaps I will try contacting the hotel directly.

Hi nancythenice,

Here are some other choices for your visit to Venice-

Apartments (usually a 3 night minimum)-

http://www.palazzofoscarini.com/

http://www.cortetiepolo.com/eng/appart.php

Or, some of my favorite hotels, all in great locations-

http://www.lacalcina.com/ (the vaporetto leaves from right in front of the hotel to P. Roma- no high water issues)

http://www.pensioneaccademia.it/ (an easy 5 minute walk to the nearest vaporetto stop)

http://www.locanda-sanbarnaba.com/default.htm (another easy 5 minute walk to the vaporetto)

http://www.caangeli.it/eng/caangeli.html


I have found taking the bus from P. Roma to the airport to be very easy and quick (15-20 minutes). I have stayed at the first apartment four times, which is in a great location, and walked in 10 minutes to P. Roma.

You need to be at the airport an hour and a half before your flight. The airport is modern, small and easy to navigate.

Enjoy your trip!

Thanks so much for the information and suggestions. Looking at the map, its hard to realize how close things are to one another. I actually have a proposal from lacalcina. If it provides good access to the P. Roma for our morning flight, perhaps I will confirm that booking.

Hotel al Ponte Mocenigo is popular and has only 14 rooms. I've always booked directly through their web site. If you have the option for La Calcina, I'd take it. I love that location on Zatterre, which is also right next to an Alilaguna stop.

Zoecat and ellenem - now I have a hard choice. The apartment recommended by Zoecat, Pallazo Foscarini is available ( what a quick response from my inquiry!) and would provide comfortable space for my adult son and myself. We are staying in an apartment in Rome, and it allows us to sleep in separate rooms. On the other hand, neither he nor I have ever been to Venice, and our stay is rather short. So the idea of having a hotel, with people at the desk to advise us and assist us is attractive. We could book two single rooms at La Calcina, which would give us the preferred privacy, but it would be a little more expensive (80 E for the total stay)and I doubt those are the "nice" rooms.Can you help me decide? Which is best for first time, two days, three nights in Venice in November?

And now even a greater set of choices - The Ponte Mocenigo has replied that they have a variety of rooms at good prices. We can get two singles for a total of 141 E per night. What to choose?

Thought I would give this another try - I am finding lots of availability in Venice for the time we will be there -
Nov. 8-11 - so would like more help on the area to choose. It is our first trip, and will be a short one, so I am concerned that the apartment recommended by Zoecat, which is near St. Margharite (sp?)and the Ponte Mocenigo may be a bit remote. Perhaps we should stay closer to St. Marks, even though more money for less room. Zoecat - would love to know why you enjoy this apartment. It looks gorgeous - but why this location? Is it good for first timers on a short visit? thanks so much for any help.

Nothing is that remote in Venice. One could walk from the train station to Piazza San Marco in 40 minutes. Campo Santa Margherita is a great area for restaurants yet not on top of the hubbub around San Marco. Hotel al Ponte Mocenigo is less than a minute from a vaporetto stop and a 5-7 minute walk from Ponte Rialto, one of the busiest, most visited areas of Venice, but removed from the main tourist route so it is relatively quiet. For me, first-timers (and any visitors to Venice) should avoid Venice Mestre or Venice Lido--anyplace in Venice porper would be better.

Ellenem said it well. The apartment is not remote and in a wonderful area. I personally do not like staying too close to San Marco- it's just too crowded with tourists.

I like staying in the apartment because it is so beautiful and has a nice, small balcony. It is great to be able to prepare some meals and beverages when you don't feel like going out (and less expensive). The apartment also allows more space to relax.

La Calcina is in the same general area and a terrific hotel. It's also easy to get to. You can take the vaporetto, which leaves from right outside of the hotel, directly to P. Roma without having to make a change.

I also like the location of Al Ponte Moncenigo, though I have never stayed there. It is very close to one of my favorite restaurants in Venice- La Zucca. Be sure to eat there!

http://www.lazucca.it/ita/index.asp?L=2

For first timers on a short visit you may find you will not be spending much time in your hotel or apartment. Perhaps the hotel would be best.

Nancythenice - we stayed at La Calcina last year (in November) and loved it. Going back this coming November - we actually leave for Venice four months from today.

Regarding the acqua alta and the vaporetti and Alilaguna boats - we didn't have a problem walking around Venice during the acqua alta. But some of the vaporetti were not running. We were told that the water was too high, making it impossible to get to some of the stops. And some of the lines were rerouted. The #2 which stops right at the Zattere wasn't running from that stop. We had to go over to the Accadamia stop on the Grand Canal. Also, we took a vaporetto to Lido so that we could connect with another one headed to Burano. But that connecting vaporetto never got there due to the acqua alta. We would up just going back to Venice and taking the direct vaporetto over to Burano later in the afternoon.

Since the tide had gone down by the day we left for the airport, I can't answer the question about whether or not the Alilaguna boat that stops right at the Zattere (right by La Calcina) would be running or not. I have the same question since we are hoping to take that means of transportation to the airport this November. Hope someone else here can answer it for both of us!

A web site that may be of use:

http://venicexplorer.net/venice_weather.php?hlangs=en

Dorsoduro is less prone to acqua alta than San Marco, and remember that the "flooding" is actually tidal, so it recedes pretty quickly.

If your stay in Venice is November 8-11, your chances of encountering acqua alta are almost nil. The full moon will be on November 2nd at 9:40 am, and the new moon will be on November 16th at 10:45 am. The chance of acqua alta will be highest on November 1-3 and November 15-17.

Of course, if there is a lot of rain and some wind to drive it in the right direction, there can be minor flooding in the lowest areas at any high tide. The highest tide measurements November 8-11 will occur during the very early morning hours (4:40, 5:50, 6:45 am) and at 1:10 pm on November 8th.

Here are the tide charts through 2009:

http://www.comune.venezia.it/flex/cm.../IDPagina/1847

Thanks so much Jean. What great information. I won't worry about it anymore. It also sounds like most hotels do a good job of helping people, should the issue arise. I am finding a really good selection of places to stay for those dates, at decent prices. Guess the rainy season has its benefits.

nancythenice, when we were there last October, there was acqua alta on a relatively minor scale one morning. We actually skipped breakfast so we could see what it was like and take some pictures. For us, it was part of experiencing Venice.

Have a great trip!