Venice Lido
 

I made reservations for us to stay at the Hotel Des Bains in Venice. After I made these reservations, I found out that the hotel is not in the main section of Venice - we have to take a boat over. Is anyone familiar with Venice Lido? Will this be a hassle for us to get back and forth to where all the action is?

Hi
your hotel is famous, even mentioned in the Thomas Mann story "Death in Venice."

Hassle is up to the individual. Some people like being away from the hustle and bustle of the main part of Venice, esp in high season. My personal opinion is that I like central locations because I like being able to walk back to my hotel spontaneously to drop off packages or pick up a sweater or just relax for a half hour.

I also like the idea of strolling around the main part of Venice in the evening when the crowds are gone, and not having to think about getting a boat back to the hotel.

Another advantage of your hotel is that you will have a beach!

Hi donna,

The vaporetto schedules are found at http://www.actv.it/eng/home.php.

It takes 15 min to go from Lido to San Zaccharia (St Mark's Sq)

It is possible that the des Bains runs its own boat service to and from. Do you know?

ACTV runs several routes from the Lido to the old city, including the no.1 which goes every ten minutes via San Marco and up the Grand Canal to the railway station and Piazzale Roma. There is a night boat service to the Lido, so you're never going to be stranded. It's easiest to buy a 24-ticket or a 3-day ticket which allows unlimited travel on the ACTV services.

Geoff - have any idea what the cost of the ticket would be? I went to the vaporetto website given here - but I don't understand it : ( I have also sent an email to the hotel asking if they have a free boat service. Thanks everyone.

The 3-day ticket costs EURO 22.00. I think there's a one-week pass as well.

Hotel des Bains won't have it's own boat service as it's on the beach side of the island, not on the lagoon.

The hotel is about a 15-min walk (- or a short bus-ride) from the Lido vaporetto stop, - making it about 30 mins. from St. Mark's.

Hope this helps ...

Steve

Steve - so then you are saying we could drive our car into Venice?

Donna - Yes, - I believe there's a car ferry service from Tronchetto to Venice Lido. There is also a service from Chioggia.

Details are on the ACTV website. Hope this helps ...

Steve

You can drive your car to Venice, where you'd normally park it in one of the garages near the train station for the duration of your stay. Lido does have roads, so you could take take your car there via ferry, but I don't see the point of it, since you'd only be able to drive around on that island, and what you really want is to see Venice (where there are no cars).

I've not stayed on the Lido, but I would do so if I were visiting in the summer, particularly for more than a few days: a chance to get away from the crowds, and also to swim.

P.S. I'm not sure why you'd need your car on Venice Lido though ...

Why not park it at Tronchetto?

Your hotel might have parking facilities that are cheaper than parking in Venice. I'd check it out.

Also, I suggest reading A Thousand days in Venice by Marlena De Blasi. It's an autobiographical account of an American woman who leaves the US to marry a Venetian who lives in Lido. It's an entertaining book but you'll also get a sense of her life on the Lido. If you're going in the summer, I think the Lido would be fun.

Having stayed at the Des Bains, let me give you some info:

1. There is a hotel shuttle, however it runs from the Excelsior (sister hotel) down the street. A shuttle bus will pick you up at the Des Bains and take you to the private launch at the Excelsior. Same upon return. The entire trip takes about 1/2 hour, and boats leave every 30 minutes. The concierge will have info and schedule. BTW, the boats go to the other Starwood hotels - Danielli, Gritti & Europa so they drop you off in a central location.

2. I loved staying there (have stayed in city as well), especially as there was a BRUTAL heat wave in Europe last June and sightseeing was really not a pleasant option. Sitting on the beach/by the pool was very nice. And our 6 year old really appreciated it.

Personally, I enjoyed taking the launch into Venice. It has great vistas of the lagoon and feels glamourous.

Coachboy

PS. Call Starwood to get more info

Thanks CoachBoy. That doesn't sound so bad. Is the pool right next to the beach? or do we have to walk across a street? It's kind of hard to see in the picture. Do they have a parking garage? because we would like to see other towns near Venice one day.

I think they also own the Locanda Cipriani in Asolo which is about an hour away from Venice. It's supposed to be a beautiful town.

Steve
I read recently that the one week vaporetto pass has been discontinued--if it still exists it might be for Venice residents only.

The pool is right next to the hotel, in a park like setting. No view of ocean. To get to beach, you either cross street or take tunnel from hotel under street.

They have a parking lot next to Hotel, and also spaces in front of hotel so that shouldn't be a problem.

Again, best idea is to call Starwood 800 number and ask rep there. They should be able to give you any info you need.

Coachboy

PS. I think day trips to other towns would be better serviced by taking trains - easier and faster.

Coachboy - Thanks again. Since I know nothing about Italy/Venice - I have one more question for you. If we are driving from Florence, can we drive straight into Lido? A travel agent told me there was a bridge into Lido, but someone else here said to take the car ferry.

There is a ferry...as for the bridge, I'm not sure.

It might be more convenient to park at Piazza Roma (?), and take a water taxi/water bus to the Lido.

Try emailing the concierge. They should be able to help.

Coachboy

Donnaabee,

I don't have much to add to the excellent info you've already gotten here, but just wanted to say that we really loved staying in the Lido last July. It WAS a great escape from the heat and crowds of Venice, and we were able to swim every day. For us, the short walk to the vaporetto stop for St. Mark's Square was quite enjoyable,not a hassle at all. The vaporettos run late into the evening, so you can pretty much do all that you like in Venice before heading back to the hotel. The Lido itself has a residential beach resort feel-- a welcome change from the extreme crowds and hot weather in Venice.
Have a lovely time.

Elaine - Thanks for the info.

Donnabee - The bridge you have to cross is from Mestre to Piazzale Roma/Tronchetto. (Follow signs to Tronchetto).

From there you HAVE to take the car ferry to Lido if you want to take your car there - there is NO bridge to Lido.

Tell your travel agent he's a wally ;)

Steve

P.S. I agree with Weadles. We've stayed in Lido twice and will stay there again.

Thanks Wead and Steve! Steve - had to laugh at the travel agent comment. They don't have travel agents like they used to! They just seem like it's all a big hassle to them. Now to find car ferry information....*sigh* You wouldn't happen to know of a website for them,would you??

Donnabee - Here's the ACTV link:

http://www.actv.it/eng/ricerca_linea.htm

(Enter Line 17 and choose your timeframe - it looks like there's about 1 per hour ...)

And here's a general one:

http://europeforvisitors.com/venice/..._car_ferry.htm

Hope this helps ...

Steve

Thanks Steve! I am so glad I found this message board. This is helping me a lot in planning our trip!

I will be in Venice in July with my 2 teenage kids, and although we are staying in Venice, thought they might enjoy an afternoon at a Lido beach for a change. Any suggestions of where we should go? I know a lot of the beach area is private, and hate to just get there and "wander".

We are following in your footsteps and had the same question. We had read that it could be risky to park the car at the ferry, but had no idea what the cost of transporting the car on the ferry would be vs. parking at the ferry terminal. If you find out, could you post the info? See you at the Des Bains.

Just thought I'd mention that in the late afternoon in the Lido, it was possible for us to use many of the private beach clubs ( chairs, longues, etc.) without charge for a few hours. My kids really enjoyed their late afternoon swims after sightseeing in Venice.

Good luck, and have a great time in the Lido!

MStein - I decided not to stay at the Des Bains. I did a search in here on Lido, and I came across some posts that changed my mind. One was about the water being so dirty, the guy wouldn't put his big toe in it. Then I figured we would be doing so much siteseeing, we wouldn't have time for the beach. We are now staying at the Westin Europa which is the sister hotel to DesBains. They have transportation from the Westin to DesBains, if we decide to go to the beach.

Rhonda - when in July are you going to be there. My son is 16 and my daughter is 14. We will be in Venice from 7/5-7/8.

donnabee:
Sorry that we will miss you since my daughter is 16 and son is 15! We will be in Venice 7/10-7/13.

For an interesting take on how even Venetians feel that living on the Lido is different(in some ways better, in others not) from living in "Venice", read a book I've been recommending for its evocation of life in Venice:
A Thousand Days in Venice, by De Blasi.

Rhonda - too bad! Might have been nice for the kids to have someone their age around.