natc143

Hi All,

When I depart Venice, hotel Danieli, i'm going to train to Lake Garda (Desenzano).

How do I get to the train station from Hotel Danieli?

How long will it take me to get there?

Thanks in advance,
Natalie

RJD

Take a water taxi. The front desk will arrange. It will be pricey, some where south of $100, but will take only 15 minutes.

NeoPatrick

Or for about $94 less, just get on the vaparetto which will drop you off right at the train station. That will take you more like a half hour though.

suze

btw you're looking for San Lucia, not Mestre (train station that is, there are two in Venice).

nytraveler

If you're willing to spend the money for the Danieli, believe me you don;t want to save a few dollars by dragging your luggage on and off the equivalent of a public city bus. The water taxi is more - but that way the driver deals with your luggage - and you don;t have to worry about maneuvering your things around a lot of locals commuting on and off the boat.

NeoPatrick

It's interesting that some people think if you spend a lot of money on one thing, that you may enjoy spending a lot of money on other things. Some people may be appalled that we buy $100 plus theatre tickets in pairs by the dozens, but that doesn't mean that we'd prefer to save $20 by taking a bus instead of a taxi. Others may really like splurging on a hotel, but don't mind rubbing shoulders with the "riff-raff" to save $90 on a boat road to the train station.

I know it's hard for some to imagine but some people who splurge on a hotel like the Danieli, have actually gotten on a public bus once or twice in their lives (gasp!).

As to the idea of having to actually load your own luggage onto a vaparetto (which is at exact dock level by the way, no steps to deal with), am I to assume that these people will then hire someone to wheel their luggage through the train station and to lift it onto the train for them too, which may also be crowded with (horrors) locals commuting on and off the train? Trust me, getting your luggage up the steps at Santa Lucia and then through the station and up onto the train is a MUCH greater ordeal that rolling it right onto the vaparetto -- even though you may actually get touched by the unwashed masses.

Daneille

I agree with NeoPatrick 100%. There is nothing hard about travelling on the Vaparetto to the station with your bags. I have done it a few times and found it easy. There are only a couple of things you may need to be aware of....theoretically you are supposed to pay for suitcases as an extra person but more often than not nobody bothers you about it, and you may be better off if you don't travel during the local commuters peak hour (as with any public transport) as the crowds are much heavier then and the locals get a little narky about suitcases taking up space on already crowded boats. Why pay all that extra money to save yourself some 15 minutes.

Also, you should note that you are going to have to lift your luggage onto the train and then onto the racks at each end of the carriages. The trains are some 3 (high) steps above the railway platforms and if you're not early you will be lifting your luggage onto the higher racks as the bottom ones tend to go first.

Also, I'm not sure if this con is operating in Venice at the moment but we encountered it in Florence or Rome. Little minxes grab your bags and insist on carrying it onto the train and then lifting it onto the racks for you. They then (try!!) to charge you an exorbitant fee for the service. I'm not sure that they are also pickpockets but you can't be too careful. Make sure you insist that NO! means no and don't let them do it.

NeoPatrick

Danielle, regarding luggage on the vaparettos, I too always thought that you were supposed to have an extra ticket for a large suitcase. We always just ignored that as we always get three day passes. But one year when we got on the vaparetto at the train station we were confronted with a officer checking tickets. I sort of sweated while he asked for our tickets and we were standing there clearly with a large suitcase each, but nothing was said. After that I found out that the official ruling is that one large suitcase IS ALLOWED on your basic ticket. You only need an additional ticket if you have more than one large suitcase.

natc143

Thank you all for your feedback. AT this point in our trip, we may select options which are a little more convenient, requiring less planning, coordinating. I'm already excited about driving throughout tuscany so I'd like to make the beginning part of my trip a little bit more at ease. I think i like the private taxi becaues of the view and ease!

Thanks again,
Natalie

ira

Hi N,

Have the Danieli arrange for a water taxi.

>t will be pricey, some where south of $100, ....<

That's for a trip from the airport.

To the train station will be about 50E for the boat, not per person.

nytraveler

It has nothing to do with riff raff. We take public transit all the time everywhere in europe - and the subway in NYC.

But doing it with luggage is a whole other deal - and to me - public transit and luggage just don;t mix. It's simply not worth saving a few dollars to deal with a suitcase, a carry-on and a purse while getting on and off a boat crowded with other people - when there is a much simpler option available.

Girlspytravel

Huh? Take the vaporetto #1 from in front of Danieli-San Marco stop-and take it all the way up to Ferrovia. I do this all the time, and I have a LARGE suitcase, with purse-and it's no problem at all-there are folks that come on the vaporettos with huge crates of what-not-this is perfectly ordinary. I would not waste money on those exceptionally expensive water taxis in that way. Totally unnecessary.

Curt

God how I HATE getting touched by the unwashed masses or worse yet a NY traveler.

basingstoke2

Some good replies and all assume you will carrying a large suitcase. If you are traveling lightly, the vaparetto should not pose a problem. Or, you could even walk. I have walked it several times with a 22" inch roller and daypack. There are bridges to cross, but altogether a pleasant and interesting walk.

annhig

hi, natc,

just looked on the hotel web-site. they quote 31E for a private water taxi to the station.

Looks best to me.

regards, ann

DinPa

If money is not a concern, and it doesn't seem to be for Natalie then why do you people put others down for taking a water taxi? It's seems to be her choice as it is for NYTRAVELER or anyone for that matter. I'm taking a water taxi from the airport to my hotel because I want to. I don't care about the cost, so don't belittle me for what I or others do with our money. Sometimes we just like the easy way with very few hassles involved, no matter what the price. And we are taking a limo from our house to the airport an hour away only because we don't like the hassle of parking the car in some remote lot and when our trip is over a nice man with a sign is waiting to take me right outside to the car and off we go! My money, my way.
Dave

basingstoke2

Putting down? I haven't seen anything like that in this thread. From her posting it appears that Natalie is not familiar with Venice, thus we have folks, including myself, noting alternatives so that Natalie can make an informed choice.

DinPa

>God how I HATE getting touched by the unwashed masses or worse yet a NY traveler.<
Not a put down?

>, but don't mind rubbing shoulders with the "riff-raff" <
Not a put down?

Come on

basingstoke2

The term "you people" tars all of us with the same negative brush. The majority of the replies were sincere attempts to point out and clarify alternatives for someone appearing unfamiliar with the city's transportation choices. A couple of posters threw in what could be seen as ironic humor. It seems that Natalie made her choice and that is fine.
Natalie, Have a great time in a great city. You will love it!

jt7dreamz

ive taken the water taxi half a dozen times with luggage. is it convinient, no? is it worth it? yes. water taxis are such a rip off