I will be spending 3 days in Venice at the end of November. It seems like the vaporetto seems like the most economical way to get to and from our hotel from the airport. Even though I think we'll be walking around most of the time, I think it'll be nice to know we can hop on the vaporetto if need be.

Question is, should I buy the 72hr ticket which includes passes to the churches and museum? Is it worth it? Also, is it cheaper to buy these online than at the airport/station? 

Alilaguna Prestige - 60 euros

72hrs ticket valid on Alilaguna Blue, Red and Orange Line, included island tour. You'll also receive a free ticket valid for all Civic Museums entrance, Churches in Venice and Jewish Museum

or

Alilaguna 72 hrs (islands tour included) - 45 euros

Ticket valid for 72 hours on these Alilaguna lines:
BLU - ROSSA - ARANCIO.
An excursion to Murano, Burano and Torcello is included

I suggest purchasing the 72 hour vaporetto pass in advance on venciceconnected.com to get a discount. You can pick up your pass at the airport. The vaporetto pass will also cover the transport to Murano, Burano and Torcello. Even though you plan on walking a lot, you're right- it's nice to have the pass and be able to just jump on the vaporetto when you feel like it.

Depending on where your hotel is located you might consider all options of transport from the airport. This site has good information on Venice and transportation.

http://livingveniceblog.com/venice-instructions/

Skip the Alilaguna 72 pass.

No no no .

Just get your Alilaguna tickets at the airport. Also, go on and get your 3-day vaporetto pass at the airport. Alilaguna is a private company. The vaporetto is public transport. Two separate animals. The Alilaguna premium passes look to be a total rip-off - WAY overpriced. Just get round trip tickets from/to airport on the cheapest line. Also, you absolutely DO NOT need a "tour" to visit Murano, Burano or Torcello.

Use the vaporetto to get to any of the islands in addition to getting around Venice proper - you'll use it more than you think. The vaporatto pass is also good for free passage on the traghetti. http://www.actv.it/en

Sam,

"No no no" was in response to the idea of Alilaguna "tour passes" in your original post. I wholeheartedly agree with everything zoecat said.

and me!

you can also get a bus [actually you have a choice of two] from the airport to Venice proper. one of them is covered by the vaporetto pass - the No 5 ACTV bus, which takes about 30 mins to get to the Piazzale Roma. the other one isn't - that's the Blue one that stops right in front of the airport building. it costs about €3 each way, has luggage storage underneath the bus, unlike the ACTV one, and is faster as it doesn't stop so often.

they are both a lot cheaper than the alilaguna and faster - you have to walk down to the dock, which is about 5 mins, and then the alilaguna, when it arrives, takes up to an hour to get to venice.

if you are staying near San Marco the alilaguna might be better because it goes straight there, but if you are going to need to get a vaporetto anyway to get to your hotel or apartment, it might be better to get the bus and then a vaportetto from Piazzale roma.

and if you do what zoecat says and get a vaporetto pass, you can got to the islands as often as you like! [ok, you probably won't want to go more than once, but who knows?]

ps - the bus bus is run by ATVO - just remembered that!

I agree, gte the bus from the airport. You have to walk to the boat dock---about 500 yards---to get the Alilaguna ferry.
The bus is right in front of the terminal and takes you to Piazzale Roma---then take the vaporetto.

SamNYC,

The Alilaguna is an express boat that is different from the vaporetto system of local water buses. The Ailaguna is good for traveling between the airport and Venice. A vaporetto is what you would use to get around once you are in Venice. The Alilaguna pass you mention does NOT include vaporettos.

If you buy your vaporetto pass at the airport, it covers the ACTV bus into Venice. Just make sure you validate it in the machine on the bus. You can go anywhere in Venice and the outlying islands with your vaporetto pass, but NOT on the Alilaguna airport boat.

Wow, they created a new rip-off.

I agree that you should just buy vaporetto pass online at www.veniceconnected.com. There are discounts depending on how far ahead you buy.

I was actually going buy the Blue Bus from the airport after I picked up our VAP passes from the airport desk, but the lady at the desk yelled at me. She said, "Why would you pay more when there's a 'free' bus (No 5 ACTV) out there?". Yeah, it was a little crowded and yeah, the luggage stuff wasn't as easy, but from the airport, it just wasn't bad. Again, more Euros to spend on food!

Thank you all for your help!!

She said, "Why would you pay more when there's a 'free' bus (No 5 ACTV) out there?>>

actually, I'm all in favour of saving money, but the ATVO bus is much more comfortable, [no luggage to fall over] and doesn't stop, so it's quicker too. the savings by taking the ATCV bus are minimal, so if the ATVO bus is there, get on it!

Be aware that the fares for the ACTV bus #5 has been altered, and the bus from Marco Polo now has a pricing structure that is not necessarily "free". Here are details:
http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic...ce_Veneto.html

The Alilaguna airport boat does serve stops other than San Marco, so although it's slow it can be simpler than getting the land bus plus vaporetto. Plus I think it's far preferable to approach Venice by water via a scenic route rather than by land into the least attractive area (and the only part of the city with traffic). I've always styaed in Dorsoduro and have always got the Alilaguna direct to & from the Zattere (apart from the time our flight arrived too late) and walked to our accommodation from there.

I would hesitate over booking any tickets in advance - I once considered it but that was the time our flight was very late and everything at the airport was closed, so we wouldn't have been able to pick them up and were glad we hadn't bothered. Also there's always a huge queue at the ticket offices in the airport.

I find it much pleasanter to stroll down to the Alilaguna dock (have a euro coin in hand to get a trolley) and buy return Alilaguna tickets there. You can then buy whatever vaporetto tickets are best for you from either a booth or a self-service machine at a regular vaporetto stop once you arrive in Venice proper, without queueing.

If you are only staying 3 days anyway (and it sounds like it's your first visit ?), I'd suggest you don't need a 72 hour pass as you'll probably spend most of your time walking - for example, you might find you walk everywhere central on your first 2 days, and could then just get a 12 hour pass for your last full day if you want to visit Murano or any of the more outlying islands. Even if your hotel does require a vaporetto as well as Alilaguna, that may be the only vaporetto you need that day so in that case, it would be worth (for once) just buying a single vaporetto ticket on arrival & departure rather than a more extended vaporetto pass.

I think that on our first visit, it ws 3 days before we got a vaporetto at all - we just walked. Venice is a great city for walking due to no traffic.

If the Bus 5 (and there's another similar one, too,the 5D) are no longer "free" with the pass, then heck yeah, pay up for the Blue Bus.

Caroline raises a good point. I was mixed on whether or not to get the Venice Connected passes because I was unsure of how much we would use it, and my doubts ended up costing me one of the "pre-advance" discounts. I still got an online discount, but I could have had a much better one.

However, only hindsight is perfect. I wrote a mini-report in 2009 that describes our thought process and eventual use:
http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...ini-report.cfm

As you can see in there, I just was not sure even after the fact if I'd recommend the passes for other people for a very short stay. Part of our cost savings was our use of the "free" airport transport, and if that benefit is gone, you may want to redo the math. And let me emphasize--trip was in August 2009. Things change quickly!!!!

However, we experienced NO line at the VeniceConnected desk at the airport. That part was a no-brainer.

Thank you for the very informative posts above. We are a family of 5 visiting Venice. Our hotel suggests a water taxi from the airport. Any comments? How much does it cost?

About 100-120 euros for a water taxi one way. The Alilaguna service is 25 euros return or 13 euros one way per person.

marigo - when we went to Venice with our kids [2 of them plus 2 of us] we got a water taxi from the airport to our apartment, and took the vaporetto + bus back. overall this only cost us the water-taxi one way, as we were covered by the passes on the way back.

for 5, the alilaguna would be dearer than a water-taxi.

oops, no it wouldn't, it would be €65 as against about €100 for the water-taxi, but IMHO well worth it.

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