Venice with family- Lido?
 

I'm looking for a place for our family of 5 to stay in Venice for 3 nights next May, and found a few places in Lido that look really nice. Our boys are 10, 12, and 14, and it might be nice to have a little larger place for them, and perhaps even have a pool. I'm just wondering if the extra hassle of taking the vaporetto back and forth is worth it. Looking for input!

Thanks!

That's not a bad idea!

Another area you might look at is the eastern end of Castello. There are parks and open areas for the boys to run off that energy. I can't give specific recommendations, but maybe someone can tell you more!

Venice is bliss! (Yes, I am biased.)

Yvonne

http://ytaba36.wordpress.com

Personally, I wouldn't stay at the Lido. With or without family, I'd prefer to be on the main islands, closer to all the things you want to see. As well as the time to get to the Lido, there is the added expense of vaporetto tickets. I've been to Venice half a dozen times and the Lido only twice but it didn't appeal to me that much. But that's personal viewpoint only.

Castello could be good, although I've never stayed there. My 12 year old son found some Italian boys to play soccer with up that end of Venice one day, in one of the rare Venetian parks.

http://www.hotels.com/ho240535/le-vi...o-venice-italy

Good experience here Lido is pretty kind of isolated though

More Central locations are better for shorter stays...

www.betterbidding.com 5 star Hilton Stuky Molino from $120

bidding priceline.com excellent value for me in the past

www.otel.com other good no bid hotels 2 good ones for me

recently based on budget

bauervenezia.com www.hotelpausania.it 59 euro per nt

for me in May #211 cute little canal view suite in a perfect

location. travelforkids.com great things for kids to burn

off energy with walk walk walk LOTS to do!

eurocheapo.com/venice great city tips

Our family of five stayed on the Lido in 2009. The trip over on the vaporetto couldn't have been easier, though we were staying only about 400 meters down the main street from the dock. Kids tend to like boat rides.

And the Lido beaches were beautiful though our youngest boy did come in contact with a jellyfish. We would stay there again without doubt.

We stayed on the LIdo several years ago with our kids. Our hotel was very close to the vaporetto stop, but with the kids along we got lazy and sometimes opted to stay put. If I were to do it again with kids, I'd stay in Venice for a few days, then go the lake country (easy 4 hour train from Venice to Milan, then 40 minutes on local train to Stresa, etc.) for some downtime. I wasn't that impressed with the Lido beach, and thought we missed out by not staying in Venice itself.

I love the vaporetto ride from Lido to Venice - - and if you get on at the front of the queue you can get the good forward seats on the 82 vaporetto and take it all the way down the Grand Canal, with great views. The lagoon is beautiful, and it's only 15 minutes to San Marco, which is shorter than a lot of walks. If you take the vaporetto 52 it goes past the big cruise ships and the docks (with lots of small working boats) to the bus or train station, which gives another perspective on Venice. . You can go directly to Burano from Lido as well. Lido has loads of shops and cafes, and is like staying at a pleasant Italian resort, with a convivial life of its own, and then making day trips to Venice proper, which you can approach from interesting directions and dimensions, depending on which stop you choose (e.g., starting at Arsenale, or F. Nove, or Accademia) and walking inward.

I know many posters on this board do not like the idea of staying on The Lido but that is where we stayed on our first trip to Venice and it was quite pleasant. The ride over to Venice gives a great view of the city and the ride is not long and the service frequent. Obviously you know your teens and if some pool time is going to enhance the trip for them then its a good fit for your family.

I have staye don the Lido (for work, the Congress center is there) and it is far from ideal. First of all, check if there is a meeting during the time you will be there. If there is the congress delegates will mob the vaporettos and you may have to wait for 2 or 3 before one has room for you to get on.

Second, the atmosphere is NOT the same as Venice - and for that reson alone I wouldn't consider it.

Thanks for all of the inputs- it looks like everyone's opinions mirror my internal debate on this, which makes me feel like I can't really make a wrong choice.

Now to just decide!

We stayed on Lido our first trip to Venice (arranged by a travel agent). Venice is the most unique place in the world and there is nothing at all interesting or unique about Lido. If you think your boys will be bored by Venice and prefer the beach, it's a good idea. But then, why bother going to Venice.

Before you book a Lido hotel with a pool, do make sure the pool is open in May. You certainly can't be sure of pool weather in May in Venice.

I'm with the no to Lido group. If you wanted to stay at an Italian resort, that's where you would go. But you want to visit Venice.

I agree with Weadles, who wrote:
"I wasn't that impressed with the Lido beach".

It was muddy gray rather than white sand and too cold to swim in May anyway.

Your boys will not be impressed by the Lido beach scene. Check out the Molino Stucky on Giudecca (They have their own boats plus the vaporettos are frequent) if you must have a pool, but May can be chilly in Venice.

Unlike a lot of people, I find nothing interesting or romantic about taking a vaporetto. It's a crowded, utilitarian form of transportation, and not cheap. Get a seat at the front? Right, because no one else has thought of that; be prepared to elbow and muscle your way to the front.

That said, you can make your own call about staying on the Lido, but I wouldn’t factor the wonderment of the vaporetto ride into the decision.

One of the big things about staying in Venice is the fact that it has no cars, no trucks, no traffic noise or fumes. It's a unique experience to live in a city with no cars. Instead everything is done by boats or on foot. Unfortunately the Lido has cars so you lose that experience.

And the best time in Venice is early morning and late afternoon evening, which would harder to enjoy when you must get back to the Lido.

Kids really enjoy Venice and are fascinated by the boat culture. Don't cheat your kids -- or yourselves -- out of this wonderful experience.

Cheat the kids? We loved Venice but joining 100,000 (summer) other tourists each day between 10-6 was enough for our kids. It was just a mass of people.

But they aren't going to be there in the summer. They are going to be there in May.

(Steves) Because fall and spring bring cooler temperatures in Mediterranean Europe, shoulder season in much of Italy, southern France, Spain, Croatia, and Greece can actually come with near peak-season crowds and prices. For example, except for beach resorts, Italy's peak season is May, June, September, and October rather than July and August.

(Tripadvisor) In Venice, the busy season for tourists is long - extending from Easter until early October, though some would argue that Venice never really has a low season anymore for tourism.

This is true but if you pay any attention to what people advise you on this forum, you can avoid the swarming masses without much effort at all.

I guess I hadn't realized that it may be too cool for swimming in May, and didn't really think about being in a car free city. I'm going to look into finding something on Venice again. Open to any suggestions for a family of 5 :)

<<<<<<Open to any suggestions for a family of 5?

It depends on how you want to split up (or if you want to split up). www.venere.com does a good job letting you search by constellation (e.g., 3 rooms 5 people; or 2 rooms 5 people; or even 1 room 5 people). Then if you look at the ratings (anything 8.0 or higher is pretty reliable!) and read the specific reviews (everyone who books through Venere gets an e-mail asking them to rate the property - - which makes it more reliable than Tripadvisor), you should get something you'll appreciate.

As others have suggested the month of May isn't quite the 'beachiest' weather. And hotels w/ pools may not have them open yet. After all average high temps are ~ 70's (21 C) ...... http://venicexplorer.net/venice_weather.php?hlangs=en

Have you considered renting an apt? Even for just a 3-nite stay, you may be able to find a place to accommodate the 5 of you. Be aware that when evaluating apts, you want to find a place w/ beds for all .... often they'll include a sleep sofa as an option.

We have stayed at 1 one these apartments when we had 5 people in our party.

http://www.palazzettodaschio.it/rentsuk.html

They are clean, spacious, unique and well located.

Have fun!

Laurie, I did check on http://www.palazzettodaschio.it/rentsuk.html and Anna indicated that they were all booked up for our dates :(

The Lido would be great as a day trip if the weather warrants (in May, you might be able to go in the water...depends on how warm it is, and how warm it has been.)

However, as a base in Venice, I would not recommend it. It's not a particularly long vaporetto ride, but it would get tiring to go back and forth. Waiting for vaporetti and taking them to the various stops can actually get kind of tedious.

Also, being able to wander in Venice and get lost, without worrying about making a vaporetto schedule, would be best.

For larger apartments, I suggest the less-trafficked areas of town: Santa Croce and Dorsoduro. For 3 nights, I find Castello to be far (although granted, Venice is small, but it does take more time than you think to get through the maze of streets and the big crowds.)