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.)