Venice with teens- is this doable in 3 days, advice?
 

Venice 3 night itinerary:

We are a family that usually loves to walk around whenever we are visiting a city. However, Venice is a unique city! So, question: should we buy the Venice travelcard for the Vaporetto? It’s sort of expensive (family of 5) (for 3 days it costs: 25 euros; maybe we could get it for 2 days which is 20 euros each, but still that is 100 euros, is it worth it?). Will it work for visiting other islands? That said, here’s what we plan on doing/seeing:

First night: St. Mark’s square and the Basilica, Doges Palace, Frari Church. Take a vaporetto on the Grand Canal. Rialto Market. Is this all doable in one day or should it go into the second day?

Second night: What should we do here?

Third night: Burano? (sounds like a pretty island)? Visit the other islands in a day?

I just realized I have few must sees for Venice. I figure the entire city is a must see! :-) Your advice is welcomed!

Visit the Rialto Market first thing in the morning, as the market is setting up and the fish being unloaded. But the fish market does not operate on Mondays, so bear that in mind.

The Frari is about 25 minutes walk from San Marco.

Vaporetto card also works for the other islands (Murano, Burano & Torcello).

I think with your kids and family's lack of interest in museums it would be great to spend a day using your vaporetto passes to tour the islands, as Peter says above. Torcello has a tower to climb and a somewhat isolated church with amazing mosaics. The boat rides between islands are nice, and the kids can help figure out your connections.

I think you need at least a 2 day pass. You'll need one for transport to your hotel. On the same day do the Grand Canal ride. Then you'll need another day to do the 3 islands (including Murano where fine quality glass is produced). Apart from that Venice is quite walkable. It can be a labyrinth but if you know where you're going it's no problem. What the heck it's fun getting lost there anyway :)

Take a vaporetto over to San Giorgio Maggiore. You can take the elevator to the top of the campanile and get a great view of Venice and the lagoon. It is also much less crowded than the campanile in Piazza San Marco.

It is possible to visit Venice and not ride a single boat, but I think your family will miss out on some very special understnadings of Venice if you choose not to ride the boats. Certainly you will miss seeing the best side of Venice--the best sides of the palazzi are facing the grand Canal.

A 3-day travelcard is NOT 25 euro. Here are the current prices:

18,00 € - 12-HOUR TRAVELCARD
20,00 € - 24-HOUR TRAVELCARD
25,00 € - 36-HOUR TRAVELCARD
30,00 € - 48-HOUR TRAVELCARD
35,00 € - 72-HOUR TRAVELCARD
50,00 € - 7 DAYS TRAVELCARD

A 3-day card would be the 72-hour card--35 euro.

Keep in mind that single vaporetto tickets are 7 euro. You will probably need to arrive at your hotel by vaporetto, and depart by vaporetto. That's two tickets. You mention a ride on the Grand Canal, though this might be accomplished on your arrival ride (ticket 3). Will you need to ride back? (ticket 4) Roundtrip to another island (tickets 5 and 6). So it sounds like you will need at least 4-6 tickets each.
4 single-ride tickets = 28 euro
6 single-ride tickets = 42 euro
The 72-hour unlimited ride travelcard is sounding like a good deal.

You can plan carefully and get the most out of a travelcard by keeping in mind that it is good for a set number of hours. A 48-hour card might be adequate. For example, a 48-hour card might be used on 3 different days, depending on when you first activate it. So if you first use the card on Day 1 at 1:00 pm, it will be good until Day 3 at 1:00 pm.

Much of the card's usefulness may depend upon where your hotel is located. Have you chosen a hotel yet?

Also, are you arriving from or departing to the Venice Airport? If yes, then for your family if 5, a splurge on a water taxi for your airport leg may be in order.

If you are on the Zattere, what is the best Vaporetto Stop and line # to use to get to San Giorgio Maggiore?

Will be in Venice July 11-19. Have never been to SGM.

Thin

Pepper, pick up the #2 at the Zattere stop, and get off at S. Giorgio.

In the direction of San Marco - San Zaccaria, the stops go: Zattere-Palanca-Redentore-Zitelle-S.Giorgio

Thank you, Snobby.


Thin

As for the OP's family, ellenem did a lovely job of calculating. A one-day Travelcard is 24 hours, so for 3 full days, you do need the 72-hour card as ellen said, but this depends on when you want to take your first ride. The card is not active until you board a boat and swipe your card. If you plan to take your first ride on your 2nd day, then obviously you won't need a 72-hour card.

IMO, to fully enjoy Venice, I tell families to splurge on the Travelcard and get one to cover all the full days you'll be there. The truth is, you'll never know when you'll want to board a boat, and there's nothing like spontaneous convenience. Venice by boat is magical at all hours, so if you have the Travelcards, you may want to make as many boat trips as you feel like, just for fun.

Unless you're visiting Venice on the tightest possible budget, try not to think about the Travelcard expense. Venice needs every single dollar you spend, so if you don't use all the rides to cover the cost, think of the expense as a gift to the city. In order to survive, Venice needs many gifts. Over-spending on the <i>vaporetti</i> is a good cause.

Another benefit of the travelcard: I found the ability to just hop on a vaporetto and go one stop to cross the Grand Canal very valuable. I love to walk and cover miles and miles each day in Venice. But at the end of a long day, I found it a relief to not have to walk all the way to one of the few Grand Canal bridges and then have to climb over it. Without a travelcard, such a short hop would be costly.

There is also a three-day Young Person's Travel Card for 18 Euro
"Biglietto tre giorni giovani
(Valid 72 hours after stamping; to buy this card, you'll need a Rolling Venice Card for travelers between the ages of 14 and 29, which you can purchase at any Hellovenezia ticket counter or branch of the Venice Tourist Office for €4,--."

So, if any of the kids are between 14 and 29, you can realize a consider saving. Under 4 is free.

We will also be visiting Venice with 4 teens. If I figured correctly, the teens will pay for their 3 day travel card and Rolling Venice Card after using the vaporetto only 3 times. The adults would have to use the vaporetto 5 times to be worth it. But, I believe it also allows you to jump right on vs potentially standing in line to buy a ticket.

Burano is indeed a pretty island but I am not sure the kids would find it particularly interesting it's a nice ride out though. Resist the offers for a free tour of Murano - your tickets will cover it anyway and if you go on your own, you won't have to put up with any sales pitches.

In Venice, visit some mask shops - particularly the ones where they are made on site. Venice is the perfect place to wander and explore. It is not all that big and you can cover a lot on foot. Venice might be the best place in the world to get lost.

Yes, the kids will love Naked Frog Boy at Punta del' Dogana!


A good restaurant on Burano is Gato Nero.


One of my favorite places in Venice is Ca' Rezzonico.


Thin

The naked frog lad was removed a couple of weeks ago, and the lamp post is being reinstated.

I like the pharmacy inside the Ca'Rezzonico.