annettafly

In Venice from 10:00 AM Saturday - 7:00 PM Sunday. Have hotel (Domus Ciliota) in San Marco, 200 yds from San Samuele stop on Grand Canal. Although I'm a healthy 64 yr old I'm afraid of wearing myself out trying to do all the walking required to cover the sights I'm trying to squeeze into the 2 days. Since most of what I plan to visit is within 200 yards of the Grand Canal, wouldn't it make sense to purchase the 36-hour ACTV travelcard offered on //venice>connected for 21.85 euro? Do I need to get a vaporetti schedule? The guide books say they pull to the stops "frequently"---does that mean about 15 minutes or more like 45? None of the sites or guide books I've explored mention directionality. Can I board a vaporetto going in either direction at the stops, or is there a correct side of the Canal to be on in order to get a water bus going in the direction I want to go?

ellenem

If a vaporetto stops at a particular stop, there will be options for either direction. In most cases, you must watch the direction the boat is headed or read the route sign on the side of the boat. At major stops, there may be different landings for each direction--read the signs.

The exception are the routes 4.1/4.2 and 5.1/5.2, which are opposite directions of the same route.

Even if all your desired sights are within 200 yards of the Grand Canal, that does not mean a boat will be more direct than walking--it depends on the particular sights. Plot your sights on a map and see which works better. You might spend just as much time walking to a vaporetto stop from Point A and then walking from the vaporetto stop to Point B than if you just walked from Point A to Point B.

In any case, each vaporetto ride if purchased separately would cost 6,50€ so after four rides you would be saving money. As I've gotten older, I've also appreciated having a vaporetto pass to make a quick hop across the Grand Canal rather than having t walk to and climb the high Rialto or Accademia bridges.

"frequently" = every 5-10 minutes or so during the day, less frequently at night.

Jean

The vaporetto may or may not make it easier to reach the sights you want to see. It might make more sense to put your list of sights into a logical walking plan rather than go back and forth to the GC, wait/catch a vaporetto to only go a stop or two. Either take a vaporetto to the farthest point and work your way back or walk to the farthest point and ride back. So what is your list of sights? And when is this trip?

The vaporetti are like buses on roads. They operate on the right side of the canal and pull over to stops on the right side. Frequency of their stops depends on the time of day, but I've never waited more than a few minutes during sightseeing hours.

Jean

I guess I haven't paid sufficient attention to the vaporetto stops. I trust ellenem's info on directions is correct.

jent103

ellenem said everything I was going to say, and more (and probably better!). I never had to wait more than a few minutes for a vaporetto except on Burano and Murano. As ellenem mentioned, the aspect of crossing the Grand Canal can be really helpful - we had the passes last year and took the boat one stop, from Salute to San Marco, just because we could. It saved us a decently long walk, backtracking to the Accademia bridge. We'd never have spent €6.50 to do that, but had the passes so used them to our advantage!

Dayenu

Every stop has boats in both directions. Sometimes they stop at the same "door" so watch if this is the one you need. Sometimes you need to walk over to the next "door" a few yards.

If you get on a boat going the wrong direction, you can get off at the next stop and come back, trust me on that I was so happy to have the pass, especially on day one!

Most of stops have electronic displays so you know how soon is the next one.

annettafly

I like all your answers---just what I wanted to hear. I've plotted my sights on a more detailed map and now see a couple of cases where the traghetto(cost?) is the most efficient means of getting to the opposite side of the Canal----to see the Ca' Rezzonico, and into San Polo to visit the Frari and Scuola di San Rocco. I will get the travelcard because I can see where I might want to use the vaporetto at least 2 more times in addition to the RT between train station and hotel: to get back after dark from another part of the city, or to return after having walked the 800 yards to Piazza San Marco and spent hours exploring the Doges' Palace, the Basilica, etc. Jean, my weekend trip to Venice is May 5 & 6---between two weeks of studying Italian in Florence. Also looking into Cinque Terre tour on May 1 since school is closed for the holiday. Should I book that now while there is availability?

ellenem

A traghetto (gondola-type boat to hop straight across the Grand Canal) costs .50€, but do not run after dark. Since you will have a travel card, you could also use the vaporetto to hop across one stop.

I would also ride the full length of the Grand Canal once in the daylight and once at night for the sheer experience of Venice.