HELP! Venice public transit info

Great advice here. We love Venice and attest to the challenge of luggage and bridges (and we were there in the freezing rain last November when San Marco was literally a lake) Want to also suggest Hotel Arlecchino. Two bridges from train station AND Piazale Roma (the cheapest way to get to the airport). And plenty of near-by great restaurants. The hotel offers an excellent breakfast buffet and lovely service. Small rooms but ask for one overlooking the canal—really special.

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I put info in on Rome2rio as someone suggested and I get this, is this doable? Ok, can’t post pic but it shows a 10 min boat trip, straight from dock..not trusting it tho, you guys sound like you know.

I've only been to Venice once, for two days, and boarded our ship at San Basilio instead of the regular Stazione Marittima port docks. So I'm not an expert. However, I just entered Stazione Marittima and the name of your hotel into Rome2rio and what it pulled up showed the trip starting from Santa Marta vaporetto stop, on the east side of the port. The whole trip from there to the hotel (i.e., with walk from Orto) looks to be 26 minutes, which is around the same time I was getting when I routed it by using the city vaporetto website software. The problem is that while rome2rio starts its routing at Santa Marta when you enter "Stazione Marittima," that's not exactly where the ship is likely to dock. Therefore, I don't know how far you'd have to walk, and if you'd even be allowed to walk, from where the ship will dock -- which is likely to be farther west. It MIGHT be possible to get a cab from the ship dock to that stop, but I don't know if cabs are allowed there or not. It would also probably not be much better than taking the People Mover to Pizalle Roma and taking a vaporetto or two from there. But maybe you put in a different address to come up with what you got. I didn't see anything that would only require a 10 minute water bus ride. That just doesn't possible to me.

A little later, I'll look on the Alilaguna water bus website. Perhaps there's a way to go from the port to an Aliguna stop where you could transfer to an ACTV water bus (vaporetto). Alilaguna DOES go to the port, but it may be a little bit of a walk to get to the dock. At least, however, they would take your luggage for you, which might help things. I remember researching where Alilaguna picks up at the port, but I don't know if I kept any information. But just about anything involves a bit of walking in Venice when you're boarding a cruise ship, as cabs can only go a few places.

Do you have your cruise documentation yet? Does it give a dock location for Venice, other than "the maritime port" or "Stazione Marittima"? Often it will be along one of those long piers to the west of what rome2rio shows for Santa Marta stop of the water bus. If you don't have an actual assigned dock, perhaps I can find it on the port website, although that type of thing is always subject to change.

I looked, and the blue line of Alilaguna (the "other" water bus) goes from the port, but not to the Orto stop. You would have to transfer to another Alilaguna or ACTV water bus to get there. The orange line of Alilaguna does go to Orto, but it's the orange line, which doesn't come to the port. Therefore, the orange line would probably be a good choice for the airport (assuming you give enough time) but not for the port.

I would probably contact the hotel to learn of options for getting there. Hopefully the hotel can also give you an idea of timing, cost, how much walking is involved, if any walking is involved with a water TAXI, if they could arrange a porter to take your bags from a water stop, etc.

Certainly one good thing is that the Orto stop has both the Alilaguna and ACTV coming to it, so once you get to the hotel, you should have no trouble getting around to just about any part of the city for sightseeing.

Thank you to all who have suggested the best ways to handle transportation issues in Venice. This will be my first time in Italy, so I am also looking for advice- we will be arriving by train from Florence and will be staying at the Pausania Hotel. We will be there for 2 days, then will be sailing on the Rhapsody of the Seas so need transportation to the cruise port from our hotel and then from the cruise port to the airport after our cruise is complete. Asked our travel agent for cost for transfers and OMG! They must get a great commission from those private water taxis... Thank you so much for posting the beautiful pictures, Hank. Not to mention the maps- we will be going in late August and leaving for Greece on September 1- this will be my first time traveling in Italy and I am very excited!

dawnskers: The water taxis are the most expensive option, although something arranged by a travel agent might include a commission; not sure. The Venice airport website may have info on water taxis. In any case, though, I just looked up your hotel, and it's not very close to a public water vaporetto stop. Therefore, unless you're up for some walking, and the hotel can arrange a porter to meet you at the closest vaporetto or Alilaguna water stop to the hotel, you may need one to get to/from the hotel and port or airport with a lot of luggage. You can take a vaporetto from the train station to a point near the hotel, but not right there. I don't think I'd want to try to walk very far in Venice with more than a small, wheeled carryon bag because of the many tourists on the streets, the often uneven pavement, and the lack of decent street signs and directional aids. I know there are porter services, but I don't think porters are just waiting around, so service probably needs to be pre-arranged. I would call/email the hotel.

One option might be packing one wheeled small suitcase for use in Venice and using a luggage storage place in the city for the rest. As a minimum, there's one at Piazza (or Piazzelle?) de la Roma, not far from the port, and one at the train station, which is farther away from port but maybe useful when you arrive by train from Florence. At one point in my planning I ran across a list of them; perhaps some googling would help.

Getting from the port to the airport is easier, with more choices. We went from the airport to hotel. In the end, I decided to go with the bus, vaporetto and two block walk, mostly after considering time and cost involved in various options.

Good luck. Venice is a bit of a challenge, but we loved it!

Group of 8 people requiring transportation from airport to apartment, Corte Barozzi Suites, for 3 days then to cruise port (Royal Caribbean) and then from cruise port to airport on day of our return. As we are a large group, we are considering hiring a private water taxi for each of the trips. Willing to pay extra for convenience. Looking at maps it seems a water taxi would be able to pick up and drop off close to our apartment? And this could be pre booked before arrival? Thanks in advance!

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You really don't save any money by arranging water taxis in advance but if you'd feel more comfortable doing so you can.

This is the address of one of the largest cooperatives of taxis: https://www.motoscafivenezia.it/eng/

dawnskers: The water taxis are the most expensive option, although something arranged by a travel agent might include a commission; not sure. The Venice airport website may have info on water taxis. In any case, though, I just looked up your hotel, and it's not very close to a public water vaporetto stop. Therefore, unless you're up for some walking, and the hotel can arrange a porter to meet you at the closest vaporetto or Alilaguna water stop to the hotel, you may need one to get to/from the hotel and port or airport with a lot of luggage. You can take a vaporetto from the train station to a point near the hotel, but not right there. I don't think I'd want to try to walk very far in Venice with more than a small, wheeled carryon bag because of the many tourists on the streets, the often uneven pavement, and the lack of decent street signs and directional aids. I know there are porter services, but I don't think porters are just waiting around, so service probably needs to be pre-arranged. I would call/email the hotel.

 

One option might be packing one wheeled small suitcase for use in Venice and using a luggage storage place in the city for the rest. As a minimum, there's one at Piazza (or Piazzelle?) de la Roma, not far from the port, and one at the train station, which is farther away from port but maybe useful when you arrive by train from Florence. At one point in my planning I ran across a list of them; perhaps some googling would help.

 

 

Getting from the port to the airport is easier, with more choices. We went from the airport to hotel. In the end, I decided to go with the bus, vaporetto and two block walk, mostly after considering time and cost involved in various options.

 

 

Good luck. Venice is a bit of a challenge, but we loved it!

Thank you so much! We are planning on traveling light- we have heard that one wheeled bag is the way to go when traveling in Venice, so have planned to pack light and do plenty of rinsing things out during our travels! Is there any advantage to buying vaporetto tickets online ahead of time, or do you advise just buying once we arrive? We are thinking about buying the unlimited use for our stay- do they sell a 48 hour ticket, or just the 72 hour? We are staying overnight 2 nights, then will need transport from Pausania to the cruise port...

It seems like the best way to get to the cruise port is via the People Mover at the Piazelle Roma, which is around a 10 minute walk from Hotel Pausania... does this make sense? We will be traveling light, so this should be doable according to Rome2Rio anyway... Am I mistaken?

When we were in Venice we bought Vaporetto tickets ahead of time, but it didn’t really save us any time as we then had to use a machine to convert the paper vouchers into actual tickets - and it took us a while to figure out how to do it. We’re in Venice again this year and intend just to buy our 3 day tickets when we get there.

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It seems like the best way to get to the cruise port is via the People Mover at the Piazelle Roma, which is around a 10 minute walk from Hotel Pausania... does this make sense? We will be traveling light, so this should be doable according to Rome2Rio anyway... Am I mistaken?

I see that Google maps show this as an 11 or 12 minute walk, so I suppose you could do it with light luggage. However, many of the Venice streets are narrow with cobblestones, bridges to cross, and also lots of people. They are also not often marked with street signs. I found it very difficult to navigate in Venice, even with a map. People can try to help you, but without very specific directions given by people who speak good English, it isn't as easy as you might think. I suppose GPS on a phone may help, but I didn't have that when I walked around, so I don't know how effective that is in Venice.

The route from the hotel to P. Roma would intimidate me, but I'm older and usually traveling with a medium amount of luggage, so perhaps it would be easier for you. If you do walk, I would find the best block by block map you can, with restaurants/buildings etc. marked, and watch very carefully as you walk. I'd probably do a trial run before you head out with luggage of any kind.

An alternative appears to be walking to the Ca' Rezzonico ACTV vaporetto stop (NOT Alilaguna boat stop) east of the hotel (Google says 4 minutes), board the vaporetto heading toward P. Roma (#1, I believe, although it can be very crowded), take it to P. Roma, walk around to the People Mover and take it to the port. I haven't taken the People Mover, but have read that you often have a little bit of a walk from where it lets off to where a particular cruise ship is docked.

For walking to the People Mover at Piazzale Roma, the hotel may be able to arrange a porter to walk with you from the hotel and take your luggage. I think you would need to contact the hotel about that.

Of course, since the Pausania appears to be right near the water, a water taxi could likely take you from very close to the hotel to the port - expensive but less walking.

It seems like the best way to get to the cruise port is via the People Mover at the Piazelle Roma, which is around a 10 minute walk from Hotel Pausania... does this make sense? We will be traveling light, so this should be doable according to Rome2Rio anyway... Am I mistaken?

The hotel website suggests ACTV #1. From their verbal description of location, I believe I walked past there several times during our stay last September, our hotel was a little closer to the Piazzale Roma side of Dusodoro.

1. Yes, walkable from your hotel. Not very complicated.

2. The ACTV would be going up Canal and around, you could probably walk more quickly and comfortably.

3. Do note that the People Mover takes you close but not right to the cruise port. Two or three large car parks to get around, sos bit more walking on that end of your journey. Level, sidewalks, not a big deal but may be a surprise.

It seems like the best way to get to the cruise port is via the People Mover at the Piazelle Roma, which is around a 10 minute walk from Hotel Pausania... does this make sense? We will be traveling light, so this should be doable according to Rome2Rio anyway... Am I mistaken?

Yes and no :). Your hotel is a bit further from the P. Roma (and People Mover) then most would like...but its certainly walkable assuming the weather cooperates. If you can easily handle all your luggage then you plan is absolutely fine. You could walk via the Campo Santa Margherita which is a nice place to stop for some cappucinno :). You will not find many tourists in that little square, but there will be students from the nearby University. Its a favorite little spot of ours since it gets us away from most of the tour groups. The walk will take you longer than 10 min...so just relax, enjoy, and you will look like others in Venice walking through the streets rolling luggage :). Once you get to the P. Roma you will have to walk across to the other side where you will find the People Mover station (no problem taking luggage on the unmanned train). There is an escalator and elevator (when it works) up to the People Mover tracks (you purchase your ticket downstairs from a vending machine.

Once at the port station you will walk out to the road. At that point you might be able to get a free internal port shuttle bus (if it is running) or you could just walk to the terminal where you would check-in for your cruise. All this would be fun for DW and myself, but we have no problem walking a mile or even 5. I am always hesitant when talking to other cruisers about walking since we see many who struggle to go from one end of a ship to the other....or who use elevators to go down 1 floor. And before I get flamed...I am not talking about those with real handicaps.

Hank

Yes and no :). Your hotel is a bit further from the P. Roma (and People Mover) then most would like...but its certainly walkable assuming the weather cooperates. If you can easily handle all your luggage then you plan is absolutely fine. You could walk via the Campo Santa Margherita which is a nice place to stop for some cappucinno :). You will not find many tourists in that little square, but there will be students from the nearby University. Its a favorite little spot of ours since it gets us away from most of the tour groups. The walk will take you longer than 10 min...so just relax, enjoy, and you will look like others in Venice walking through the streets rolling luggage :). Once you get to the P. Roma you will have to walk across to the other side where you will find the People Mover station (no problem taking luggage on the unmanned train). There is an escalator and elevator (when it works) up to the People Mover tracks (you purchase your ticket downstairs from a vending machine.

 

Once at the port station you will walk out to the road. At that point you might be able to get a free internal port shuttle bus (if it is running) or you could just walk to the terminal where you would check-in for your cruise. All this would be fun for DW and myself, but we have no problem walking a mile or even 5. I am always hesitant when talking to other cruisers about walking since we see many who struggle to go from one end of a ship to the other....or who use elevators to go down 1 floor. And before I get flamed...I am not talking about those with real handicaps.

 

Hank

My travel partner and I took a trekking tour in the Canary Islands last year that was 6 hours of walking, and the last 3 were uphill, so we should be fine with this amount of walking. If we survived the Canary trek (had to use some ropes in several places to climb up rocks), Venice will be fine, as long as we don’t get lost!

My travel partner and I took a trekking tour in the Canary Islands last year that was 6 hours of walking, and the last 3 were uphill, so we should be fine with this amount of walking. If we survived the Canary trek (had to use some ropes in several places to climb up rocks), Venice will be fine, as long as we don’t get lost!

Getting lost in Venice is part of the fun :). Certainly take some kind of map (you can download maps or usually get one as you leave your ship). Many of the direction signs are pretty high up on corner buildings and are often yellow. You will often signs with an arrow pointing towards "Rialto Br" (Rialto Bridge), "S. Marks," and Pze Roma (Piazale Roma) which is the way back to the port. For most, those three places are all they need to get around town.

Hank

Hi folks, Hank your posts are always informative:)

I will be in Venice in July (first time there) and I am staying at The Bauer Palazzo.....I emailed them about getting to the hotel from the airport.

They gave me 3 options..........Private water taxi (more than I want to spend).........

Regular Water Taxi.......medium price

and the Water Bus cheapest price.

They said there is a Taxi Help Desk at the airport and for the water taxi no reservation is needed. I think I will go with them. I always travel solo and am hoping there will be some help with luggage onto the water taxi.

I will have 2 bags.

Hi folks, Hank your posts are always informative:)

 

I will be in Venice in July (first time there) and I am staying at The Bauer Palazzo.....I emailed them about getting to the hotel from the airport.

They gave me 3 options..........Private water taxi (more than I want to spend).........

Regular Water Taxi.......medium price

and the Water Bus cheapest price.

 

They said there is a Taxi Help Desk at the airport and for the water taxi no reservation is needed. I think I will go with them. I always travel solo and am hoping there will be some help with luggage onto the water taxi.

I will have 2 bags.

Arriving in Venice via water taxi (be it private or shared) is a really special experience :). But as to luggage help, if you can find any help from the terminal to the water taxi pier (its a few minute walk) you will pay for that help. Ideally you want the water taxi to take you right to your hotel's private dock. If they try to drop you at the Grand Canal (and leave you to a few block walk) you can certainly express your "outrage." The Alilaguna Blu Line boat (less expensive then the water taxis) will only take you to their St Marks Square dock...which leaves you with somewhat of a hike to your hotel. On the other hand, you will see plenty of folks (or all ages) walking around Venice along with their luggage :).

Hank

Arriving in Venice via water taxi (be it private or shared) is a really special experience :). But as to luggage help, if you can find any help from the terminal to the water taxi pier (its a few minute walk) you will pay for that help. Ideally you want the water taxi to take you right to your hotel's private dock. If they try to drop you at the Grand Canal (and leave you to a few block walk) you can certainly express your "outrage." The Alilaguna Blu Line boat (less expensive then the water taxis) will only take you to their St Marks Square dock...which leaves you with somewhat of a hike to your hotel. On the other hand, you will see plenty of folks (or all ages) walking around Venice along with their luggage :).

 

Hank

Thanks for the reply. The hotel's email said it is about an 8 minute walk on the "people mover" to get to the

water taxi.........that is fine. And I know the hotel has their own dock so will be courteous in asking for them to

drop me there.:)