Help For Venice

[Kellie Poodle]

I hope someone here can help me.

 

I need to find a short morning tour in Venice (3-4) hours that will not require 3 hours or more of walking. My DH has a bad back and often needs to rest frequently for a few minutes while walking. I am extremely fearful that a group tour will just lose us (happened with a cruise ship tour in Florence) or that a private guide would not understand and push us too hard.

 

If there is nothing but to do the usual walking tour, are there benches along the way? Any places where he could sit for a minute or two till he feels better?

 

Our ship will be docked at the Marittima #10.

 

Also has anyone taken a taxi from the airport to the pier?

 

I would love it if some of you knowledgeable folks would point me to a few resources.

[Hlitner]

There has been some resistance on the part of many regular posters to answer questions that have been answered multiple times in the past few weeks (just scroll down or do a search for Venice) and this is very true on your question about taxis from the airport to the pier (or other options). But your walking tour issue is a good one and applies to many cruisers who have limited mobility. My advice would be to not take any tour. If you go off on your own you can easily control your own amount of walking. If your husband gets tired you just stop at a nearby cafe, order a cup of coffee or tea, and rest. You can certainly use the People Mover to get from the port over to the Pizale Roma (only costs 1 Euro) and purchase a vaporetto pass (20 Euros will get you unlimited use for 24 hours). At that point you can try to minimize your walking by using the vaporettos to get around Venice or some of the other islands (Burano, Murano, Lido, etc). If you purchase a guide book (such as Rick Steves) you will have vaporetto maps and lots of suggestions on where to go. You can use the vaporettos to get you directly from the Pizale Roma to St Marks Square, Rialto, or anywhere else that you would like to visit. Not being on a tour gives you total control rather then trying to keep up with a guide and group.

 

Hank

[rebeccalouiseagain]

Hank gives good advice.

[Kellie Poodle]

There has been some resistance on the part of many regular posters to answer questions that have been answered multiple times in the past few weeks (just scroll down or do a search for Venice) and this is very true on your question about taxis from the airport to the pier (or other options). But your walking tour issue is a good one and applies to many cruisers who have limited mobility. My advice would be to not take any tour. If you go off on your own you can easily control your own amount of walking. If your husband gets tired you just stop at a nearby cafe, order a cup of coffee or tea, and rest. You can certainly use the People Mover to get from the port over to the Pizale Roma (only costs 1 Euro) and purchase a vaporetto pass (20 Euros will get you unlimited use for 24 hours). At that point you can try to minimize your walking by using the vaporettos to get around Venice or some of the other islands (Burano, Murano, Lido, etc). If you purchase a guide book (such as Rick Steves) you will have vaporetto maps and lots of suggestions on where to go. You can use the vaporettos to get you directly from the Pizale Roma to St Marks Square, Rialto, or anywhere else that you would like to visit. Not being on a tour gives you total control rather then trying to keep up with a guide and group.

 

Hank

 

Thank you, so much, Hank.

[kuldalai]

1. Just take taxi from airport to cruise terminal no big deal .

 

2. Here is an itinerary that you can walk the back alleys and use Vaporettos to minimize your walking .

 

First of all take the People Mover from the Maritima Terminal in the direction of Piazzale de Roma. Emerging from People Mover at street level in P d R you are in the back right hand corner of the Piazzale. Walk across the back of the P d R and look for a modern glass footbridge over the Grand Canal on the LHS of the Piazzale. Do not cross this bridge but descend immediately on the left of the bridge and take Vaporetto # 1 in the direction of San Marco or Lido .

 

Alight at the Piazza San Marco landing . The signed walkway from San Marco to Rialto and Ferrovia / Piazzale de Roma starts under the arches in the Piazza San Marco between a row of cafes (opp side to the brick bell tower). Follow the signs and when you get to Rialto you can either keep walking to Ferrovia or P d R , or bail out half way and take Vaporetto # 1 from the Rialto landing in the direction of Piazzale de Roma. From P d R back to Marritima just use the People Mover again .

(Ferrovia signs will lead you to Venice St. Lucia railway station. From the front of the station follow the quayside towards P d R and over the new glass footbridge and you will be back in P d R .)

[travellovers2]

Venice is very easy to walk on your own. I cant remember seeing benches anywhere, but there are a lot of outdoor cafes where you can sit and relax while you have some coffee or a drink. Venice is small so walk it at your own pace.

[pete_coach]

I suspect form your question about the airport to the pier that you are arriving in Venice and departing later that day on your cruise?

If so, I suggest that you dump your luggage at the check in for ship early and then on to the people mover. From there to Piazzale Roma and get a ticket for the Vaporetto. Use the water bus get a tour of Venice from the canal point of view. Take it all the way around and past Piazzale Roma and on to Piazza San Marco. Get off and wander about as much as you like.

 

When it gets close to you boarding, you can get back n the Vappreto and back to Piazzale Roma and to the ship.

Or, you can wander back to the ship on your own, stopping as many times as you wish.

[bobalink]

... If you purchase a guide book (such as Rick Steves) you will have vaporetto maps and lots of suggestions on where to go. You can use the vaporettos to get you directly from the Pizale Roma to St Marks Square, Rialto, or anywhere else that you would like to visit. Not being on a tour gives you total control rather then trying to keep up with a guide and group.

 

Hank

 

I wanted to add that you may be interested in an Audio Guide by Rick Steves. It is a FREE app that you can download to an iPod or iPhone. You can listen and follow along, and stop (pause) and rest as you wish.

 

There is an audio tour of The Grand Canal and St. Mark's Square that you might enjoy.

 

You can find it here:

http://www.ricksteves.com/ae/ae_menu.htm

 

We traveled all over the Mediterranean and Greek Isles last summer with a dear friend who has mobility issues. When she needed to rest, we would find a bench, fountain, wall, etc. for her to sit for a spell.

 

Enjoy your visit!

 

Another good website for Venice information:

http://europeforvisitors.com/venice/

[Kellie Poodle]

I suspect form your question about the airport to the pier that you are arriving in Venice and departing later that day on your cruise?

If so, I suggest that you dump your luggage at the check in for ship early and then on to the people mover. From there to Piazzale Roma and get a ticket for the Vaporetto. Use the water bus get a tour of Venice from the canal point of view. Take it all the way around and past Piazzale Roma and on to Piazza San Marco. Get off and wander about as much as you like.

 

When it gets close to you boarding, you can get back n the Vappreto and back to Piazzale Roma and to the ship.

Or, you can wander back to the ship on your own, stopping as many times as you wish.

 

We are departing the next day at 2 PM. If it were the same day, I'd be coming in a day ahead :). Our plane arrives at 11:30 AM in VCE so we do plan to drop luggage, grab a shower and change of clothes and something to eat and find a boat tour for a few hours.

 

We have a long morning to do our walking tour. We don't have to be back at the ship until 1 PM I have gotten much advice about getting a guide book and Vaporetta passes and just going at our own pace.

 

I am going to try to see if I can get "skip the line" tickets for the cathedral on line.

 

Thanks all for your helpful suggestions.

 

I wish you all safe and happy travels.

[TLCOhio]

I need to find a short morning tour in Venice (3-4) hours that will not require 3 hours or more of walking. My DH has a bad back and often needs to rest frequently for a few minutes while walking. I am extremely fearful that a group tour will just lose us (happened with a cruise ship tour in Florence) or that a private guide would not understand and push us too hard. If there is nothing but to do the usual walking tour, are there benches along the way? Any places where he could sit for a minute or two till he feels better?

 

Agree with the earlier posters that Venice is so easy to do on your own. Then you can set your own pace, stop as needed at places to rest, find scenic spots to lean against a stone bridge post, soak up the visual/historic environment, etc.

 

Walking around in Venice is such a joy!! Even getting a little lost might mean you discover interesting shops, buildings and views. Below are a few of my pictures to get you excited about this super great, historic city.

 

Since Venice is one of your key stops, you might look at this earlier posting that I did on the Italy board that shows many options and visual potentials for this city that is so great for "walking around", personally sampling the great history and architecture. This posting has now had over 11,000 views and I appreciate those who have dropped by and tuned in. Don’t be shy in sharing any questions or comments.

Venice: Loving It & Why??!!

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1278226

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

Did a June 7-19, 2011, Solstice cruise from Barcelona that had stops in Villefranche, ports near Pisa and Rome, Naples, Kotor, Venice and Dubrovnik. Enjoyed great weather and a wonderful trip. Dozens of wonderful visuals with key highlights, tips, comments, etc., on these postings. We are now at 95,077 views for this live/blog re-cap on our first sailing with Celebrity and much on wonderful Barcelona. Check these postings and added info at:

http://www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1426474

 

 

This picture shows San Giorgio Maggiore, a 16th century Benedictine church built between 1566 and 1610. The gondolas are docked in the foreground in the main part of Venice. There were eight to ten thousand gondolas during the 17th and 18th century with only about four hundred in active service today.:

 

 

 

This Venice picture gives a sample of different roof designs/decorations, the church dome and the famed Campanile. This bell tower of St Mark's Basilica is 323 feet tall and is a plain brick square shaft, 39 feet wide on each side. This tower reached its present form in 1514, but was reconstructed in 1912 after the 1902 collapse.:

 

 

 

This is a mask shop hidden on the back-streets of Venice. We had discovered this great place in 1999 and were lucky to find it again as we explored a little off of the typical tourist streets of Venice. They have such delightful and creative designs serving more of a professional customer base. It is not just a tourist place with imported “stuff”. These are the “real” deal that made this art famous in Venice. It is called Tragi comica. Their web address is http://www.tragicomica.it. :

 

 

 

In front of the Accademia Art Museum in Venice, here is an artist on that wooden bridge over the Grand Canal making a painting. Lots of such great views can be experienced all over this historic city.:

 

 

 

Don’t miss the sail-out or sail-in for Venice. This was our view from the top of the ship as we approached the historic center of Venice. On a beautiful day, as we enjoyed, this is so spectacular!!!:

 

 

 

At night in Venice it is a totally different and more magical city. Here were are ready to enter San Marco Piazza at sunset. You see the Campanile tower, St. Mark’s Cathedral and people. The bands on this square are playing. So wonderful and charming!:

 

[jb12]

Does vaporetto pass include bus coming from Venice airport?

[Baseball fan]

Not sure of your ability to carry something extra but when I traveled with my mother, I carried a lightweight camping stool in a backpack (nothing of value in the backpack). That way if we couldn't find a bench for her, we set her up out of the way so she could sit for a few minutes. It came in handy in many of the countries we stopped on our cruise.

[slidergirl]

Not sure of your ability to carry something extra but when I traveled with my mother, I carried a lightweight camping stool in a backpack (nothing of value in the backpack). That way if we couldn't find a bench for her, we set her up out of the way so she could sit for a few minutes. It came in handy in many of the countries we stopped on our cruise.

 

That is an EXCELLENT suggestion! I imagine the OP would be able to get much use from the stool so that it would pay for itself the first day and definitely be worth the carry. You would have several choice, but definitely look at some at your local backpacking store that fold up/close up compactly. They may run about $25 or so, but the little extra price over the Walmart version would be made up by better carrying ability.

[Hlitner]

Does vaporetto pass include bus coming from Venice airport?

 

Like many things in Venice the answer is not simple. If you buy a Vaporetto Pass (12, 24, 36 etc hours) you can (at the time you buy the pass) pay an extra 4 Euros (one way) or 8 Euros (round trip) to to and from the airport on the regular ACTV bus. This bus is essentially a local bus (it makes multiple stops so its a bit slow) and has limited space for luggage (they can say no if you have large luggage pieces). For most, the better alternative is to take the express ATVO bus (plenty of luggage storage underneath the bus) which is not part of the ACTV (vaporetto system). If you want to use the ATVO bus you would need to buy those tickets separately from your Vaporetto Pass. ATVO passes are sold at vending machines just outside the Airport terminal (on the center island where they have the bus stops) or inside at the ticket kiosk or vending machine. If you buy 2 (or more) ATVO tickets the cost is only 5.50 Euros (one way) and we think its well worth the extra 1.5 Euros over the normal ACTV local bus. The ATVO buses are pretty luxurious coaches and the driver will help store your luggage under the bus. It is also faster since there are no stops between the airport and the Piazale Roma.

 

Hank

 

Hank

[Baseball fan]

That is an EXCELLENT suggestion! I imagine the OP would be able to get much use from the stool so that it would pay for itself the first day and definitely be worth the carry. You would have several choice, but definitely look at some at your local backpacking store that fold up/close up compactly. They may run about $25 or so, but the little extra price over the Walmart version would be made up by better carrying ability.

 

I think my mom got hers at REI and it is aluminum (very lightweight). We just made sure she was out of the way of foot traffic when we set it up. She had a heavier one initially but she found the lighter one and we use that instead. The backpack did come in handy for carrying non-valuables too.

[Kellie Poodle]

Does vaporetto pass include bus coming from Venice airport?

 

There is one pass that does.

 

Here's the web site there the info and purchase is:

 

http://www.veniceconnected.com/

 

Hover your cursor over "booking" on the far left and there is all kinds of info on how to buy and what to buy.

[Kellie Poodle]

Not sure of your ability to carry something extra but when I traveled with my mother, I carried a lightweight camping stool in a backpack (nothing of value in the backpack). That way if we couldn't find a bench for her, we set her up out of the way so she could sit for a few minutes. It came in handy in many of the countries we stopped on our cruise.

 

 

He has a cane with a built-in seat. Has had it for several years and refuses to take it on trips, but this time I think he'll bring it.

 

Men can be so stubborn!!!:rolleyes: