HOHO Vaporetto - Venice

[homeinboca]

I was just reading about a new service that started recently that acts like a HOHO bus, but since this is Venice, it would be a vaporetto. Has anyone used this? What was the experience - sounds very interesting, we have enjoyed using HOHO buses in some cities as a good way of getting around.

 

http://livingveniceblog.com/2012/05/vaporetto-arte-venice-waterbus/

[Hlitner]

We actually saw a couple of this new vaporetto line (Vaporetto dell Arte) when we were in Venice a few months ago. The boats were pretty empty. They have their pros and their cons. The pro is that you do get some audio tour commentary (this would be a negative to some) and it will certainly give you a nice tour of the Grand Canal plus get you to the area of several decent museums. The negative (and we think its a huge negative) is that you will only be in the Grand Canal and only see part of Venice. There is a lot more to Venice then the Grand Canal and there are also a few other islands (i.e. Lido, Murano, Burano, Torcello) that are not part of this tour. For our money it makes more sense to buy a timed vaporetto ticket (12, 24, 36, 48, 72 hours etc) and a decent guide book (such as Rick Steves) and then you can see whatever you please (including the same route taken by the Vaporetto dell Arte).

 

Hank

[homeinboca]

Thanks Hank, we are thinking of using this as an intro and then planning on buying a vaporetto ticket for a couple of days. This time we are staying in Venice after our cruise to really enjoy the city. Last cruise, we left right away and felt rushed running around for an afternoon, it was the end of a long trip and we were just exhausted.

 

We are staying at the Hotel Papadopoli which has a free shuttle to Murano as well, so are planning to go there.

[euro cruiser]

We are staying at the Hotel Papadopoli which has a free shuttle to Murano as well, so are planning to go there.

Just be aware that many of the "free" hotel shuttles to Murano are actually arrangements with a particular glass company and significant pressure to purchase comes along with the free ride. There is no obligation to buy anything, just be forewarned about the pressure.

[homeinboca]

Just be aware that many of the "free" hotel shuttles to Murano are actually arrangements with a particular glass company and significant pressure to purchase comes along with the free ride. There is no obligation to buy anything, just be forewarned about the pressure.

 

Euro cruiser, thanks for the heads up. Will make our own way over then. We did the glass demo last time with a Princess tour and were offered the wine carafe and glass set for the "cruise special" of 2000 Euros. We politely declined.