Venice Water Taxi

[tmqw]

Our group of 5 are sailing on Constellation the end of May out of Venice, which is actually out of Ravenna.  We're spending only 1 night in Venice for a whirlwind tour before the cruise.  Due to our limited time, it seems the quickest way from the airport (and back the next day) to our hotel is by water taxi.  Does anyone have any recommendations or advice on how long it takes to get through Customs, booking a water taxi ahead of time, or anything else that will hopefully save us time?

Thanks!

[Jim_Iain]

Good information here and a portal to book.   For a group of 5 it may be relatively affordable.   

 

For timing I would think that 60 minutes would be a good estimate of getting you luggage, immigration and customs (red land / green lanes)

 

Another option is to consider the Airport Transfer bus that take you to the Bus Station at the Train Station.   They run every 20 minutes and run 8 Euros.   Transit time on the non-stop bus in about 20 minutes.

 

 

 

[MeHeartCruising]

1 hour ago, tmqw said:

Our group of 5 are sailing on Constellation the end of May out of Venice, which is actually out of Ravenna.  We're spending only 1 night in Venice for a whirlwind tour before the cruise.  Due to our limited time, it seems the quickest way from the airport (and back the next day) to our hotel is by water taxi.  Does anyone have any recommendations or advice on how long it takes to get through Customs, booking a water taxi ahead of time, or anything else that will hopefully save us time?

Thanks!

Are you really flying a direct flight from the US into Venice?  If not, passport control may be happening in your connection city and not Venice.  Customs is usually as simple as walking thru a door if you have nothing to declare. 

[Vineyard View]

When I inquired about a private water taxi from the airport I was told that there is a dock right there you can walk to to catch one. About 30 min ride vs 1 1/2 hours via public water. Depending on where you are staying, if they have a water dock, the private can drop you right at your hotel. I was told we didn’t need to make a reservation. I would appreciate feedback if this is inaccurate, but the information came from a couple different hotels. 

[princeton123211]

19 hours ago, Vineyard View said:

I would appreciate feedback if this is inaccurate, but the information came from a couple different hotels. 

It is accurate in the sense that there will be water taxis waiting there for hire. Its just like any other airport-- you can book a car service ahead of time or you can take your chances on how long the line for a taxi is. 

 

What they're not telling you is that booking a service ahead of time can save you quite a bit of time. I've done it both ways in Venice and this was by far the easiest (especially coming off an overnight flight from the US). We booked a reserved water taxi through our hotel and there was a representative waiting for us before immigration who then collected our bags, expedited us through immigration past a few planeloads of passengers, and right to the waiting water taxi skipping the line. 

 

Sure it was a little bit extra than just paying for a water taxi but between skipping the immigration line and the water taxi line we easily saved an hour or more. 

[Vineyard View]

Good - no great, additional information. Thank you very much. I will contact our hotel about helping us with this. Flying from the West Coast to VCE - I really want what is easiest - so I really appreciate this! 

[tmqw]

All great information - thank you all!

[Hlitner]

Going through Customs at VCE is generally a big nothing.  Most of the time you will simply pick-up your luggage and quickly be out the door.  Delays are more likely to happen because of very slow luggage unloading.  We once flew into VCE, got our luggage, and than the luggage handlers went on a one-day strike.  Aircraft landing after ours were diverted to other airports (such as Milan).  You have to love Italy!   );

 

Hank

[Vineyard View]

I believe we should clear customs at CDG - and yes..…we’ve experienced air traffic controller, bus, and train strikes. Sat on a train in Italy years back in the middle of the country for quite some time. They decided to strike, and just stopped the train! Same with Bus and airports. It’s interesting. But we do love Italy and looking forward to what this next adventure brings!

[latebloomer56]

We had our TA arrange a water taxi for us to our hotel on our first trip. Walked out onto the dock area and young man had a sign for us. Took us to our hotel on the Grand Canal then when we went to the ship a couple days later a water taxi came for us and brought us there.

It was nice after a long flight to not have to hang out in a long line.