Venice is beautiful, however transport in Venice can cause problems. Here’s a guide to help you get the most out of Venice’s transportation options.
Transport in Venice
Getting to Venice from the Airport
Most flights arrive in Venice’s Marco Polo airport (although a few budget airlines arrive at Treviso, which is a little further to the north.) From the airport, the cheapest route to the heart of Venice is to take the bus.
Bus Transport to Venice
ATVO run a direct bus service to the bus station in Piazzale Roma, departing every half hour and costing 3 Euros. The journey takes around 30 – 40 minutes depending on the traffic. Alternatively, local buses cost 2.50 and only take a little longer as they weave around the outer districts of Venice. It usually makes sense to hop on the first option that appears outside the airport building. Piazzale Roma is the final stop, so you don’t need to worry about when to get off.
Water taxis are available, but they may set you back as much as 200 Euros. Connections from Venice’s central train station, San Luciano, are excellent to the rest of Italy, but sadly, they don’t link up to Venice’s airport.
Getting Around Venice
As the romantic images suggest, Venice is a city of canals, lived on the water. So instead of taxis, buses and trains, there are, well, boats, boats and boats.
Walking Around Venice
It is possible, with a map and some carefree wandering, to walk the whole way around Venice. Although Venice is small, the bridges are frequent, steep and full of steps, which quickly becomes aggravating if you’re struggling with luggage or a child’s pram. If you’re footloose and fancy free, however, it’s the cheapest and easiest way of getting around. The most popular route, between Piazzale Roma and the Rialto Bridge and St Mark’s Square, is clearly signposted and takes around half an hour (and most of that time is spent dodging crowds rather than striding along.)
Venice’s Vaporetto
Route 1 is a scenic way of travelling from the banks of St Mark’s Square (and beyond) right up the Grand Canal to the Rialto Bridge.
Venice’s public transport consists of public boats called vaporetti. Route 1 is a scenic way of travelling from the banks of St Mark’s Square (and beyond) right up the Grand to the Rialto Bridge. You can also travel all the way to the train and bus station on this route as well. You can buy tickets in a number of places (hotels and riverbanks) but if all else fails, it’s no problem to buy a ticket on board. One way tickets cost 6.50 Euros. If you’re staying in Venice for longer than a few days, it may be worth buying the VENICEcard which includes unlimited use fo the APTV and vaporetti as well as free entry to several of Venice’s museums.
Try vaporetto number two to zoom around the outskirts of Venice, taking in the view.
Read this post to discover more Things To Do in Venice.
Top Tip for Dealing with Venice’s Transportation
Try vaporetto number two to zoom around the outskirts of Venice, taking in the view.
Try to stay in a hotel near the bus or train station to avoid hauling luggage up and down steep stairs every two minutes. Plenty of hotels cluster along the Lista di Spagna – staying here is a good way to avoid many of Venice’s transportation issues.