Getting Around Venice

Venice is a wonderful city that can best be enjoyed if you just walk within its streets and alleys. But, if you are one of those who are not fond of walking and hate the idea of being lost, the best thing that you need to learn before arriving in Venice is how to get around the place using public transportation.

When you arrive to Marco Polo airport, you will be needing a transportation off Venice. The easiest means would be hiring a water taxi to bring you there. This will take almost half an hour but since you will be renting it, the cost can be expensive— €80 to €100. If you are on a budget, you can take a bus off to Piazzale Roma—this is located just across the Grand Canal if you are from the train station and would cost you €5 to €10 or—or by water where you can get a ride for only less that €15 through the Alilaguna waterbus.

The ABCs of Venice transportation

Many people enjoy walking within the streets of Venice but because of the easy means of public transportation, you will find yourself wanting to take some of the beautiful bus-boats called “Vaporetto”. Since Venice is a city built on water, the vaporetto are considered as the main transportation in the city that has regular routes cruising Venice, Murano and Burano from the Grand Canal. For roughly around €6.50, you can purchase a single ticket to a vaporetto. This entitles you to stay inside the boat-bus for almost an hour.

For those who are not aiming to sight-see, riding a vaporetto is not a good option because it is too much for a couple of minutes getting to a specific place. But to those who aim to really see what Venice has to offer through the Grand Canal, then it would be worth it. One simple reminder if when you buy a ticket is that make sure to validate it in the machines before you reach the plank getting off the canal.

Then there’s the “Gondola” which are considered as the classic image of Venice. These are boats that are usually hired privately so you along with your company to cruises the canals of Venice leisurely. You are even treated to a performance by the drivers as they sing some Italian songs. But since you have to rent it, riding Gondolas would cost you so much. If you are on a budget, riding the gondola is not advisable.

If you cannot afford to hire a private Gondola—which is considered a must when you travel Venice—you can opt for what they call a “Traghetto”. These are pretty much the same as gondolas, only they are not hired privately and the drivers don’t sing to you. If you just want to cross various points of the Grand Canal, you can ride this since these usually stands along the canal. The traghetto brings the passengers back and forth—from one shore to another—on a regular schedule.

Unlike the gondola where you can ask the driver to wait for you, the drivers of traghetto would not wait for you if you came in late. If you miss one traghetto, you have to wait for the next one to come.