How to get around Venice

The historic center of Venice is located on an island. Precisely because of this, people move mainly on foot or by water, with vaporetto (water bus), water taxis or with the charming gondolas.

Venice Public transport: the vaporetto

The vaporetto (water bus) is the means of public transport in the historic center of Venice, managed by the local transport company ACTV/AVM.

The water buses allow you to reach the main tourist attractions and above all, places of particular interest for residents and are obviously essential for connections with the islands. Some lines travel along the Grand Canal, also offering an opportunity for a characteristic "panoramic tour".
The vaporetto runs are scheduled both during the day and at night to allow those who live there and those who visit it to move freely, even if the frequency of boats decreases during the night.

To access public transport in Venice, it is necessary to have the appropriate ticket, which can be purchased at the authorized resellers or online, by downloading the official app. Booklets or cumulative tickets for several days, which are ideal for moving around with greater freedom, are also available (https://actv.avmspa.it/en).

The route to and from Venice's Marco Polo airport is instead served by Alilaguna (https://www.alilaguna.it/en) on yellow boats (some of which are very similar to vaporettos). To get on board it is necessary to have a specific ticket different from the ACTV/AVM one.

Gondola in Venice

The gondola is one of the symbols of our city; with sinuous lines and an asymmetrical shape, it is one of the typical boats of the Venice lagoon, certainly the most famous and replicated all over the world.

It is currently mainly used for tourist purposes, but there are still gondola-ferries (traghetto) that allow you to cross the Grand Canal from one bank to the other quickly at an affordable cost. The landing places are present at Punta della Dogana, Santa Maria del Giglio, San Tomà, Riva del Carbon, Santa Sofia.

A gondola ride in Venice is a unique and unforgettable experience, which we recommend to all our guests to try at least once in their life: of course, our Staff can help you organize it.

The private transfer by water taxi

For those who love comfort and prefer to move quickly, the water taxi is the best solution: it is a motorboat with a driver that can take passengers practically anywhere in the historic center and on the islands.

The transfer services to and from Marco Polo airport and the Santa Lucia train station in Venice are usually appreciated by our guests and the reception will be happy to arrange it.

Venice by bike

The historic center of Venice is entirely a pedestrian area, bicycles can be transported by hand only for the short trip between Piazzale Roma and the Venice Santa Lucia train station, i.e. in the route from Piazzale Roma, the Constitution Bridge, Fondamenta Santa Lucia, calle Favretti up to the Scalzi church.

In Piazzale Roma there is a paid bicycle parking, BiciPark Venezia, where you can park your vehicle.

Riding a bike is instead possible on the islands of Lido di Venezia and Pellestrina, which can be reached by ferry-boat from Tronchetto Island or from Fusina (Marghera).

Need further information or help planning your itinerary? Contact us and we will suggest the best solutions for visiting Venice.