Actv

We used the ACTV Vaporetto (a.k.a. water bus) multiple times during our trip to Venice. It was 7 euros per ride (they also have 24/​48/​72-​hour passes). The #1 and #2 route both go to St. Mark’s, but #1 is the slow route that stops at more stations. I believe that one took 45 minutes.
We didn’t want to take water taxis (cha-​ching), so this worked out really well for us. Easy to understand and we could pay for our tickets with credit cards (helpful when you are running out of cash!).
We also took a land bus to the airport (bus number 5). This saved us a load! It was 6 euros per person and the trip was only 20 minutes. We were a little cramped since there is no luggage storage on the bus, but who cares — it saved us from the 100 euro water taxi fee! The bus runs every 15 minutes, I definitely recommend going this way to the airport!

From Marco Polo to Piazzale Roma there is an alternative tothe yedllow No. 5 city bus, and that is the private blue bus [sorry, don’t know the company’s name] whose loading point is just a few yards away. It costs about twice as much but has distinct advantages: it’s twice as fast because it goes nonstop and on main roads, not through towns. Also it has capacious luggage stowage. With the No 5 there is almost none – any luggage you have will likely deprive other passengers of seats and make you unpopular with locals.
As for cheating on the vaporetto: At many of the most popular stops there are agents who will ask to see your pass and they’ll turn you back if you don’t have one. If you get caught on the boat itself, you’ll be socked with a fine of 50euros or maybe more these days. Backpackers: shuck your packs when boats are crowded; it’s rude not to and there are now signs on all boats reminding you of this.
Anyway, you have no need to cheat if you have feet. All of the main part of Venice is accessible on foot, so don’t be lazy.
Don’t occupy the seats that are specially marked for the elderly and disabled. And even if you’ve got a regular seat, be coirteous and give it up to someone who needs it more than you do. It will go a little way towrd ispelling the notion – largely deserved, in my observation – that tourists are inconsiderate boors.

PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION
August is the big vacation month for Europeans and public transportation is at maximum usage. The most crowded Actv buses and bus stops are shared by locals and out of towners. BUS line 5 will get you to and from the Venezia’s Marco Polo airport and the Canal Grande. Within walking distance is the Venice train station Stazione Ferrovie dello Stato Santa Lucia that connects Venezia with the rest of Europa. To get around Venezi, it’s by a combination of walking, water taxis, private boats for hire and, or gondolas. If cost is not an issue, water taxis and private boats for hire is the way to get around. Most popular option is the Vaporetto (waterbus)
No.1 that operates from one end of the Canal Grande to the other. Waterbuses also supply a useful service connecting outlying points on the periphery of Venice, and linking the city to the islands in the lagoon.
One day, 3 days and 7 days passes are available for purchase through credit card vending machines located at the airport’s baggage claim area. Our experience is all machines may not work and you will have to move from one machine to the next. There is also an Actv kiosk manned by a person if you are unable to complete your purchase at the vending machine.

I was so impressed with the water bus in Venice! I was super scared as to how to get around in Venice with it all being water with no roads and hundreds of bridges crossing the city in every direction, but the water bus is so easy to navigate. The stops are clearly outlined, and the staff is super helpful at giving directions to people who have no idea where they are going & don’t speak Italian. As a huge bonus, they go right down the Grand Canal offering amazing views of the main area of the city. It is so much cheaper than taking a tour, and a very cool, unique experience.

The best and cheapest way to get around Venice and neighboring islands. The ferries are good and whilst it’s not cheap it’s cheaper than the other alternatives like private water taxis.
The service is pretty reliable and whilst it can be busy at times it tends to stop all over the island. Unless you are prepare to walk your only other option is to hop on the the ferry and many parts of the island do not have cars or other modes of transport.
User this service a lot and found it good.

THE POORMAN’S GONDOLA! :D
I’m not saying I would personally do this myself… but you could probably get away with NOT buying a ticket at all!
For two days, we used the vaparettos sevearal times cruising around Venice and through the Grand Canal. NO ONE ever checked if we had a ticket, nor anyone else’s, more or less a validated ticket. I was too chicken to do this, so I bought tickets anyway, but I could have saved 42euros (6 tickets X 7 euro each). But if I was a broke backpacking college student staying in crappy hostels, I’d probably take the risk! ;-)
The only time they checked for tickets was on the special «Alliguna» vaporetto that takes you to the airport, which uses a different ticket that costs 15euro.

A very convenient and affordable way to get around Venice. I wouldn’t recommend them if you are getting into or leaving town with a lot of luggage. In our experience, we took a train in and then crammed onto the #1 line to Piazza San Marco (the official tourist office told us this was the best way). It was slow and we were packed in like sardines on one of the hottest days imaginable. Now that I know better I would have taken a water taxi or got on line #2 which is apparently much faster because it doesn’t make all the stops.
Just a few things… watch out for pickpockets when it’s busy and make your way towards the front when you know your stop in coming up. The boat doesn’t make long stops so be prepared to move fast! You can also busy multiple day passes which will save you a lot of money if you will be in town for a while. The cost is 7 euros for only 60 minutes so it will add up before you know it!

We didn’t use the water bus in Venice until our last day because our hotel was in a great location and we were able to walk to all of the tourist attractions.
We used the water taxi to haul our luggage from the Rialto Bridge to the train station. At this point we had not used the machine to purchase an Actv ticket and we were very frustrated that the ticket machine would not allow us to purchase the ticket we needed. To add to our frustration there did not appear to be any employees or help booths to assist us and we were tying up the machine during «rush hour» on a Monday. Finally we purchased the only tickets that the machine would spit out, but we should have paid 7 Euros apiece.
The water bus makes frequent stops so it took about twenty minutes to get to the train station. We had left our hotel early enough to just sit back and enjoy the scenic views. Have your camera handy; there are plenty of beautiful photo opportunities!
TIP: A great way to explore Venice is to listen to Rick Steves’ FREE audio guided tour on the water bus.
The ride down the Grand Canal on the number 1 will stop at:
Riva de Biasio
S. Marcuola
S. Stae
Ca’d’Oro
Rialto Mercato
Rialto
S. Silvestro
S. Toma
Ca’Rezzonico
Accademia

Der Bus für Venedig. Ist zwar nicht ganz so preiswert, aber es lohnt sich. Es macht sehr viel Spaß einfach kreuz und quer durch Venedig zu fahren.
The bus to Venice. Is not cheap, but what is it already??? It makes a lot of fun with the boat anywhere quickly and conveniently to arrive. The boats are quickly crowded in the high season. At night, a drive as well as on the day worthwhile. We had a lot of fun and were also 1 – 2 hours just boot.

It was interesting to use waterbus to visit sights in Venice! Well! You don’t have other inexpensive options to move between city islands and parts. A way ticket costs 7 €. So, it’s nice to see the city from water too. It’s recommended to immediately grab a seat because waterbus gets by stopping in stations crowded! Seat pitch is limited but view over city is beautiful. We always took waterbus to go back to hotel after long walks. You will rather get know Venice better and closer by walking.

This was our first time in Venice (or Italy) and we were a little concerned about getting around. Our hotel in Venice told us about the ‘cards’ and where to buy them. We spent the first night walking around Venice (from the station to St. Marks!) and we had already walked all over Milan so we were tired. You cannot drive, bike or skate there. You have two options: Walk or the vaporetto (water bus).
The water bus was easy to use and it didnt take long at all to figure it out. Of course our hotel gave us a map, so we knew the stops it would make and we had planned out where we were going before getting on the bus. We even downloaded Rick Steves’ audio app (FREE!) for our phone and just rode the vaporetto down to St. Marks to hear about all of the history.
We enjoyed the vaporetto more than the Gondola ride we pre-​purchased (from Hotel Danieli — as they were rude and yelled at the patrons) and we were going to purchase a private Gondola ride but decided that sitting in the front facing the water on the vaporetto was very nice and we could save our money for a nice bottle of wine — or two!
We stayed in Venice for two nights, but we only purchased a 24 hour card. It worked well since we walked the first night.
Enjoy Venice and definitely ride the vaporetto!

Venice is a very walkable city, but sometimes you just need to catch a ride and the affordable way to do this is by taking the vaporetto or the water bus.
Admittedly, it’s a slow moving way to transport multitudes of people, but stops are clearly marked with bright yellow signage. There are electronic card readers at every stop where you can «tap» your card. We only bought a 12 hour card which already costs € 20 euro each and the price goes up depending how long you need it for. If you only need to ride the vaporetto once, like say, to the train station, buy a one way transit ticket (which includes 1 piece luggage) for € 7 euros.
The «Traghetto» is another cheap way to get across a canal without taking ACTV, you should look for Traghetto stops marked in green/​black. These boats look like gondolas, but aren’t decorated and only costs € 2 per ride.
Line 1 travels up and down the Grand canal with major stops highlighted: Rialto Bridge, Piazza San Marco, Accademia etc. If you can snag one of the seats out front, this can be a romantic way to see Venice at night … except you’ll have the engine noise as your background music!

Agree with others that the water bus is not cheap
It’s a little confusing on the stations as you need to know which direction is the water bus. We had to jump off of one as realize it was the wrong direction
There isn’t a lot of options for tourist, so their tourist pass was for several days. So we got the 24hr pass which was € 20. They had 1 hour for € 7, 12hr for € 18, etc. The ticket counters outside of the train stations take credit cards.
If they have bus maps for tourist or better options, it would be a little better.

I only took the actv to the train station, but it is definitely the way to ride on water in Venice.
Water Taxis in venice are crazy expensive. To put it in perspective, from my hotel to the train station would be 70 euro by water taxi. To use the actv, it is 7 euro a person. I was traveling with my wife so I saved myself 56 euro on this one trip alone.
I did have to walk about 10 minutes to the station, but that was worth it to me.
I was able to get tickets at the bus port and people were helpful when I asked which way the train station was.

good idea to review the waterbus in Venezia! if you’re really going to be moving around, it’s worth it to take the waterbus. in fact, grab a seat out front or back and just ride a line in a full circle, to see the city from the water. the waterbus will take you along the grand canal, and is a damn sight cheaper than a ride in a gondola. plus it’s a nice rest if you’ve been walking yourself in circles all day.
the tickets aren’t cheap, but i think part of the reason is they know we’ll be willing to pay whatever they ask — especially in the summer, at the end of a day of walking. and i figure if you ride it all the way around, snapping pics of the grand canal, traveling the way venetians do… well, that’s worth the price of admission.
also… this is the way to travel if you want to visit the islands you can’t walk to… like Murano, Burano, and the Lido.

walking around in venice is a great way to see everything up close, though if you want to travel from various parts of the city or to other islands nearby the best method would be to use the actv transit service. right outside of the train station you will find the building that sells passes — which is definitely the way to go. a one way trip is 7 euro, while a 3 day pass is 35 euro; which allows you to ride either the boat or bus (depending upon your location). you simply just scan your card before you get onto the boat or bus, it’s that simple. trying to figure out the lines in venezia might be a little daunting in the beginning cause you have to go to the dock to catch the correct boat going in the direction you want — though once you figure it out, it’s easy peasy. their website (
), which comes in an english option, provides timetables for the various routes. if you’re on a budget, this a must buy when you are traveling to see venice — your feet will thank me later.

Where? Sur l’eau, parce qu’à Venise, il y a de l’eau (sans dec’…)
When? Quand on veut reposer ses jambes des longues marches vénitiennes
Why? Alors déjà, pas pour le prix exorbitant (6,5EUR l’aller) mais plutôt pour le paysage qu’offre le Grand Canal et ses palais.
Who? La dextérité du personnel des vaporetto (impressionnant les marches arrières!)
What? Le petit plus «je suis jeune et j’ai des bons plans». Le pass 72h qui vaut normalement 33EUR, vaut 10EUR de moins pour les moins de 29 ans

4 étoiles rien que pour les vaporeto !

The local transportation system is Venice is pretty fun, but EUR6.50 for a single ticket?! That’s a huge rip-​off! Still, not a bad way to see the city. A tourist pass for 24 hours will set you back around EUR18, which is much better value.