Venice Transportation – Taxi, Train, Bus & Airport Tips

Venice Transportation

When you think of Venice, you probably think about gondoliers navigating the canals, maybe singing, maybe wearing a striped shirt. While that certainly is an option, there are many different ways to get around Venice.

Vaporetto

There are many water taxis plying Venice, and they’re divided into the private water taxis – which are hired by tourists, big tour groups, couples, etc. – and the public water buses, which are called Vaporetto (little steamer). The public water buses provide travel between several points in Venice itself and the surrounding islands in the lagoon, such as Murano, Burano and Lido. The public water bus system has 19 scheduled lines that serve the whole Venice lagoon. Many routes begin as early as 5 am and go as late as midnight. Some routes run 24 hours a day. Vaporetto stations are literally floating water docks where you can buy tickets. You can purchase one-time tickets at 1.50 euros, good for up to 75 minutes,  or you can buy a 1-day travel card for 20 euros that includes unlimited water taxi, public bus and even tram rides. Pay 30 euros for a 2-day travel card, 40 euros for a 3-day card and 50 euros for a 4-day card. You can also buy a pack of 10 single ride tickets for 14 euros.

You can even take a water bus to and from the airport.

Train

You cannot drive in the heart of Venice. Even bicycles are limited as to where they can ride. You can commute to Venice by car, but if you want to go to the city center you have to take the train. After exiting the train station you have options to walk, take the ferry (with designated stops and travel patterns) or hire a personal water taxi (very expensive) to get to where you want to go.

Airport

In general it might be the better option to book flights to Venice’s closest airport Marco Polo (and not to Treviso, where the no frills airlines arrive and depart from). The airport of Venice is located in Tessera; not far from Mestre. It is only 13 km far from the center of Venice.

The arrivals area is situated on the ground floor. On the first floor there are the departures area and the tickets booths. The check in area is on the third floor.

It is not a large airport, but it has several shops, cafes and some restaurants. It also has three banks, a post office and a luggage deposit.

Editor’s note: The information contained on this page was compiled using real traveler reviews about transportation in Venice.