When you land at the Marco Polo airport, you have three options to get to the centre. Option 1 - You can of course take a taxi, which would bring you to Piazzale Roma where all traffic stops and from where you can proceed on a water bus (known as vaporetti). The ride in the taxi should cost € 40. Option 2 - You can also choose to take a private motorboat, which can take you closer to your resort, but it also costs significantly more, you should expect a price around the €100 mark. Option 3 - A third option is to take the boat from the company Alilaguna ( www.alilaguna.it ) from the airport to various locations in the centre. The price is €15.00. Option 4 - Finally, you can take the bus to Piazzale Roma. The line is no. 5-Aerobus, and the trip costs €6.00.
Walking is by far the cheapest and easiest way to get around the historic centre! Water taxi's are very expensive, but the water buses are a cheaper alternative, at around €7.00 euros for a ticket for a 60 minute trip.
If you are in town for several days and intend to use the boat at least a few times a day, it can pay to buy a multi-day card: two days will cost €30.00, three days for €40,00 and 7 days for €60,00. This way you can hop on and off them as often as you like. They will also take you to the Lido, Murano, Burano and Torcello: www.veneziaunica.it.
And what about the gondolas? Well these are a bit of a luxury for rich tourists only these days since the prices are sky high! A 30 minute trip will cost you around €80 in the daytime for up to 6 people.
There is one place where you can get a cheap gondola ride still, for just €2.00 per person you can cross from one side of the Grand Canal to the other. It is a commitment that all Gondolerere have to take it in turns to offer this short trip for groups.
If you come to Venice by car, you have a number of options.
Option 1 - You can either drive until Piazzale Roma, where you will find a parking garage for €30.00: www.garagesanmarco.it
Option 2 - You can also choose the huge parking garage on the artificial island called Tronchetto which is situated beside train terminal just before town which costs €21.00 per day www.veniceparking.it
Option 3 - The cheapest option is to leave your car on the mainland and then take a bus into the centre. You can park in the garage in Mestre for €15.00 euros a day: www.garageeuropamestre.com
Option 4 - There is also parking at Garage Touring just before the train station in Mestre, so you can arrive in the centre of Venice by train in just a few minutes. Here the prices vary depending on how many days you want but we can say that it is €12 per days for two days.
www.myparking.eu
(updated in March 2015)
