Venice itself is a pedestrian and a boat city -- there are no cars, buses, motorcycles or Vespas (very unusual for Italy) beyond Piazzale Roma. Visitors from the mainland can park their car on Tronchetto, a man-made island which sports a large parking garage, or in the smaller car parks around Piazzale Roma. This is the last time you will see your car during your stay. There are many water bus lines running from Piazzale Roma all round Venice. However the Lido is very different as car, buses etc are to be found on the streets there.
The fastest transport -- but very expensive -- to get around Venice is by private water taxi. When it rains, these taxis are especially convenient since they have a closed cabin and will take you anywhere by water.. You can get a taxi at one of the water taxi ranks, or have the hotel call it for you. Often you'll be able to pay for the taxi at the hotel. Extra is charged for luggage, night service as well as waiting time. The Italian private water taxi drivers do not expect a tip.
Make sure you get a legitimate water taxi - has serial number in black on yellow background and make sure the driver turns on the meter. Official water taxi fares can be viewed on the Venice CIty Hall website at http://english.comune.venezia.it/news...
The most common method of transport -- aside from walking -- is the vaporetto, run by a company called Actv (www.actv.it). The Actv provides an extensive public transport system around Venice and the adjacent islands in the Lagoon. Vaporetto tickets are 6.5 Euros for one hour (basically a single-use ticket),
Period passes are available -
- 14,00 € - 12-HOUR TRAVELCARD
- 16,00 € - 24-HOUR TRAVELCARD
- 21,00 € - 36-HOUR TRAVELCARD
- 26,00 € - 48-HOUR TRAVELCARD
- 31,00 € - 72-HOUR TRAVELCARD
Tickets for the Actv can be purchased at major stops like Piazza San Marco, Rialto, and Ferrovia in Venice, as well as on the islands of Murano, Burano and Lido and at Marco Polo airport. However Actv only provide land buses to run from Marco Polo to Piazzale Roma. A faster express coach servcie is provided by ATVO and slight greater cost.
Water transport from Marco Polo airport to venice is provided by the Alilaguna ferry service. See www.alilaguna.it for details of routes, timetables and fares. The major drawback to this service is that it is rather slow, taking slightly over an hour compared with the 20/25 minutes to Venice for the private water taxis.
Tickets are rarely checked, however if you are caught riding the vaporetto without a valid ticket you are subject to the fare plus an instant 30 Euros fine payable on-the-spot. The "conductors" do not accept credit cards, so cash is recommended.
Crossing the Grand Canal can be done at Rialto and Accademia, via the vaporetto, or via traghetto. The traghetto are larger gondola-style boats, with two oarsmen. For 3 Euros you can cross the canal in a few minutes. There are seven Traghetto crossings on the canal, and are marked with green signs. Traghetto run from 6am to about 6pm.
Finally, private gondole are another way to get around the city but this is the MOST expensive choice, and isn't recommended for actually getting anywhere in a hurry. Gondole are nice for a romantic tour of the canals and are only used by tourists.
