As you may imagine, there are no cars in Venice. Instead, any travelling is done via the city’s canals. As such, Venice has developed a transportation system to aid tourists and locals alike in getting around the floating city. There are small ferries roaming around, water taxis take you from the airport to St Mark’s Square and water buses can port you to any site in the city. Today, we’ll cover the last option.
Water buses, or Vaporetto, will take you around the islands and through the Grand Canal like a normal bus would, stopping at set-out stops/stations. The company operating all the water buses in Venice is called ACTV and that’s whom you’ll be paying for tickets. The most popular lines are 1 and 2, as they go through the Canal Grande. If you want the prettiest tourist route, that’s what you should look out for.
If you’re worried about accessibility, vaporetti are equipped with ramps through which passengers enter the boats. As such, wheelchair users can easily get on board. There are also discounts for people with disabilities.
Tickets for the ‘vaporetti’
Where to buy tickets for the vaporetto tram in Venice? You can buy tickets in 3 ways:
- Directly on site in Venice, at special machines or kiosks
- On the AVM Venezia official APP (App Store and Play Store)
- As part of the Venezia Unica City pass, where you can add your tickets to a special card with the Museum Pass – just like the Firenze Card in Florence
How much do tickets cost?
- 75-minute ticket: €9.50 (€1.50 for people with disabilities)
- 1-day pass: €25
- 2-days pass: €35
- 3-days pass: €45
- 7-days pass: €75
How to get around Venice?
The central ‘station’ for Vaporetto is the so-called ‘Ferrovia’, or the dock on the main station in Venice. Ferrovia runs 8 lines: 1, 2, 4.1, 4.2, 5.1, 5.2, 3 and N. You can get to St Mark’s Square (lines 1 and 2 through the Grand Canal), to P.le Roma, F.te Nove or Murano with 4.1 and 4.2 or to Lido, the beach part of Venice, with line 5.1 and 5.2 (N is a night line, also going to Lido). There are many more lines in Venice, though these ones will be sufficient for you for the main chunk of Venice. Water buses run frequently, though they’re sadly typically jammed, especially in the high season – but such is the charm of Venice, we suppose.
If you have limited time in Venice, we’d recommend Line 1 and 2 along the Grand Canal – that’s where most of the main attractions are, including in St Mark’s Square. It’s also a great idea to take a bus trip at sunset, as Basilica di Santa Maria della Salute looks incredible with evening lights.
Also don’t fret about buying tickets in advance – there are loads of ticket machines, you can easily buy them on the spot (or just use the app). Waters are also typically calm on the canals, so don’t fret too much if you get a bit seasick.
Timetable of the Venice Water Trams
If you want to double-check, you can find the timetables for all the lines here.
Lines running to Murano: 3, 4.1 and 4.2
Lines running to Lido: 5.1 and 5.2
Lines going to Marco Polo airport: A and B
Map of vaporetti in Venice
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