One of the dreams of every traveler is to visit Venice, one of the most romantic cities of the old continent. If you are looking forward to traveling to this city, you are probably wondering how to get to Venice and how to get around once there.
The options to get to Venice are very varied, which is excellent news, as it gives you a good margin to select the means of transportation that best suits your tastes, budget or particular circumstances.
Of course, there are means of transportation that are clearly more advantageous than others, but curiously enough, they are not always the most selected by travelers.
So in this opportunity we will show you how to get to Venice, detailing each of the available means to access one of the most touristic cities in the world.
Check out our article on things to do in and around Venice.
How to get to Venice by plane
It is very easy to reach Venice by plane, as there are two airports very close by: Marco Polo International Airport and Treviso Airport. Both are good options to reach Venice. But without a doubt, Marco Polo Airport is closer and better connected to the city.
Marco Polo Airport is the most used by airlines to reach Venice. Currently, about 90% of airlines use this airport to the detriment of Treviso Airport, which is about 45 km from the famous City of Canals.
Venice Marco Polo Airport, on the other hand, receives direct flights from the most important cities in Europe and the world. It also has connections with the main national airports, receiving flights from Rome, Cagliari, Naples, Palermo, Florence, Bari, etc. For this reason, getting to Venice by arriving at its main airport is not a major problem.
As mentioned above, a second option to reach Venice by plane is Treviso Airport. Although it is not the closest airport, it is still an interesting alternative, especially if you want to visit some Italian destinations before arriving in the city.
– How to get from Marco Polo Airport to Venice
There are multiple transfer alternatives to get to Venice from both Marco Polo Airport and Treviso Airport. You can get to your accommodation (or as close as possible) by watertaxi, alilaguna, bus, cab or private transfer service.
🏨 Find here the best accommodation in Venice.
Fortunately, Venice is a very well connected city, so it is not a problem to find the ideal means of transportation for you. The options most frequently used by travelers are detailed below.
– From Marco Polo Airport to Venice by Watertaxi
The famous water cab is a very important means of transportation in Venice. These are small boats that operate like a cab, which are also commonly referred to as cab boats.
It is one of the most popular means of transportation for tourists because it is part of the adventure of the trip as it is your first foray through the canals of Venice. In addition, it is an excellent opportunity to contemplate beautiful landscapes and some tourist sites along the way.
📷 Get to the city of Venice the coolest way by hiring your watertaxi here.
– From Marco Polo Airport to Venice by bus
You can get from the airport to Venice by bus using two great options. The first is the so-called No. 5 bus, which runs from Marco Polo Airport to Piazzale Roma.
Piazzale Roma is a place that is not of tourist interest, but it is the last point you can reach by road. It is located at the end of the Liberty Bridge and is a must stop for all tourists arriving from the Marco Polo airport in Venice.
It is precisely in Piazzale Roma where you will find its station called vaporetto Piazzale Roma, from where you can go to any point of interest in Venice and even move to the nearest islands.
Bus no. 5 will take you to this place (Piazzale Roma) from the airport, making a few stops. The trip could take 30 to 45 minutes and costs about 8 euros.
A second alternative on how to get to Venice by bus from the airport is to use the Blue Bus. Popularly, this is the name given to the bus of the ATVO company, which, unlike the No. 5 bus, does not make any stops.
So it is a faster way to get to Piazzale Roma. The price is the same, i.e. 8 €, and you can purchase tickets for both options at the airport.
– From Marco Polo Airport to Venice on Alilaguna
An Alilaguna is a boat that works as a water bus and is one of the most fun and interesting options to get to Venice from the airport. The company to which these ships belong is called Alilaguna, hence its particular name.
The Alilaguna runs from the airport to the historic and central St. Mark’s Square. It is convenient for many travelers to reach this square, as it is the heart of Venice, where several of the most important buildings are located and is one of the best connected areas of the city.
The water buses of the Alilaguna company provide services throughout the day, and the average price per trip is only 15 euros. It is an economical means of transportation and is the perfect choice, especially if the accommodation is close to St. Mark’s Square.
– From Marco Polo Airport to Venice by cab
Cabs will always be a good alternative to reach different points of interest in any tourist city in the world, including, of course, Venice.
From the airport you can take any cab, but due to the characteristics of Venice, the cab will not drop you off at the door of the hotel. Although it is somewhat cheaper than the watertaxi, the latter is more recommended if you want to get directly to the hotel.
On the other hand, as a land alternative, it is more convenient to take the bus than to choose the cab as a means of transportation. However, depending on your particular circumstances or personal preferences, a cab will always be available at Marco Polo airport to take you as close as possible to your accommodation.
– From Marco Polo Airport to Venice by shuttle service
The transfer service is an expensive private transfer option. In this case, a driver will pick you up at the airport for a transfer by car to a pier. Afterwards, you will board a water cab to the door of the hotel. If you can afford it, it is a very comfortable alternative to go from the airport to the hotel and vice versa.
📷 Hire your transfer from Venice airport to the city for greater comfort. Please note that prices are per complete vehicle and not per person.
🔝 Check out this 10-day itinerary through the most incredible places in Italy, an incredible route to enjoy this beautiful country.
2. How to get to Venice by Train
We switched from the plane to one of the most comfortable and popular alternatives to reach the city of gondolas: the train. A train trip is not only a very pleasant experience, but it also offers many advantages such as a variety of schedules, affordable prices, larger seats and incredible views.
The state train network to Venice is called Trenitalia, and the price of the train ticket varies according to the distance from your place of origin to the city of Venice.
You can reach Venice by train from the most important cities in Italy such as Florence, Rome, Verona, Bologna, Milan or Padua, which is the closest. Venice also has rail connections to Austria, Germany, Slovenia and Croatia.
Similarly, Venice can be reached by regular services offered by the Oriente Express long-distance train. This service departs from cities such as London and Paris via a trip through the Alps, where it goes without saying that the scenery along the way is breathtaking.
Finally, there are other options on how to get to Venice by train, among which are the superb rail service of Interrail, InterCity, Diretto, Eurocity, Inter-Regionale or the Eurostar. All these options will take you to the 2 most important train stations in Venice. Let’s learn a little more about these stations.
– Venice Santa Lucia Train Station
The station is located very close to Piazza Roma, towards the west side of the famous Grand Canal. It is the main train station of Venice and the place where millions of visitors arrive every year. In the station facilities you will find the Tourist Office and services such as accommodation reservations, luggage storage and currency exchange.
– Mestre Train Station
Although Venice’s Santa Lucia station is the main station, it is not the only one in the city. The Mestre train station is considerably close by and enjoys great popularity, as there are some trains that only arrive at this station.
In any case, both stations are very well communicated with each other, in a journey time of just under 10 minutes. Taking the latter into account, there really isn’t much difference in getting to one station or the other. Both offer first class facilities and are only 6 km away from each other.
– Arriving in Venice while on Interrail
One of the preferred options for travelers is to arrive in Venice while taking the Interrail. This is a service in which you can travel on most trains in Europe. Not only that, you also have the possibility to choose from more than 10,000 destinations, in which of course, our beloved Venice is included.
Just purchase the Interrail Pass and you will have access to more than 40,000 train stations in Europe and design a trip to your liking. There are two types of Interrail passes that you can purchase: the One Country Pass and the Global Pass.
The One Country Pass is more suitable for visiting various cities and destinations within a specific country. On the other hand, the Global Pass allows you to board trains and ferries in more than 30 countries in Europe. Depending on your location on the European continent, you can purchase either of the two passes mentioned above and reach Venice by train without any inconvenience.
Do you want ideas for Interrail Routes that include Venice among their destinations? Take a look at these 15-day, 22-day and one-month routes, depending on the amount of time you have to visit Europe.
3. How to get to Venice by car
The last option, and actually the least recommended, is to reach Venice by car. You can get as close to the city as possible via the A4 highway if you are coming from Turin or Trieste. You can also reach Venice by car from the A27 highway if you are coming from Belluno or take the A13 highway for those coming from Bologna.
Now, we have mentioned that the car is not the most recommended option since what predominates in Venice are the canals, not the streets. Therefore, the car will not be very useful to drive around the most important tourist sites of the city.
However, you can leave your car in some of Venice’s parking lots from where you can easily get to your hotel or tourist attractions. The most used parking lots in Venice are located in Piazzale Roma and cost between 20 and 30 euros per day.
But there is a more economical alternative that many domestic and international travelers turn to when leaving their cars. These are much more economical parking lots located in the Industrial Zone just before the Liberty Bridge.
The price of parking in this area is only 10 euros per day. From there, you must purchase a bus ticket to get to Venice.
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4. How to get to Venice from Mestre
Mestre is a city that is very close to Venice (in fact it is on the other side of the bridge) and is perfectly connected to the airports, bus and train stations… and to Venice itself too!
In addition, we have been able to see for ourselves that it is also much cheaper in terms of food and accommodation in the famous city of canals.
🏨 Find here the best accommodation in Mestre.
So, when planning a trip to Venice, it is normal to wonder how to get to Venice from Mestre .
To reach Venice from Mestre, the most recommended means of transportation are train and bus. You can reach Piazzale Roma by car and leave it in a parking lot. But as we have mentioned, it is not the ideal option, especially considering that you can leave it in Mestre and take a train or bus, which will ultimately take you to the same place and save you money.
Going from Mestre to Venice by bus or train costs only 1,35 euros and with both means of transport the journey will only take you about 10 minutes. In this particular case, there is simply no option that can compete with these 2 alternatives.
5. Arriving in Venice by cruise ship or ferry
It is possible to reach Venice by ferry from other parts of Europe, although the most popular option in summer is from Croatia.
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Large cruise ships also arrive at its port full of tourists eager to explore the city. If you are one of them, you should know that there are some very attractive excursions to do in the city. You can take a look at the ones we mentioned in the article on things to do in Venice and this exclusive excursion below:
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As you can see, there are multiple ways to get to Venice at very reasonable costs. So don’t miss the opportunity to visit this beautiful European city and marvel at its history, charm, multicultural atmosphere and natural beauty.
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