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The vaporetto (water ferry) service in Venice
Instead of public buses, Venice has the vaporetti, a flotilla of public water ferries
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www.actv.it
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A vaporetto, the Venetian water bus or public ferry, arriving on the Grand Canal in Venice.The vaporetto (www.actv.it) is a public ferry service that operates, for all intents and purposes, as the bus network of Venice. (The name derives from vapore, or "steam," since that's what used to power these public people-movers.)
The back of the map the tourist office hands out has a vaporetto route plan (or you can download a pdf of the 2009 route map here, and I've marked all the major fermate (stops—actually, floating docks) on the ReidsItaly.com Google map of Venice.
Useful vaporetto lines
There are three classes of water bus lines:
- Linee Centrocittà steam down the Grand Canal through the heart of Venice; usually the handiest for most visitors.
- Linee Giracittà circumnavigate the heart of Venice; more for residents and commuters, unless your hotel is in the boondocks.
- Linee Lagunari head farther afield in the Venetian lagoon to various outlying islands—popular tourist ones such as the Lido, Murano, Burano, and Torcello as well as residential ones.
Make sure you board a vaporetto headed in the right direction. For lines 1 or 2 along the Grand Canal, this means—if you're getting on at the Ferrovia/train station stop—you want to the boats headed left down the Grand Canal. (If you're getting on at Piazzale Roma, you want the boats headed right). Otherwise you'll end up getting to San Marco the long way around, around the back of the Dorsoduro neighborhood, rather than along the Grand Canal.
The boatmen are used to lost tourists and, at these two hectic stops, will usually assume you want to go down the Grand Canal and therefore try to shoo you away from any boat head in the wrong direction, yelling "No San Marco! No San Marco!"
Oh, and this might help. Major stops often have two floating docks side by side. Boats headed to your left will dock at the one on the right; boats headed to the right will dock at the one on the left. (From their point of view—and they way they drive—this make perfect sense.) Make sure you head to the correct one, as different lines will dock at different docks.
Centrocittà lines
- Line 2: the single most useful vaporetto line is Line 2 (which old Venice hands might recognize as the old Line 82) which chugs regularly from Piazzale Roma (car park) to Ferrovia (the train station) then on a majestic sweep down the Grand Canal, stopping five times (including at the Rialto bridge and the Accademia) en route to the San Marco-Giardinetti stop, which is just off Piazzetta San Marco in the Giardini Ex Reali. It takes 25 minutes to reach Piazza San Marco from the train station (add an extra four minutes from Piazzale Roma).
- Line 1: A commuter line that follows a similar route but takes a wee bit longer and makes more stops, ending at San Marco-Valaressso (30 minutes from Ferrovia to Piazza San Marco; again add 4 min. more from Piazzale Roma).
- Lines 3 and 4: In summer, these lines also run from the station to S. Zaccaria, which is just past the Doge's Palace off the other side of Piazzetta San Marco.
Giracittà lines
- Line 41, 42 (locals) and 51, 52 (express) basically circle the historic center of Venice the long way around the Dorsoduro (i.e. not along the Grand Canal)
- Lines 61 and 62 head from Piazzale Roma around the Dorsoduro and out to the Lido.
Other lines
There are many more vaporetto lines, some seasonal, but you are unlikely to need any of them except:
- LN, or "Laguna Nord": This line services to the popular outlying islands (Murano, Burano, and Torcello).
- Line 15: If you're camping on Punta Sabbioni, this vaporetto will be your best friend for shuttling back and forth to Venice.
Using the vaporetti after dark
A floating dock serves as a fermata (stop) for the vaporetto.Most vaporetto lines run from about 5am until around midnight. Keep in mind, though, that—especially late at night—captains may skip stops where no one is waiting at the dock to board (if if looks like that's happening and you want that stop yourself, it helps to shout up scendo! [SHEN-doh], which means "I'm getting off!"), and they may end your ride before what is technically the end of the line.
Between midnight and 5am there is are night lines along popular routes (mostly variations on routes from Piazzale Roma down either the Grand Canal or "around the back" via the Giudecca Canal to the San Zaccaria stop at Piazza San Marco, some continuing on to the Lido; there are also runs between Murano and the Fondamente Nove). These night service vaporetti only run every hour or so, with more frequent departures between the Rialto and Piazzale Roma.
Vaporetto tickets
Getting to St. Mark'sThere are three stops for San Marco, so just get off at the first one you reach:
• San Zaccaria is just a smidgen east of Piazza San Marco on Riva degli Schiavoni in front of the Doge's Palace and Hotel Daniele.
• San Marco-Vallaresso and San Marco-Giardinetti are side-by-side, just to the west of Piazza San Marco along the Giardini Ex Reali, where the main tourist office is located. (Why two? So the two Gand Canal lines don't have to wait for one another to dock: express Line 2 uses Giardinetti; local Line 1 usues Valaresso.)
Yes, it is true. Vaporetto tickets really do cost €6.50. No, the ticket guy is not trying to rip you off; it's the city of Venice that is ripping you off, albeit legally.
It bears repeating: The standard ticket for most lines that putter about central Venice costs a steep €6.50 (about $8.50). It is valid for 60 minutes, and you can change vaporetti—but only to other boats moving in the same direction as the first boat you boarded (in other words; no round-trips).
You can buy a biglietto (ticket) for the vaporetto either at the ticket kiosks by major vaporetto fermate (docks), or on board the boat (though make sure you seek out the conductor immediately to do so, or you may be assessed a hefty fine). If you buy the tickets before boarding, make sure you validate it by stamping one end in the little yellow box by the dock (again: fines if you don't).
Unless you're going to use the vaporetti a lot—more than three times in a day, or more than five times over two days—the unlimited-ride biglietto turistico passes aren't really worth it (Venice is very much a walking city), but for the record they come in varying lengths of time:
- 12 hours: €16
- 24 hours: €18
- 36 hours: €23
- 2 days: €28
- 3 days: €33
- 7 days : €50
The only time a pass is really worth it: buy a 24-hour one on the morning you plan to visit the outlying islands, since this usually entails at least five rides.
If you to plan to buy an unlimited-ride pass, try to purchase it at least 15 days ahead of time through the municipal Venice Connected discount system for some significant savings (up to €4.50 off the 24-hour pass, €7 off the 48-hour pass, etc.)
Why you (probably) shouldn't buy the Cartavenezia discount card
One final note: No, residents of Venice don't have to pay €6.50 each time they hop the (water)bus. They pay just €1.20 per ride, but they get this reduced fare only if they buy the monthly Cartavenezia discount card. This costs local residents €10. You can buy it, too—for €40. It would really only be worth it if you're staying in Venice for quite a while (at least a week) and will ride the vaporetto a lot.
Mathematically, the Cartavenezia only starts saving you money starting at your eighth ride (which would cost €52 if you bought individual tickets, €49.60 total with the card)—and that is highly unlikely unless you're commuting. Last time I was in Venice I stayed for an entire week and rode the vaporetto a grand total of one time—when I first arrived (I took the traghetto to the airport when leaving).
Venice truly is a walking city.
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This material was last updated February 2011. All information was accurate at the time.
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