Choose your Venice hotel carefully!

Things to remember when choosing your hotel in Venice, Italy

 Venice is a beautiful city. It’s an island, actually, over 100 islands connected by 400 bridges.  You cannot drive in the central part of Venice.  You’ll need to walk and/or take a water taxi or a vaporetto to get around.  Your last chances for vehicular access are Piazzale Roma, which is the main bus station, or Tronchetto.  You can find parking lots/garages at each of these, plus you’ll be able to connect with the ACTV water buses (Vaporetti) and/or private water taxis.  (You should pre-book private water taxis so there will be less of a wait).

Water taxi dock at Tronchetto 

Inside of water taxi

ACTV Bus (Vaporetto)

Inside of ACTV water bus

 Because you cannot take a regular taxi or Uber to your Venice hotel (other than the ones located at Piazzale Roma) you must carefully consider where you’ll be staying.  You can google ”number of bridges for Venice hotels” and find out which ones have the most or least number of bridges to cross.  Trust me, you don’t want to haul your suitcases up and down stairs, on bridges packed with tourists and onto cobblestone streets.  People ALWAYS stop for pictures on the bridges too, so it’ll be crowded, and hot and miserable. 

Rialto Bridge with ACTV going under

Some of the bridges have been modified with ramps but often the ramps are more difficult to walk on than the stairs.  Not to mention, many of the bridges are old and somewhat uneven.  That’s not to say that walking around Venice is difficult, I just want people to think first, ask questions first and plan accordingly.  It’s all about managing expectations.  

You can check Google maps, especially Google Street view and virtually “walk” around the area by your hotel.  Yes, you want to do a dry run and yes, you PROBABLY want to stay IN VENICE, as opposed to Mestre or Marghera or even on Piazzale Roma.  You can even stay on a private island at the JW Marriott Venice Resort and Spa or San Clemente Palace Kempinski.  (Both have their own private islands that are about 20 minutes from Piazza San Marco and can be reached by private, complimentary water shuttle. 

 Almost every hotel in Venice can be reached by private water taxi from the airport, Tronchetto or Piazzale Roma.  Water taxis can hold up to ten people and ten suitcases (this may vary by company) and usually the cost is the same for the first 4 or 5 people and 4 or 5 suitcases.  After that, there is a surcharge of approximately 5€ per suitcase and 10€ per additional passenger.  Figure on about 140€ as a rough estimate from the airport or Tronchetto to most hotels as a starting point. 

I prebooked my water taxis using Consorzio Motoscafi.   Any time I emailed them during their business hours, I got a prompt reply and when I called them upon arrival at Tronchetto following my cruise (this is also referred to as Venice City Center by cruise lines for the purposes of their pre and post cruise shuttles) they gave me my boat number and told me where to meet them at the dock.  Again, quite easy.  Yes, it’s pricey but if you have a lot of bags and/or can’t or don’t want to walk up and down stairs, it’s worth the splurge!  Also, there are some hotels that cannot be reached easily by water taxi so be sure to check the list on the website when you book.  (In some cases, there is an extra fee to be paid to the driver.)

 Alternatively you can use the Alilaguna which has a few lines that go from the airport to various points in Venice such as the train station, Piazza San Marco, and Rialto among others.  This service should not be confused with the ACTV water buses (Vaporetti) which run all over the city making frequent stops just like a bus on land.  I suggest buying a multi-day pass as it’s a bit cheaper than single trips.  I got a 2-day ticket since I’d have two full days in Venice, and I used the ACTV several times.

Alilaguna

Both the Alilaguna and Vaporetti are easy to board, and you’ll see a lot of people with luggage.  These can all get crowded, but the system does work well.  The ACTV water buses run often so you won’t have a long wait for the next one.  The ticket agent at the stop near the Rialto bridge was helpful in explaining how to use the system.  Also, your hotel staff will certainly be able to guide you. It’s easy and it’s a nice way to see some sites getting from point A to point B.

 My first hotel was the Hotel Rialto located in a busy area next to the Rialto Bridge.  My water taxi dropped me off less than 50 feet away from the door and I was able to roll my luggage down the dock and into the hotel without much trouble.  (I may have bumped into a couple of tourists! LOL).  The hotel was nice enough but don’t book the smallest room types.  Trust me.  Check out my review on TripAdvisor for details. 

Water taxi dock was about 30-50 feet from the hotel

It was an easy, albeit crowded, walk to the hotel

The hotel set up a water taxi for me to get to the JW Marriott.  Again, this property is located on Isola Della Rose, its own private island and you can only get there via water taxi or the hotel’s water shuttle (it’s complimentary) from Piazza San Marco.  The JW is stunning, quiet, has a spa, a few restaurants, and a nice rooftop pool. You’re 20 minutes from the action in Venice, which is convenient.  It’s also a little inconvenient since you’re 20 minutes away from the action.  Your dining options are limited to those at the hotel and of course, you’re paying a premium for being in Italy, in Venice, in a hotel and one that’s on its own island.  Plan accordingly!  My JW Marriott Venice review is on TripAdvisor  and you can take a video tour below!

Regardless of which of the hundreds of hotels you choose, location is everything!  Do your due diligence so that your trip from the airport, train or bus station is hassle free and you’ve got enough energy left to explore this gorgeous city!