Venice: Best Means of Transport to Get Around (Safely)

Venice is a city like no other, and getting around its labyrinth of canals, bridges, and narrow alleys can be both enchanting and overwhelming. As someone who has navigated this floating masterpiece firsthand, I know that understanding how to get around Venice efficiently can make or break your trip.

Unlike most cities, there are no cars, buses, or bicycles here—only vaporetto (water buses), traghetti (gondola ferries), private water taxis, and your own two feet.

The vaporetto system is the backbone of public transport, offering an affordable way to explore Venice’s Grand Canal, Murano, Burano, and other islands. If you're short on time, a water taxi provides direct, private transport—at a premium price. And of course, no visit is complete without a ride on a gondola, though these are more for the experience than practicality.

Walking is essential in Venice. Many of the city’s hidden gems—from quiet piazzas to charming local eateries—are only accessible on foot. But with over 400 bridges, getting lost is part of the adventure. To navigate like a pro, use offline maps, follow signs to major landmarks, and embrace the city’s unique flow.

In this guide, I’ll break down the best ways to travel through Venice, helping you save time, money, and energy while making the most of this magical city.

How to get to Venice?

Venice is not only accessible by plane, there are travellers who will arrive by train, bus and even cruise ship! Below we tell you how to get to the centre of Venice from different stations and arrival points. And of course, don't miss our tips for travelling to Venice .

1. From Marco Polo Airport

You have several options to get to Venice from Marco Polo Airport:

ATVO Airport Shuttle: Tickets cost €10 (€18 round trip). See timetables .
Aerobus + boat: for €14 you have a ticket that allows you to use the ACTV (Venice's public transport company) aerobus 5 to Piazzale Roma and from there the vaporetto service in Venice.
City bus : This is the cheapest option, although the least comfortable, as you will have to walk to the first stop outside the airport, which is Tessera Centro , 1 km away, and take it there (line 5). It costs €1.5.
Taxi: A taxi ride to Piazzale Roma costs approximately €40.

If you are travelling in a group, an interesting option is to hire a transfer service . From Marco Polo Airport to Piazzale Roma for 4 people it is very well priced. There are other transfer options (directly to the hotel, between airports, etc.).

⭐ In this post we tell you in detail how to get to Venice from Marco Polo airport.

2. From Treviso Airport

There are direct buses to Piazzale Roma with the same company ATVO. The journey takes about 1 hour and the ticket costs about €12 one way (€22 return). See timetable .

You have a slower but cheaper option: first take the city bus number 6 to the train station (20 minutes, €1.30, the ticket must be purchased at a tobacconist's or sales points at the airport) and from there take a train to Venezia Santa Lucia (40 minutes, €3.45).

Treviso Airport, Treviso - Book Tickets & Tours | GetYourGuide

3. Santa Lucia train station

Venice station is called “Santa Lucia” and is frequently connected to major Italian destinations. If you are staying in Mestre (the closest city to Venice) there are trains to Venice every 5-10 minutes from platform nº1.

The ticket costs €1.50 and the journey only takes about 10 minutes. You can buy it at the station (at the ticket office or at the machines) and don't forget to stamp it before boarding the train. Plus, the views upon arrival in Venice are very beautiful!

4. Tronchetto bus station

With the boom in low-cost bus companies, we are in luck! There are buses that arrive and depart from Venezia Tronchetto to very different destinations. For example, Flixbus connects Venice with Italian destinations such as Milan, Turin, Genoa, Bari, Pescara and other European destinations such as Munich, Ljubljana, Vienna, etc.

To get to Tronchetto you can walk, although we recommend taking the People Mover from Piazzale Roma, it costs €1.50 and has two stops.

If you arrive in Mestre you can reach Piazzale Roma with buses number 2, 4, 7, 12 and 24.

Cancun Travel Guides

5. From the cruise port to the center

There are three ways to get to the center of Venice from the cruise port:

Vaporetto : the fastest but most expensive. The vaporetto station is at the cruise terminal itself. To get to San Marco, take Line 2 and it takes about 20 minutes. The same goes for the return trip. The price is €8 one way or €15 round trip. There is also a daily ticket that allows you to take unlimited vaporettos in one day for €20 (interesting if you want to make an excursion to Murano, Burano or Torcello on your own, although only recommended if you already know Venice and have plenty of time at your disposal).
Walking : the slowest but cheapest way. You can walk to Piazzale Roma (the transport hub of Venice) by crossing a bridge over the motorway (there is a sidewalk and it's not dangerous). From there you can walk to Rialto (about 40 minutes) and to Piazza San Marco (another 30 minutes) through narrow streets. Don't worry about getting lost, there are signs to Rialto and San Marco to go there and to Ferrovia and P.Roma to come back, on almost every corner.
People Mover : This is an elevated tram that takes you to Piazzale Roma and will allow you to skip the first leg of the journey by walking. The price is €1.50 per trip and the station is at the cruise terminal itself, at the very end.

Perhaps an interesting way to visit Venice on a cruise is to first walk to St. Mark's Square (skipping the first section with the People Mover if you want) and from there return by vaporetto.

6. Where to park in Venice

The million dollar question: where to park in Venice ? If you want to get to Venice with your own car, you can choose from two parking areas:

Piazzale Roma : there is a public car park ( Autorimessa Comunale ), with a single price of 35€ for 24 hours. If you are going to leave your car for a few hours in this car park, there is the Parcheggio S. Andrea , which charges 7€ every two hours. From Piazzale Roma to the centre you can go on foot or by vaporetto.
Tronchetto : Tronchetto parking has better rates and interesting promotions (if you arrive on a cruise, if you leave your car for 3 days, it offers discounts on attractions, etc.). The price is €27 per day.

Another option is to leave your car in a parking lot in Mestre and reach Venice by train/bus.

How to get around Venice?

There are basically two ways: walking or sailing!

1. Walking, the best option to get around Venice

The historic centre is not excessively large and getting around on foot, apart from being the cheapest way, is very interesting . And there is nothing like getting lost in the narrow streets of Venice! However, be prepared to sweat profusely: it is full of stairs and bridges everywhere, it is estimated that there are more than 400 (your butt will thank you!).

Don't be afraid of getting lost, as you will find charming corners that you don't expect, but there are signs on many corners indicating the main points of interest. Just in case, use Google Maps to get back to your accommodation.

Mexico Travel Guides

2. Vaporetto, the ferries of Venice

It's a kind of collective boat that we're not big fans of: the ticket valid for 1 hour costs €9.50! But it's also true that sailing along the Grand Canal is a must... and you have to do it once in your life, especially if the alternative is the gondola: that's really expensive! Tickets can be bought with a card in new machines that have been placed at the entrance to each dock where the vaporetti stop.

⭐ If you plan to take the vaporetto more than once, you may want to consider buying a one-day or multi-day pass . The 24-hour pass costs €25, the 48-hour pass costs €35 and the 3-day pass costs €45 (the time counts from the first time you validate it, not per calendar day). You can buy the passes here and forget about the queues to get them at the ticket office.

3. Gondola ride

It is perhaps one of the symbols of Venice , although many of us are content with taking a photo from a distance as it is a truly expensive experience. How much does it cost to go on a gondola? In the past, you could negotiate, but to avoid scams, "official" prices have been established: a 30-minute gondola ride costs a whopping €90 . You can try to lower this price a little with the gondoliere himself, and see if you get lucky.

If you really want to go but you are not willing to pay that much money, there are a couple of tricks : either book online and share the gondola with other people or get on a traghetto, we will tell you more.

gondoliers in Venice

4. Traghetto, the cheapest gondola

This is a kind of gondola that is larger than the tourist ones and is used to cross the canal from one side to the other. The mini-trip costs €2 and is an excellent alternative to navigate for 5 minutes along the Grand Canal and also to save yourself a long walk.

Ok, it's not as romantic as the gondola since you have to stand next to more people, but it's a great way to experience it while saving money!

This concludes our guide to transportation in Venice . We hope we have resolved your doubts about how to get to Venice from the airport and how to get around Venice . Now enjoy this incredible city.

Travel Guides