All the ways to get around Venice (hint: you’ll need a boat)

08.01.2025 - 22:57 / lonelyplanet.com

Jan 8, 2025 • 5 min read

Venice’s unique infrastructure and layout are major draws for visitors around the world. For exploring a city that has canals instead of roads makes for a memorable experience indeed. 

Yet going from canal to canal takes a bit of getting used to – as well as a relaxed attitude, and the knowledge that, save for using your own two feet, transit options around Venice and the islands of the Lagoon don’t come cheap. Our top tips are intended to help you find your way.

Here is everything you need to know about the Venice’s vaporettos, buses, gondolas – and everything in between.

Walking remains the best way to get around Venice’s six sestieri (neighborhoods). On foot, you’ll quickly discover that Venice is relatively small – the walk from the Santa Lucia railway station to Piazza San Marco takes only 30 minutes, for example. What’s more, the main sights are usually well marked and easy to find. Although we recommend setting out with a good GPS and perhaps a printed map, the unconventional layout of Venice’s streets and alleyways can thwart even those with superior senses of direction. Embrace it: strolls along unfamiliar canals will help you get to know the city – and stumbling into hidden corners and squares is an utter delight.

Oh, and there’s no need to worry about acqua alta, Venice’s famous flooding, as the city deploys walkways on flood-prone days. Still, it’s always wise to have rain boots ready to go if you plan to visit in autumn or winter.

Vaporettos are the workhorses of the Lagoon. Where cities typically have buses that drive along major roads (Venice included, on its mainland part), those in the Serenissima float. The vaporetto service is run by Venice’s municipal public transport system ACTV, and it connects all main points of interest in the six sestieri and other islands of the Lagoon.

The vaporetto system is divided into four main categories, the most relevant to tourists being the “city center lines” 1 and 2, which ply the Grand Canal. Other lines connect the center of Venice with other islands such as Murano, Burano and Torcello, as well as the beaches of the Lido.

For anyone who isn’t a Venice resident, a vaporetto ride isn’t cheap: €9.50 (US$9.83) for a single ticket, valid for 75 minutes. We recommend buying tickets beforehand – and making sure to validate each one at the stop to avoid an additional fee to purchase a ride from the controller on board. You can also buy passes valid for unlimited rides for a single day, two days, three days or seven days for, €25 (US$26), €35 (US$36), €45 (US$47) and €65 (US$67), respectively.

Just like any other city, Venice has its own taxi service – only here, the taxi fleet consists of speedboats. Water taxis deliver high speed and a