Vaporetto passes & Venice airport transfers

Singles add up fast

A standard ACTV ticket is €9.50 for 75 minutes from validation, valid on vaporetti, mainland and Lido buses, trams and the People Mover. It doesn't cover the airport or Alilaguna boats.

Three rides and you've spent more than a day pass. The ACTV passes:

• Venezia Daily Pass (24 hours): €25
• 2 days (48 hours): €35
• 3 days (72 hours): €45
• 7 days (168 hours): €65

They run from first validation, not by calendar day: a 24-hour pass first used at 3pm is good until 3pm the next day. The Daily Pass also covers Trenitalia regional trains within the city limits, which means the Mestre–Santa Lucia train.

Aged 6–29? The 3-day Rolling Venice ticket is €27, after you buy the €6 Rolling Venice card at a Venezia Unica office. It still comes in under the regular 3-day pass.

Validate every time you board and every time you change boat, pass or not — tap it on the reader at the stop. If you buy on board, ask as soon as you step on; it's handed over already validated and it's card only, no cash.

When you don't need a pass

Venice is a walking city. If you're sleeping between San Marco and Rialto and your plan is central museums, you might only need a boat on arrival and departure. A pass earns its keep with the islands (Murano, Burano, Lido), with a hotel in Mestre or far from the centre, or when you want to ride the Grand Canal on line 1 more than once.

Tiqets and Headout resell the same ACTV passes. The ticket is identical; only where you buy and collect it changes.

From Marco Polo airport

Bus to Piazzale Roma. The ACTV Aerobus is €10 one way (€18 return) and is valid 75 minutes on the mainland bus and tram network. If you'll continue by vaporetto, the Aerobus + network 90-minute ticket at €18 covers bus and boat together. Pass holders add the airport with the supplement: €7 one way, €13 return, bought with the pass. There's also the faster ATVO bus (about 20 minutes), timed to meet many flights.

Piazzale Roma is where roads end. From there it's on foot or by vaporetto — fine if you're staying near the station, in Santa Croce or western Cannaregio.

Alilaguna boat. €18 one way, €32 return, including one large suitcase and one carry-on (each extra bag €4). The Blue line stops at Murano, Fondamente Nove, the Lido, San Zaccaria, San Marco, the Zattere and the train station; the Orange line goes up the Grand Canal side to Guglie, Rialto, Sant'Angelo, Ca' Rezzonico and Santa Maria del Giglio. Slower than the bus, but you arrive on the water near your hotel instead of dragging a suitcase over bridges. Under-6s ride free. ACTV passes aren't valid on it.

Water taxi. Fastest and most expensive; it drops you close to your hotel door. Partners sell both shared and private water taxis at a fixed price, so you know the cost before you get in.

Treviso and the Dolomites

Flying from Treviso? Partners sell the shuttle bus between Venice and the airport. Heading to the Dolomites (Cortina, Val di Fassa)? There are buses and transfers from Marco Polo — handy in winter if you fly into Venice but sleep in the mountains.

Practical tips

Buy your pass before you arrive, online or through a partner, and validate it on your first boat. In high season the ticket offices at Santa Lucia and Piazzale Roma can have queues, which is the last thing you want with luggage. Line 1 runs the full Grand Canal stopping at almost every pier — the cheapest sightseeing cruise in Venice, and with a pass you can ride it as often as you like.