Getting Around Venice: Walking, Vaporetto, Gondola Ferries and Buses

Venice is visited on foot or by boat. There are no roads in the urban fabric, only canals and pedestrian alleys called calli, so a car stays outside the historic center.

At a glance

• Simplest way for a typical stay: on foot, plus the vaporetto (waterbus)
• Arrival hubs: Venezia Santa Lucia (railway station) and Piazzale Roma (vehicle and bus terminal)
• Waterbus: run by ACTV · 75-minute Rete Unica ticket €9.50
• Day pass: Venezia Daily Pass €25.00 for 24 hours from first validation
• Gondola ferry across the Grand Canal: €2.00 for tourists
• Car: no roads inside Venice’s urban fabric

Do you need a car in Venice?

For the historic center, no. There are no roads there, so the whole visit happens on foot or on the water, and the Piazzale Roma terminal is where road traffic stops. Mestre and the mainland have their own urban bus and tram network, and standard tickets also cover the buses on Lido and Pellestrina, the islands that separate Venice from the Adriatic Sea.

• Town base in Venice: on foot and by vaporetto · there are only canals and calli, and ACTV runs the waterbus
• Mainland base in Mestre: bus and tram · the Mestre Daily Pass costs €5.00 for 24 hours
• Beaches on Lido and Pellestrina: bus or waterbus · standard tickets cover the road network there, and a return waterbus ticket for the beaches costs €16.00
• Dolomites in winter: ATVO and Cortina Express buses or FlySki Shuttle transfers · they run in winter and can be booked in advance

How does the bus work in Venice?

Buses and trams belong to the ACTV network. Standard tickets cover the urban tramway, the mainland road network in the Municipality of Venice, including Lido and Pellestrina, and the People Mover. Piazzale Roma is the bus terminal on the edge of the historic center.

Activate the ticket before boarding, and validate it at the start of each journey and at each vehicle change. Children up to six travel free on AVM/Actv urban and suburban services in the Municipality of Venice. For Mestre station, ACTV bus line 15 and the ATVO express shuttle both run from the airport, and trains to Calalzo-Pieve di Cadore or Feltre leave from there. ATVO Line 29 needs a reservation made when you buy the ticket. It runs all year, with winter reinforcements from December to March and summer services from June to September.

A standard 75-minute ticket for the road network costs €1.50, and the same ticket bought on board costs €3.00. A carnet of 10 tickets is €14.00, and the Mestre Daily Pass, good for 24 hours on the mainland bus and tram network, is €5.00.

Renting a car in Venice: what to know

Piazzale Roma is the vehicle and bus terminal, and yellow signs on the buildings point the way on foot to San Marco, Rialto and the railway station. Cars matter in the historic downtown areas of Italian cities, where the U.S. State Department says authorities fine drivers without the proper permits. Cameras photograph license plates, and the fines are sent to the driver’s home in the United States for payment.

A driver of a car registered abroad who is stopped by the authorities may have to pay the ticket immediately. Have cash in local currency ready.

How much is a taxi in Venice?

No taxi fare is given for Venice here, so none is quoted. For the Grand Canal, the gondola ferries (traghetti) at Santa Sofia, San Tomà, Santa Maria del Giglio and Punta della Dogana cross for €2.00 for tourists. A carnet of 10 traghetto tickets costs €10.00.

Can you get around Venice by boat?

The vaporetto service is managed by ACTV. The standard 75-minute Rete Unica ticket costs €9.50 and covers the waterborne network, except routes 16 and 19, the Casinò route and all Alilaguna services. For a full day on the water, the Venezia Daily Pass costs €25.00 for 24 hours from first validation. It also covers the Lido and Pellestrina buses, the Mestre bus and tram, the People Mover and Trenitalia regional trains within the municipality. Routes 16 and 19, the Casinò and Alilaguna routes are excluded.

Longer stays have their own tickets: €35.00 for 2 days, €45.00 for 3 days and €65.00 for 7 days. Young people from 6 to 29 with a Rolling Venice card can buy a 72-hour discounted ticket for €27.00. A monthly pass can be bought up to the 19th of the same month, and in advance for the following month from the 20th. ACTV Lagoon Routes link the outer islands such as Murano, Burano and Torcello to the mainland. Alilaguna’s NLN line stops include Fnd. Nove, Murano Faro, Vignole, Sant’Erasmo, Mazzorbo, Torcello, Burano, Treporti and Punta Sabbioni.

What are the driving rules in Italy?

The U.S. State Department lists a few rules for drivers in Italy. Seat belt use is mandatory. When driving outside of cities, you must always use headlights. In autumn and winter, you must have winter tires or snow chains on certain roads, especially in mountainous regions. Drivers often pass on superhighways (autostrada) at high speeds. Rural roads are generally narrow and often have no guardrails and inconsistent speed limits.