Venice: Guide on Transportation System

Venice: Guide on Transportation System

Venice is interesting due to its many sights and history, but another remarkable and unique feature here is a total absence of land transportation. Transfer in Venice can vary. For example, reaching destination in the city center is possible only with water transport, like vaporetto or traghetto. Land transport is available only on mainland Venice and Lido island. Among these kinds of transport a visitor can choose between  mini-metro, trams and buses.

Vaporetto (water bus) is the most popular type of public transportation in Venice. Each boat has its own route, stops and number. Those, who arrive to Venice for the very first time, are better choose a circular route. Thus, you can enter and exit anywhere within city center. There are multiple kinds of vaporetto tickets that  can be purchased: single trip, daily pass or 2-days pass.

Small gondolas called traghetto are transporting passengers from one side of the channel to another. "Drivers" of such transportation are two gondoliers. Traghetto is relatively cheap, but inconvenient kind of transport. People mostly use it to reach another shore as fast as possible, if the closest bridge is far from them.

A standard Venetian gondola is never used as a private taxi by locals. This kind of transportation is popular among tourists only. A gondola tour is expensive, so strangers might form little groups up to 5 people to save money but enjoy the experience. Renting gondola is possible near water stations. There are standard routes for gondola tours, or you can ask a gondolier to make an individual tour with visiting interesting landmarks.

Buses in Venice have their own network, but only for mainland and Lido island. This kind of transport is convenient when going to/from the airport or traveling to resort towns located near Venice.

Mini-metro has one line only, with its length approximately 0.6 miles (1 kilometer). Trains have two carriages and take passengers to one of the three exisiting stations, where it's possible to make transfer to water transport. This kind of transportation reminds funicular more than actual metro. Tickets can be purchased for a single trip or be valid for the whole month.

Land taxi is rarely used within Venice city walls. Most often people book taxi Venice airport and traveling from there.

In any case, each visitor of Venice will be able to find the most optimal way of navigating in the city, whether it's a boat or walking.