Validate, validate!! and other Venice, Italy Transportation Tips

'Mode': TO
Category: Train
Getting TO/AROUND: Buying tickets in the train station and on the internet is very easy these days. But, really read the documents! There are two Venice stations: S.Lucia and Mestre. Most of the long distance trains leave from Venezia Mestre. You simply go to the S. Lucia train station and use one of the vending machines to buy a 1E ticket to get from S. Lucia to Mestre. Every train that leaves S. Lucia stops in Mestre so just hop on the first train that is leaving. You must have a ticket and you must validate the ticket in the yellow boxes on or near the platforms. We ran into a couple on the Mestre platform as we waited for our train to Florence. They rushed up saying, "Boy, we are having a lousy day!" They got on the train in S. Lucia with the piece of paper they had printed off the internet for a trip from Mestre to Florence. They had never picked up the actual ticket, never validated anything, and never knew there were two stations. The conductor found them on the first train from S. Lucia to Mestre and they had to pay the 1E ticket price plus a 25E fine. They had to pay cash. I don't know what would have happened if they did not have enough cash. We also talked to other people who were fined for not validating their tickets.

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'Mode': TO,AROUND
Category: Ship/Boat
Getting TO/AROUND: After you get your luggage at the airport, you will go in to a large area - the arrival lounge. You will turn left as you go through the doors. Look for the Avis rental counter. Look to your right and there is a small kiosk with the ACTV office. Between fatigue and the crush of people, I would never have found the office without prior knowlege. You can buy both your bus ticket to go to Plaza Roma (?3E) and your ticket for the vaporetto down the Grand Canal (5E). Cash only. Also, they will offer you passes first. Think about your needs before you get there. We knew that we would be traveling roughly 22 hours by the time we got to Venice. We would be too tired to go any where and we didn't want to "waste" one day of a vaporetto pass. To find the bus, go outside and stand at the curb. If there are two of you, one stand with the luggage and the other go find bus #5. We luckily boarded as the bus pulled in and we found room in the luggage area and a seat! The bus loaded up to the point of bursting! It looked like a Japanese subway car. The bus took about 25 minutes and stopped at several places. It was a nice transition. We saw Italy from the ground level and we were able to adjust to hearing so many different languages.
At Plaza Roma, you will walk toward the canal side. At first, it looks chaotic. Take a deep breath and look for the yellow vaporetto enclosures. When you find your vaporetto line, (most likely #1 which will travel down the Grand Canal), validate your ticket in the yellow box, and go into the enclosed waiting area. When the boat arrives and ties up, you will wait for the passengers to disembark, then you will get on. Easy!

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