Venice Transportation Tips by MiniMaxi

Train to Venice By train (Santa Lucia station) Review

Train is a very convenient way to get to Venice, especially if you land in another big city like Milan and Rome. The best train to take is the so-called "Eurostar". These train have mandatory reservations, i.e., each time you buy a ticket for a Eurostar you have necessarily to choose the train you want to take (and, accordingly, you will be assigned a seat on it, just like on airplanes). In case you have trouble, you can change the reservation, but, of course, before the departure of the train (better at least the day before).
Reservations are of the form wagon ("carrozza") number, seat ("posto") number; so for example, carrozza 2 posto 14 means you should enter wagon n.2 (look at the number outside each wagon, usually placed close to the doors), and once inside, look for seat no.14 (like in an airplane).
For more generic infos on trains in Italy, see also my Italian transportation page.

There is no train from Venice airport to Venice island: if you land in Venice, you'll have to get a bus/boat/taxi instead.

Eurostars can be also conveniently booked online (see enclosed link, and also my Italian transportation page), with a nice bilingual (Italian/English) website that allows you to look at the schedules, and to buy the ticket using your credit card.

Note for smokers and non-sm okers: from 2005, you can't smoke on *any* train in Italy. No smoke compartments at all, like on airplanes. Sorry!

Finally, when getting to Venice, all the tourists I have met are always baffled by the fact there is a station called "Venezia-Mestre", as they don't know whether to go out or not: this is *not* Venice island (the one you, in all likelihood, want to go), but it is the ground part of Venice (Mestre). Venice (island) is the next stop, so sit on that train, and relax, you can't miss it (it's after Venice-Mestre, it's the last stop, and you have to pass a very long bridge before getting into it!).

Mode: TO

Type: Train

Website: http://www.trenitalia.it

Bus from the airport to Venice By plane (and then into Venice) Review

So many tourist are just plain lost the moment they get out of the airport (like, well, most of other aiports...): where to go? what is the best transportation? Every time I see their faces, and it reminds me of all the times I have been in an airport and wondered why there are never clear enough signes or instructions on how to proceed from there.

From the Venice airport, the best (and cheapest) way to go to the city is just thru the bus ATVO. There is also a normal bus (orange) which is even cheaper, but the ATVO (blu) is the best one, as it offers space for your bags, and is comfortable and air-conditioned. Tickets are cheap (2.5 euros) and there are runs both directly to Venice, as well as to the very close railways station of Mestre.
Tickets can be bought either inside the airport (go to your left as soon as you get out of customs), or outside at the platform (there is an automatic machine).
Remember to stamp the ticket before you enter the bus!

Mode: TO

Type: Bus

Website: http://www.atvo.it/