Planning a trip to Venice, Italy? My wife and I visited in early June and wanted to share what we learned to hopefully make your trip more successful.
Note: Prices are as date of posting and may have changed.
Venice Access Fee
Beginning in 2024, the Comune di Venezia began charging an access fee to tourists to the Municipality of Venice, a.k.a, the ancient city, the lagoon, what everyone comes to Venice to see. The goal of reducing the number of tourists has not been achieved, but undoubtably a welcomed boost to the city’s coffers.
The access fee is only required on certain days – mainly Fr/Sa/Sun – and only between 8:30am and 4:00pm. The cost is €5.00 when purchased online at least four days in advance; €10.00 otherwise.
Venice’s mayor Simone Venturini has proposed substantial increase of the access fee to further discourage visitors during peak times, as today’s fees has not changed tourist patterns. It behooves you to watch what happens and plan accordingly.
Hotels
During the dates of our stay, rates for hotels in the lagoon were substantially higher than in Mestre, the industrial and residential borough on the mainland. And substantially higher means substantially higher – Hampton Inn approaching €1000 – and likely is so throughout the summer tourist season. The exorbitant rates aside, I can’t imagine dragging suitcases through narrow streets, over bridges, all teeming with tourists provides an enjoyable introduction to Venice.
We tend towards Hiltons as my wife is Hilton Honors Gold member, and the Hilton Garden Inn Venice Mestre San Giuliano I booked was an unexpectedly good choice:
- Venice buses regularly stop just outside the hotel and arrive at the Piazzale Roma in 15-20 minutes from before dawn until midnight. Google Maps showed it to be straight-forward but still was surprised how fucking easy it was!
- The soon-to-be-dreaded Venice Access Fee is waived for all those staying at hotels in Venice proper, whether in the lagoon or on terra firma. Ask your front desk to print out your pass (if necessary on whatever days you are staying).
Hundreds of hotels within Venice provide choices for whatever amenities you require, but Idouble-check options for getting to the lagoon itself: public transportation is recommended as driving/parking or Uber-ing are by no means inexpensive. Identify potential hotels, evaluate trade-offs, and choose with knowledge. A little research makes for a more enjoyable visit!
Finally, the Venice Garden Inn has parking a small free lot out front or a paid underground garage – a very pleasant outdoor pool area, and an excellent restaurant. Nearby restaurants provide additional choices but do not appear to be within walking distance.
Public Transportation
ACTV, provider of public transport within Venice, sells daily passes – 1 day @ €25, 2-day @ €35, and more – which, without context, sounds expensive. However, 75-minute tickets for water boats to traveling the Venice canals are €9.50 each, whereas the passes offer unlimited water boat rides. The truly motivated (frugal) could attempt to optimize their tickets in 75-minute chunks, but is dependent on schedules and boats arriving on-time. A trip to Murano would require two tickets for the roundtrip from Piazza San Marco, 40 minutes each way. Easier to be lazy and just board whatever boats whenever the need arises.
Daily passes can be purchased at most hotels. Activate the pass by tapping as you board your first boat or tram, as ticket inspectors may suddenly board to check everyone’s tickets or passes (as we discovered on our very first trip into the lagoon!). The water boat piers are automated to require a card tab before a gate opens to allow you onto the pier.
Very simple, very convenient, and definitely took advantage of the pass to ride more boats than we might have otherwise.
Venice Museum Pass
The Venice Museum Pass provides entrance to 11 Venice civic museums and the Doge’s Palace, priced €50 for adults and €25 reduced (i.e., retirees). The ticket is purchased online and printed; as far as I know, Apple Wallet or other digital ticketing is not available.
An adult ticket to the Doge’s Palace is €35 – and the Doge’s Palace is on almost everyone’s itinerary – so only 2-3 more museums and the pass is paid for.
We hit the Murano Glass Museum and something else, but not much else. Unfortunately, the pass doesn’t include other hit list items – such as Basilica di San Marco or its campanile (bell tower) – so perhaps review what’s covered and evaluate its value to what you’re interested in. This Reddit thread from two years ago shows mixed opinions to its value.
Younger Travelers
The Rolling Venice Card provides additional discounts for those 29 years old and younger. This program has existed for decades to encourage younger tourists to visit – I purchased its earlier incarnation on my first and only previous trip – so worth investigating its benefits.
Come Prepared
A heavy rain, approaching a downpour, began as we began our trek back to the bus station. We looked at the weather before leaving the hotel and fortunately brought our raincoats. Most other tourists, however, did not and got drenched as a result. I then noticed how umbrellas were suddenly front-and-center in most stores or street kiosks. Poor quality, over priced, and likely thrown away once you got to where you needed to be. But desperation ruled, and umbrella sales were brisk.
The Venice that tourists visit have the prerequisite stores and restaurants targeted to the tourism that Venice lives from: kitschy memorabilia; (supposed) Morano glass; t-shirts; sunglasses; footwear; food of every ethnicity – I did not come to Venice for Indian food. As true for any tourist-centric environment, endless opportunities to spend money on utterly forgettable merchandise.
So wear comfortable shoes, bring a light jacket, bring a refillable water bottle, don’t forget a battery pack to charge your phone. Simple things, but money savers nevertheless. And be prepared to be assaulted by shopkeepers!
