Welcome to this guide that looks at how to move around by water bus in Venice.
Admiring the beauty of Venice is not effortless. In a car-free city like Venice, you cover kilometres and walk up and down tens of bridges all day long!
But it’s no secret that exploring Venice on foot is the best way to unleash its charm and find hidden corners. Let’s face it: walking around all day is quite tiring.
For this reason (and not the only reason of course), using public transport to move from one area of the city to another can save you time and effort.
It is no secret that the water bus in Venice, (locally known as the vaporetto), is by far the most efficient and cost effective way to move around the city of Venice.
Venice Water Bus Guide
The water bus in Venice connects the most important points of the city. Although it is used like any other mode of transport, anyone who has used it before can tell you how fascinating it can be to admire Venice and the Venetian lagoon from the water.
This is the true way to see the city through the eyes of Venetians so keep reading this guide to find out more about the water bus in Venice and how to use this service.
In this transport guide I will explain what the vaporetto in Venice is, how to use this service, ticket and pass prices and where you can purchase them.
Finally, I’ll tell you how you can get from Piazzale Roma to St. Mark’s Square and from St. Mark’s Square to the islands of Murano, Burano and Torcello. Ready?
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What is a water bus in Venice?
The best way to describe a vaporetto is to call it a ‘bus on the water’. The transport company ACTV manages the water buses and the entire waterborne routes.
ACTV also manages ground transportation in mainland Venice and provides bus and tram connections between Venice city centre and the rest of Venice municipality.
The vaporetto performs the exact same function as a local bus: it connects different areas of the city with specific routes and timetables.
Just like the omnipresent Gondola, the water buses are used religiously by Venetians, people that work in Venice, students and of course tourists spending time here.
You can board the vaporetto from the docks called ‘imbarcaderi’. In the most important imbarcaderi there are more than one platform, marked by the letters A, B, C, etc.. There are 159 docks and 21 water bus lines in operation.
Some of these lines are particularly useful for visitors because they allow you to reach the main attractions of the city and skip all the walking.
There are 3 types of water bus lines in Venice:
- The city centre routes. They cross the city of Venice navigating the Grand Canal and Giudecca Canal. There are only 2 of these routes: the number 1 and 2. These are the water bus lines to take if you want to get from Piazzale Roma or Venice Santa Lucia train station to Rialto and St. Mark’s Square.
- The city circle routes. These water bus lines are the ones connecting Venice city centre to other islands of the lagoon like Lido, Murano and Burano. The city circle lines are the numbers 3, 4.1, 4.2, 5.1, 5.2 and 6.
- The lagoon routes. These water bus lines connect different islands of the lagoon and are the numbers 12, 13, 14 and 19.
The water buses in Venice work 24 hours a day 7 days a week. There’s also a nocturnal night (N) service operating from just before midnight to 5am.
The service is divided into 3 lines:
- Notturno covering the main locations of Venice city centre;
- Notturno Murano travelling to Murano and back;
- Notturno Laguna Nord that stops in the islands of Vignole, Sant’Erasmo, Mazzorbo, Torcello, Burano, Treporti and Punta Sabbioni.
How do you use a Venice water bus?
One of the best tips I could give you before explaing how to use a Venice water bus would be to say: before getting any pass, consider roughly how many days in Venice you are going to stay and how much you are planning to use the water bus service.
Here is an easy step by step guide on how to use the water bus in Venice:
- 1. First get a vaporetto ticket, you should buy it before boarding. The normal single ticket has a duration of 75 minutes from validation. You can also purchase a 24/48/72 ACTV hours pass or the 7 days pass to save money.*
- 2. Pass the turnstiles (not all imbarcaderi have one) and validate the ticket or pass to avoid getting fined on board.
- 3. Wait for the vaporetto of the line you were waiting for to arrive. Remember to leave the passengers already on board to disembark first before getting on. Don’t lean too far from the platform.
* The single ticket and passes are valid on all public ACTV transport services which includes vaporetto and buses in the City of Venice, tram and People Mover. They are not valid to get to and from Marco Polo airport.
Save this vaporetto map, use Google Maps, the app AVM Venezia Official App or Che Bateo? to locate the vaporetto stops and see what’s the next vaporetto scheduled.
Note that next to some ACTV imbarcaderi you can find the sign for the Alilaguna water bus. Alilaguna is a completely different private transport company.
The Alilaguna water bus also connects different places around Venice and the lagoon and Venice from and to Marco Polo airport.
If you’ve purchased an ACTV ticket or pass, you can’t use the Alilaguna water bus services (more information in the dedicated section below).
What is the price of a water bus in Venice?
As I mentioned before, you can either get an ACTV single ticket or pass based on your travel needs. See below a table with ticket and pass prices.
| Ticket Type | Price | Advanced Tickets |
| ACTV One way/Single Ticket – 75 mins | 9,50 euros | Buy a single ticket now! |
| ACTV 1 day Transport VENEZIA DAILY PASS | 25 euros | Buy a 24 hour pass now! |
| ACTV 2 day Transport | 35 euros | Buy a 48 hour pass now! |
| ACTV 3 day Transport* | 45 euros | Buy a 72 hour pass now! |
| ACTV 7 day Transport | 65 euros | Buy a 7 day pass now! |
*The ACTV 3 day Transport + ROLLING VENICE pass is only available for visitors that are 6 to 29 years old for a reduced price with a discount card that can be used in different shops and attractions of the city. This ticket can only be purchased at the Venezia Unica ticket points.
Children under 6 travel for free and wheelchair users pay 1,50 euros for the single ticket, while their carer travels for free.
The ticket or pass price includes the transport of a maximum of 3 items of luggage.
Where to buy Vaporetto tickets in Venice?
There are many ticket points and resellers in Venice where you can buy the ACTV ticket or pass. You can also get them online, which will save you time whilst in Venice!
See below the list of places where you can buy the vaporetto tickets:
- From ACTV ticket offices in the historic centre, at the airport and on the mainland like in Mestre. Check the interactive vaporetto map that shows the Venezia Unica ticket points;
- From the network of authorised resellers that display the ACTV sticker (such as tobacco shops and newsstands).
- Directly at the imbarcadero, if it’s equipped with automatic ticket machines.
- Online to avoid long queues at the ticket offices from the Venezia Unica website or you can get tickets here before you arrive in Venice.
Remember to validate the ticket when you board the water bus and avoid getting fined! Your ticket is considered valid from the first validation on board the water bus.
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How to use the Vaporetto (Water Bus) in Venice
Below I will share all the information you need to be able to get a water bus in Venice so you can get to and from some of the most popular destinations in the city.
Getting a water bus from Piazzale Roma
One of the most popular locations to get a water bus in Venice from is Piazzale Roma, together with Santa Lucia train station.
This is because Piazzale Roma is the closest (and only) point of the historic centre where buses, trams, cars and taxis can arrive. So, if you will be driving to Venice this is the place you likely want to park your car before boarding the public transport.
Just so you know, the same water buses that leave from Piazzale Roma frequently stop in front of Santa Lucia train station too.
Read below to learn how to get from Piazzale Roma to St. Mark’s Square and Rialto.
Water bus from Piazzale Roma to San Marco
One of first places visitors want to see is St. Mark’s Square and thankfully, there’s more than one option to get from Piazzale Roma to San Marco by vaporetto.
When deciding how to get from Piazzale Roma to San Marco some visitors prefer to arrive with the private water taxi but with the San Marco vaporetto stop (there’s a few which are all close by to one another) you’ll can get close to many other attractions.
For example, you’ll be only a few steps away from:
- St. Mark’s Square
- Doge’s Palace
- Bridge of Sighs
- St. Mark’s Basilica
You can either get line 1 or 2 also defined as ‘panoramical’ routes because you cross the entire historic centre by navigating the Grand Canal and Giudecca Canal.
The line 1 takes a bit longer than the other more direct lines like the 4.1 and 5.1, but it’s worth trying it at least once. With the lines 1 and 2 you navigate the Grand Canal in all its length and during the ride admire palaces and museums overlooking it.
The best water bus lines, (from fast to slow) to get to the San Marco area are:
- Line 5.1 takes 18 minutes with final stop S. Marco S. Zaccaria;
- Line 4.1 takes 23 minutes with final stop S. Marco S. Zaccaria;
- Line 2 that takes 33 minutes with final stop S. Marco Giardinetti;
- Line 1 takes 44 minutes with final stops S. Marco Vallaresso or S. Marco S. Zaccaria.
- Line N (nocturnal) that takes 34 minutes with final stop S. Marco S. Zaccaria.
To get back to Piazzale Roma from San Marco, you can get the line 5.2 and 4.2.
Water bus from Piazzale Roma to Rialto
Rialto is not only one of the most famous bridges in Venice it is a proper people hub filled with shops and also water bus connections in Venice.
From the Rialto vaporetto stop you can get in a matter of minutes to the famous Rialto Bridge, Rialto Market and in 10 minutes on foot to St. Mark’s Square.
If you wish to get from Piazzale Roma to Rialto, the fastest vaporetto lines are the number 2\ and 2, whereas line 1 takes longer because it navigates the entire Grand Canal and stops at every dock.
The final stop is Rialto and line 2\ takes only 15 minutes, line 2 16 minutes and line 1 22 minutes. You can get the same lines on the way back.
Water bus from San Marco to Burano
The islands of the Venetian lagoon are also easily reachable by water bus from Venice. One of the most popular day trips from Venice is the excursion to the islands of Murano, Burano, Torcello and, it is not uncommon to stay overnight on one too.
If it is your first time visiting the islands in Venice, I highly recommend getting the 24 hours ACTV pass and visiting them all in one day.
I think that getting the day pass is a better option than the Alilaguna organised trip or any other boat trip on offer because with the day pass you have the freedom to stay on each island for as long as you want, before moving to the next one.
To be able to get to Burano from San Marco, you have a few different options available and some will involve changing water buses.
Below I will list the options (from best to the least ideal):
- Get the direct line 14 from S. Marco S. Zaccaria to Burano. It takes 1 hour and 5 minutes to get there. Bear in mind that there are only 9 departures every day. Just go here to check the timetables.
- Get the line 4.1 from S. Marco S. Zaccaria to Murano Faro. From this stop, get the line 12 with direction Burano (which also stops in Torcello). In total, it will take 1 hour and 3 minutes to get from San Marco to Burano.
- Get the line 4.2 from S. Marco S. Zaccaria to Murano Colonna. From this stop walk to the stop Murano Faro and get the line 12 to Burano. It will take longer than with line 4.1, around 1 hour and 30 minutes.
Water bus from Venice to Marco Polo airport
If you want to get to Marco Polo airport by water bus from Venice you can’t use the ACTV ticket or pass but you’ll have to get the Alilaguna water bus ticket or pass.
Alilaguna has different routes and stops around Venice city centre and other islands. You can go here to check routes and timetables.
The single journey costs 15 euros, the return ticket 27 euros. There are also time tickets of 24/48 and 72 hours that you can buy from the Alilaguna ticket points, from the resale shops indicated in their website or visiting this link while online.
The 2 Alilaguna water bus lines:
- the blue line connects Marco Polo airport with Murano, Venice, Lido, San Marco and Giudecca;
- the orange line connects Marco Polo airport with Santa Maria del Giglio passing through Santa Lucia railway and Rialto.
If you will be visiting other Venetian islands, I suggest you see my guide to visiting Murano and Burano from Venice so you can see all the available transport options.
The Venezia Unica City Pass
The city pass Venezia Unica is a card that allows you to purchase vaporetto tickets for 1,50 euros instead of 9,50 euros. It’s valid for 5 years and is personal.
Unfortunately tourists are not able to get the Venezia Unica card online, but it is possible to get one from one of the many Venezia Unica ticket points in Venice.
The cost varies depending on the residence:
- 10 euros for residents in the Municipality of Venice;
- 20 euros for residents in the metropolitan city of Venice;
- 40 euros for residents in the Veneto Region;
- 100 euros for residents outside the Veneto Region.
If you want to request the Venezia Unica card you must go to a Venezia Unica ticket point and ask to purchase a ‘Venezia Unica Card’.
Water Bus in Venice Guide
That’s all for this guide, you should now better understand this mode of transport.
From my own personal experience I have covered exactly how to use the water bus in Venice, how to buy a ticket or pass and even shown you how this service connects some of the most popular locations in and around Venice and the Venetian lagoon.
As a visitor to the city of canals and bridges, the vaporetto is certainly one of the best ways to move around and by far the most affordable one too.
Why not read my guide on how to get around Venice for more transportation tips?
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