Good deal or no?

[Lynniepoo]

DH and I are staying at a hotel in Venice after our trip is over for one night. The hotel is approximately 8 1/2 miles from Marco Polo airport and the hotel says it can arrange for transport to the hotel for 110 Euros (total price for both of us). This seems a bit on the expensive side to me, but it is Venice.

 

Can anyone tell me if this is outrageous or not? Any cheaper arrangements we can make on our own?

 

We have to leave fairly early in the morning for an 8:55am flight.

 

Thanks all!!! :D

[CathyCruises]

That sounds like a private water taxi price. If your hotel is anywhere near an Alilaguna stop (close to San Marco area) you can take that for about 15 euros/pp IIRC. I believe the website is alilaguna.it. It does take about 45 minutes so be sure to factor that in.

 

FWIW, we stayed the last night at the Marriott by the airport for about $110 and used the free shuttle to the ap in the AM. I know staying in a large chain is not ideal but it sure worked well for our early flite.

[mapleleaves]

Yes, that sounds like the price of a water taxi. There are cheaper options.

Which hotel? Without knowing where your hotel is located it's hard to offer suggestions.

[Lynniepoo]

Its the Hotel Al Duca de Venezia on Fontego dei Turchi in Santa Croce. Thanks!

[mapleleaves]

Hmmmm. For a 9am flight you need to be at the airport by 7am.

Your hotel is not a short walk to the Piazzale Roma, which is where you would catch a taxi or bus to the airport. Can you handle your luggage easily?

To get to Piazzale Roma from your hotel you can walk or take a water bus. The hotel can assist you with those directions. Depends on how much luggage you have. The water bus might be best.

From Piazzale Roma, you can take a taxi (40E) or the ATVO airport express bus ( 5E each). Both are a 15-20 minute ride to the airport. The ATVO bus leaves at 5:50am or 6:50am by signpost D2.

http://www.atvo.it/index.php?lang=en&area=23&menuid=35

There are directions listed on the hotels web site. Their first suggestion is water taxi but they also provide other options, primarily via Piazzale Roma.

http://www.alducadivenezia.com/location.htm

Hope this helps.

BTW, how are you getting TO the hotel ?

[CathyCruises]

And remember that you are doing all of this at 6AM!

[Lynniepoo]

Mapleleaves - that is GOLD!! Thanks for the details.

 

We, umm, haven't quite figured out how we will get to the hotel from the ship. We originally wanted to book through Princess and get a transfer, but that's not going to work.

 

As for luggage, DH had a bad hip/leg so we wouldn't want to walk more than we had to, but we could probably go about 4 blocks or so before it started to become an issue for him.

[CathyCruises]

Given your issues, I suggest rebooking a hotel that has a water taxi dock, so that the water taxi can take you and your luggage right to the door. If you have mobility issues to deal with, let me say that the streets are very uneven, bumpy, and there are canals to go up and over every 'block' or two. This is going to cost you more but save you a ton of trouble. I believe the very highly rated Locando Orseolo has such a dock, for instance.

 

If you are only planning to spend one night and fly out early the next AM, however, I still maintain that the hotel next to the airport is a better solution for you--otherwise you will be going to a lot of expense to spend a very short night in a nice hotel on top of the costs to get there and back to the airport. . .I'm just sayin'!

[mapleleaves]

The hotel looks very nice but getting to the airport will be a bit of work. Or there's always the water taxi!! It's pricey but a lovely experience from what I hear. I agree with CathyCruises that a different hotel might be a better option.

After you disembark do you want to spend the day sightseeing in Venice?

If so, you could either overnight by the airport, or, by Piazzale Roma.

If you choose the airport you could store your bags at Left Luggage in Piazzale Roma for the day, then when you're done sightseeing you could take a local bus or taxi to your airport hotel.

If you stay near Piazzale Roma the hotel will hold your bags even tho you can't check in, then you can walk across the square to the water bus terminal and head down the Grand Canal.

This web site has loads of great info. It's set to open at hotels near PRoma. But you can also find airport hotels, Left Luggage, transportation options, etc.

http://europeforvisitors.com/venice/articles/venice-cruise-terminal-hotels-piazzale-roma.htm

[ksps cruise fan]

I believe the very highly rated Locando Orseolo has such a dock, for instance.

 

I wouldn't describe the situation at Locanda Orseolo as a dock. Like many hotels, it is located on a canal with an open stretch of paved walkway. The boat simply pulls up next to this open stretch and you get out with varying degrees of grace.

 

I know we could see the canal out the breakfast room window -- watching the boats bring produce up to the hotel daily was a fun sight -- but I honestly don't know how a person would get from this walkway into the hotel.

 

In Venice, things can get strange. Once we were dining at Da Ivo and we had to stand up every time someone arrived or left by private boat. The people had to walk past our table and leave via the window closest to us! I mention this because, for all I know, you may have to enter Locando Orseolo via one of their dining room windows, too. That said, the people at Orseolo are charming and helpful so they would explain. (Incidentally, Orseolo has no elevator. The staff will help with all luggage, but be sure to mention any physical issues when it comes to room selection. There are no rooms on the ground floor; you'll have at least one flight of steps.)

 

We didn't use a water taxi on that trip to Venice; we used the Alilaguna boats. However, there's a substantial walk between the airport terminal and the Alilaguna docks and we had to walk with our luggage between the San Marco stop and the hotel. This was our second trip to Venice (although our first stay at Orseolo) so we managed with the confidence that comes from knowing where we were going. I think back to our first arrival in Venice and just laugh.

 

Our water taxi driver left us off at a canal for his convenience rather than the "dock" near our hotel. We didn't know this and walked in circles since the careful instructions we had didn't match what we were seeing. We eventually figured out what was going on and with effort regired to go over bridges with steps, we made our way to the hotel. (We would have done better taking the Alilaguna that time since the trip between San Marco and that hotel as well as Orseolo, at least doesn't involve bridges!)

[Lynniepoo]

Thanks for the great ideas! I think you may have a point about the location.

 

I was worried about staying near MP airport because we'd have our luggage - I didn't realize that we could stow them away for the day. Downside to staying near the airport is...well....its near the airport. DH and I want to drink in as much of Venice as possible. Maybe we will look by Piazzale Roma instead,where we can catch easy transport back.

 

We've also had trouble with hotels b/c no one seems to want to book for only one night, but we will look again.

 

If not, maybe we'll pony up the cash for the water taxi and be done with it!! :D

 

One more question...how long does a water taxi take from our current hotel to the airport?

 

Thanks again to everyone! This has been invaluable.

[CathyCruises]

When we were there, we stayed in Venice till about 8PM, then took Alilaguna to the airport, so we had the whole day there. However, in your circumstances, I don't recommend Alilaguna because it is quite a long walk from the pier up to the airport proper, maybe 10 minutes. So your idea of staying at P. Roma (from whence you could take a land taxi) is a good one.

[TheBestIsYetToCome]

It looks like a lovely hotel. :)

 

If you're still interested in staying there, the website has a good map that shows the walking route from the Riva di Basilio vaporetto stop. To get there after your ship docks, you could take the PeopleMover to P. Roma. (1 euro/pp, but must be able to carry your bags.) Then take the vaporetto from P. Roma just two stops to Riva di Basilio.

 

Your hotel has a very good map from there. The only tricky part looks like when you cross the square, you need to keep the front of the church and then the north/left side of the church on your right. There is just one short footbridge (6 stairs up/down) on your route and it's a distance of maybe two blocks. You would need to be able to transfer to the vaporetto with your luggage, of course.

http://www.alducadivenezia.com/pdf/alducadivenezia_venice.pdf

 

When leaving in the a.m., the first vaporetto should be at the Riva di Basilio stop at 5:08 and reach P. Roma at 5:14. Full schedule here:

http://www.actv.it/pdf/navigazione/linea1.pdf

 

You can then take either:

---- #5 bus (service at 4:40 am, 5:40, 6:10, full schedule here:

http://www.actv.it/pdf/urbano/U-5.pdf

 

OR

---the airport express bus (service at 5:00, 5:40, 6:20, full schedule here:

http://www.atvo.it/images_doc/linee/Marco_Polo-Venezia_(dal_1.06_al_16.06.2011).pdf

 

I don't see how this hotel could have a dock, so I'm not sure where they would pick you up/drop you off in a private water taxi? They might even have to use the Riva di Basilio stop for a water taxi, so the same walk maybe be involved even if you took a private water taxi??

 

If you decide to move to P. Roma, if you can manage your luggage, consider also hotels that may not be in the square, but are just a short walk. That will expand your choices without adding too much work to your trip.

[Earl Rosebery]

DH and I are staying at a hotel in Venice after our trip is over for one night. The hotel is approximately 8 1/2 miles from Marco Polo airport and the hotel says it can arrange for transport to the hotel for 110 Euros (total price for both of us). This seems a bit on the expensive side to me, but it is Venice.

 

Can anyone tell me if this is outrageous or not? Any cheaper arrangements we can make on our own?

 

We have to leave fairly early in the morning for an 8:55am flight.

 

Thanks all!!! :D

 

I agree that you should stay near the airport if your flight is at 8:55. Otherwise you have to leave your hotel before 6:15

[mapleleaves]

Left Luggage closes at 9pm so you can drink in Venice until 8:30 !! then you need to get your bags and head to the hotel. (Actually you need to verify the hrs; the storage web site lists 9pm on one page and 10pm on the other for closing times. )

http://www.trasbagagli.it/en/index.shtml?dovesiamo

Either the airport or Piazzale Roma would work well for you. Staying at the airport would give you another 1/2 hr in the morning .....

On the other hand, there's a lot of walking in Venice so you'll get quite tired, especially if your husband is limited to 4 blocks, and there is very little public seating. So a hotel room near PRoma would be handy for a mid day break, then go out again later when you're refreshed!! decisions decisions.

You could go a little beyond the train station and still be within walking distance of PRoma but would have a couple of bridges to cross. Depends on your luggage situation.

If you stay near PRoma, just be sure to catch the 6:20 ATVO bus or taxi. The departures area at the airport is quite a mess so you need the full 2 hrs.

[Lynniepoo]

Well,

 

after deliberating, DH and I decided to stay at La Duca and take a water taxi if need be. How often will we be in Venice? We decided to live it up. :D

 

We will also have two days to explore the city, so if we feel comfortable using another / alternate route, we can do that too. But today we stopped at the bookstore and got ourselves a good map of Venice which shows all the public transportation routes.

 

Thanks to all for your help!!

[mapleleaves]

Good for you. I'm sure you'll have a fantastic trip!

Once you're in Venice and find your way to Piazzale Roma, you'll see for yourself how easy or difficult a journey it will be at 6am. Hopefully it's just a few turns and you're on the main walkway to Piazzale Roma.

If you choose the water taxi, keep in mind that some hotels add a commission. This article is about water taxi and the walk between the airport and the water taxi pier.http://europeforvisitors.com/venice/articles/water-taxis.htm

You can check the price by starting an on line reservation. http://www.motoscafivenezia.it/eng/