Where to stay in Venice for 3 days pre-cruise in October/

[mwmcook]

We will be flying in to Venice on 10/16/23 and leaving on Norwegian Vista on 10/19.  I am pretty confused after studying the maps and would appreciate any advice/suggestions as to what areas we should look at.  We are seniors, two couples.  Thank you.

 

[JHLH821]

How much luggage will you have? Do you want to be near all the sites, have easy access and not cross too many bridges, etc.

 

People have their favorite areas- we are staying post cruise at the AC Marriott Venezia located in Piazzale Roma. We decided to stay here as we have friends and family who liked the hotel and it is located within a 3-5 minute walk from where our van from Trieste will drop us off.  Staying elsewhere you will need to take advantage of the water taxis and/or the vaporetto.

Here's the link to the Marriott:  The rates appear to be good for this week; you are lucky- we are staying there the end of the month and the rates shoot up but we are using our Marriott points

 

 

[mapleleaves]

This is my go-to web site for Venice info.

How to pick the right Venice hotel location | Venice for Visitors (europeforvisitors.com)

 

I prefer to stay around the Rialto Bridge area ... it has easy access to the GrandCanal if I need a vaporetto, a 10 minute walk to St Marks, close to the Markets, lots of cafe type places. If I go with family members we stay 3 nites and use an apt so we have access to a small kitchen for snacks, bfast, drinks. 

I travel light; just one wheeled carryon plus a small backpack so it's very easy to get around. I can use a laundramat at some point or use the ship's laundry special.

 

If you can't easily manage your luggage over a bridges/uneven surfaces, it might be easier to stay close to the Piazzale Roma. ( you pay a little more for this convenience).  P Roma is a large square at the entrance to Venice, where buses, taxis, and cars drop off their pax. There are 4-5 hotels right on the square, or if you can handle your luggage over a small bridge or 2, there are a dozen more options.  It's not an attractive area but convenient.

'How Many Bridges?' hotel listings for Piazzale Roma | Venice for Visitors (europeforvisitors.com)

 

[Tbird58]

In Sept we stayed at Hotel Arlecchino and loved it.  We opted for a room without the canal view knowing we'd be walking around the canals.  They have a wonderful breakfast & the hotel restaurant next to them was one of our favorite dinners.  The airport bus takes you non stop to the Piazzale Roma that was mentioned above.  Then you cross over a bridge and the hotel is on the corner.  If you are taking the bus, you can buy your tickets in advance and show them to board.  Very easy.  

 

Also, we did the 2 day ACTV water taxi passes & purchased before we left US.  You activate the pass at a machine on the first use.  It was great since it took us everywhere and unlimited uses over the 2 days.  The first day we arrived we did lots of walking and didn't activate until the next morning.  

Have a great trip.

[mwmcook]

5 minutes ago, Tbird58 said:

In Sept we stayed at Hotel Arlecchino and loved it.  We opted for a room without the canal view knowing we'd be walking around the canals.  They have a wonderful breakfast & the hotel restaurant next to them was one of our favorite dinners.  The airport bus takes you non stop to the Piazzale Roma that was mentioned above.  Then you cross over a bridge and the hotel is on the corner.  If you are taking the bus, you can buy your tickets in advance and show them to board.  Very easy.  

 

Also, we did the 2 day ACTV water taxi passes & purchased before we left US.  You activate the pass at a machine on the first use.  It was great since it took us everywhere and unlimited uses over the 2 days.  The first day we arrived we did lots of walking and didn't activate until the next morning.  

Have a great trip.

Thank you so much!  Did you go on a cruise after your stay?  If so, how did you get to the cruise port?  Thanks again.

On 12/7/2022 at 4:00 PM, mapleleaves said:

This is my go-to web site for Venice info.

How to pick the right Venice hotel location | Venice for Visitors (europeforvisitors.com)

 

I prefer to stay around the Rialto Bridge area ... it has easy access to the GrandCanal if I need a vaporetto, a 10 minute walk to St Marks, close to the Markets, lots of cafe type places. If I go with family members we stay 3 nites and use an apt so we have access to a small kitchen for snacks, bfast, drinks. 

I travel light; just one wheeled carryon plus a small backpack so it's very easy to get around. I can use a laundramat at some point or use the ship's laundry special.

 

If you can't easily manage your luggage over a bridges/uneven surfaces, it might be easier to stay close to the Piazzale Roma. ( you pay a little more for this convenience).  P Roma is a large square at the entrance to Venice, where buses, taxis, and cars drop off their pax. There are 4-5 hotels right on the square, or if you can handle your luggage over a small bridge or 2, there are a dozen more options.  It's not an attractive area but convenient.

'How Many Bridges?' hotel listings for Piazzale Roma | Venice for Visitors (europeforvisitors.com)

 

That web site is outstanding!  It's going to take us a while to absorb everything.  Glad I started early!  Thank you for the help.

[Tbird58]

1 hour ago, mwmcook said:

Thank you so much!  Did you go on a cruise after your stay?  If so, how did you get to the cruise port?  Thanks again.

That web site is outstanding!  It's going to take us a while to absorb everything.  Glad I started early!  Thank you for the help.

No, there were 6 of us so we rented 2 cars and drove to Tuscany for 4 nights, then to Orvieto for 4 nights.  Left the cars at the Train station (Hertz) & took the train to Rome.  We were there 3 nights and were scheduled to board the ship there.  I'm happy to recommend any tours groups we've used for shore excursions if you let me know where you're cruising.  Everyone we have used has been great!  

[mapleleaves]

1 hour ago, mwmcook said:

Did you go on a cruise after your stay?  If so, how did you get to the cruise port? 

 

Which cruise port are you departing from?

We were on the NCL Dawn in late Sept, departing from Trieste.  We spent 2 nites precruise so we took the train to Trieste.  But after the cruise we stayed near the airport so we used FlixBus which had a direct run from Trieste (by the RR station) to Marco Polo Airport.

[mwmcook]

We're cruising from Trieste on Norwegian.  

 

[mapleleaves]

31 minutes ago, mwmcook said:

We're cruising from Trieste on Norwegian.  

 

 

So the options I posted above will work for you, train or bus.  Both are about 2 hrs. Plus Norwegian had a shuttle to/from Trieste, but only from the Airport, not from Venice. The benefit of the shuttle is that it takes you right to the pier.  Whereas the train and bus are both at the train station, so you still need to get to the pier. It's about a 20 minute walk or take a cab.

 

EN - Trenitalia    use Venezia S Lucia - Trieste Centrale.  The S Lucia train station is on the other side of the Grand Canal from Piazzale Rome; over a very long bridge.  There are lots of steps to this bridge but they're very shallow so it's not impossible even with luggage. 

 

FlixBus: Convenient and affordable bus travel in the US from $4.99

The bus departs from the airport OR from Venice at Tronchetto, which is a huge parking lot near Piazzale Roma. To get to Tronchetto you can use the People Mover (monorail) which goes from P Roma to Tronchetto ( about 1.5E for a 3 minute ride)

 

We booked the train a month in advance and got a really good fare. But on the return we didn't have a plan for the day, so at the last minute took the bus (the walk fare was 30e pp rather than 10e if we booked in advance.

 

[mapleleaves]

that was supposed to read " walk up fare was 30e'.

There's another bus company but I can't think of the name.

[ollienbertsmum]

23 hours ago, mapleleaves said:

that was supposed to read " walk up fare was 30e'.

There's another bus company but I can't think of the name.

 

Hi Mapleleaves.  I am confused about you saying that the “walk up fare” was more expensive.    

 

I am cruising from Trieste in May.  We are flying in to Bologna because that is the best direct flight we can get AND I have always wanted to see Bologna.   So we will get to Trieste by train on the day of the cruise.  I will book these tickets ahead of time.  

 

However finding a good flight back from any of the Venice airports was not easy.  I found one at 7 pm so this gives us a few hours, after storing our bags, to wander through beautiful Venice.    So my confusion …..    I had thought that the trains from Trieste to Venice were regionale and so the price would be the same whenever you buy it.    I am not sure how the timings from Trieste port to the train station work, so I don’t really want to have to book ahead.  I don’t want to pay an excessive amount though.  

 

Has anyone got any thoughts or guidance?

Edited December 10, 2022 by ollienbertsmum

[mapleleaves]

Hi Ollie,

Sorry for the confusion, but we didn't use the Regionale train.  I specifically chose a Frecci train so we could have Business Class with seat selection. (And it happened to come with compimentary coffee and a bag of cookies.)  Booking a month in advance, I was able to find a fare of 18E pp. 

Will you be on an NCL cruise ?

 

As for the flixbus fare, if I had booked a month in advance the fare would have been 10E, but since we didn't have a reservation we had to pay 30E.

 

I think the NCL shuttle from the ship to VCE was about $50.  No shuttle into Venice.

Edited December 10, 2022 by mapleleaves

[Host Bonjour]

On 12/10/2022 at 12:45 PM, mapleleaves said:

with seat selection

 

And you definitely want this for intercity, I will never not get on an Italian train without a seat reservation again. Ever. Unless it's like, you have to go now, with no warning, and then I'd bring a hard suitcase, if only to use it as a seat. That's an amazing price. 

 

Enough jam packed rides (with the random partial or weekend strike effect) to know better now. 😉 

 

Bag of cookies is always nice too.