The City of Venice has two main Vaporetto lines: 1 and 2. They both run the Canal Grande. Line 1 stops everywhere, while line 2 only stops at some of the stations, and therefore it’s a bit faster. Circumnavigating the City, there are smaller boats, like mini-Vaporettos, called Motoscafi.
The Venice Vaporetto map can be downloaded and printed. Just click on it.
The Venice water bus – The Vaporetto.
It’s really quite simple: On the Grand Canal there are two lines, you can go this way or that way. The Vaporetto always stops at the closest pier. That means if there are two landing platforms, you walk left to go to the right, and you walk right to go towards the left.
The ticket gives you access to the floating platform as well as the Vaporetto. That is, you could theoretically be fined if you just stand there waiting before you get on the water bus. Often there is a gate that you will have to pass with your ticket, to access the platform.
Something about the Venice Vaporetto.
Line 2, when it arrives at Piazzale Roma, going west, it continues to Tronchetto, around the city on the outside, into Canale della Giudecca and ends up at Saint Mark’s Square from the other side.
Line 1, arriving at Piazza San Marco, going east, continues to Arsenale and finally ends up at Lido di Venezia.
After that, you have all the smaller boats, the ones we call Motoscafi. They are faster than line 1 and 2 and they run on the outside of the city. Line 3 for Murano and lines 4.1 and 5.1, or 4.2 and 5.2 depending on in what direction they sail.
Then you have a whole lot of other lines going in all directions of the Lagoon. Look at the Venice water bus map to get the idea.
Well, you need a ticket.
For the buses, you buy it before getting on. The driver can sell one to you but it’s really only on evenings and holidays and even if he ignores that and sells it other times as well, it’s awkward and the price is higher than from the regular sales places. The regular sales places being the tobacconists. Not all of them sell tickets. There should be an ACTV-sticker, like the one up in the left corner of the Venice Vaporetto maps on the top of the page, but you can also just ask.
In Venice, you buy the Vaporetto tickets at the yellow/white water bus stop if there is a manned ticket office or if there’s a machine. At Piazzale Roma, there are several places where you can buy them from the ACTV-offices. Tickets can also be bought from the sailor on board without the increased price and without any other inconvenience. Or you can buy them at the tobacconist, just as in Mestre.
Anyone selling tickets can sell you any ticket. That means that ticket machines and ticket offices in Venice can sell you bus tickets as well as tickets for the Vaporetto, tourist cards, and whatever you need to move around the city. The little paper cards are all the same. They just fill it, electronically, with what you want.
Keep the receipt. Sometimes things go wrong and then it’s good to have proof of your purchase.
Update
There’s a new type of validating machines that makes the process somewhat easier. Because now the validating machine accepts a perfectly normal credit card. You just hold your Visa- or Mastercard card up to the machine and it will automatically withdraw the correct amount. You pay blind because you will have to check your bank for the amount you’ve actually paid. But it’s still a whole lot simpler.
The Venice transport App.
You could also install the AVM Holding app. With it, you can buy tickets and pay for your parking in the street, blue lines. You validate your ticket yourself, in the app. Then you stick your phone with the QR code into the machine next to the normal ticket machine, face up.
This app is subject to bugs. It doesn’t really work very well. Me, for example, can’t use it cause my Venezia Unica number isn’t valid… for some reason. So maybe you’re better off with a real paper card.
There is another App.
MyPass Venezia. With it you can buy tickets for the ACTV Vaporetto online and then transfer your purchase into paper tickets at your first bus stop, to avoid any issues. It has a great selection of museums and events too, so definitely check it out.
The public transport in Venice
It’s all operated by ACTV, Azienda del Consorzio Trasporti Veneziano. They run all the buses in Mestre, the orange or white-green buses, and all the water buses in Venice.
Prices for the land buses are the same for everybody. 1,50 euros single fare and 14 euros for a “carnet” with 10 rides.
The water buses in Venice are different, though. The Venetians still pay 1.50 euros for a single fare while you will have to put up 9.50. That is 19 euros for a return ticket. Many people buy the time ticket, 25 euros for 24 hours, 35 for 48 hours and 45 for 72 hours or 65 for a week. And they are valid on the buses too. If you do more than one or two Vaporetto rides a day then that would be convenient. Here is a link to a complete price list.
Venezia Unica
Worth mentioning is the possibility to purchase the Venezia Unica card certified for water transport within Venice. Not to be confused with Venezia Unica City Pass, which is more of a tourist-all-together card that gives you discounts on museums and events but does not make traveling any cheaper.
The Venezia Unica I’m talking about is a card that the residents in Venice have. With it you can buy tickets at 1.50 euros just like the locals, you can buy a monthly or an annual pass and it gives you lots of additional discounts The card is 100 euros if you’re not living here, but the benefits are huge if you’re staying for more than a week, and it lasts for five years if you would like to come back. Click this link to see the prices for non-residents.
Update. Feb. 2019. The Venezia Unica travel document should exclude you from having to pay the new tourist tax. Click here for more about the tourist tax. I will update you as soon as the City updates the info.
You need an ID card, they will take the photo for you right there when buying the card. You get it from an ACTV sales office… for example at Piazzale Roma.
If you’re under 29 there are additional discounts. Here is the complete price list.
When you got the ticket, you step on the bus.
Here you find the ticket machine. You hold your ticket in front of it up close, the machine goes beep, there’s a green light and you’re good to go.
If it goes bloop and there’s a red light, then the ticket is not valid for this bus or you’ve run out of tickets on the card… Or it’s just already validated. In that case, it reads Titolo già validata. You just have to look closely at the little window of the machine. If so, you can sit down and enjoy the ride… if you find a free seat available, that is.
At the bottom of the page, there is an informative YouTube video on the subject.
Validating multiple tickets
So, with the new machines and the new system, it is actually impossible to validate more than one ticket on a multiple fares card. Let’s say you’ve bought a so-called Carnet, a single ticket with 10 fares. In that case, there is now no possibility to use it for more than one person. The second traveler needs his own card. That is a bug with this system. On the other hand, anyone can validate for him-/herself since the machines now accept any credit card.
The Vaporetto is slightly different.
Here you will probably have to pass a gate to get out on the pontoon. The gate is activated by your ticket and that way you can not really avoid validating it. Unless the gate is broken which happens. If you for some reason hold the card against the machine, confirm your ticket but do not pass the gate. Then you have to wait 1 minute to be able to get through again. Theoretically, you have already bleeped the card so you are authorized to board. It’s just the door that will not open.
(…. You could try entering through the exit, but don’t tell anyone I said so) ( I have a friend… A very politically and socially engaged friend and colleague. He never validates his ticket. Well, he has an annual subscription just like me so he has the authorization. But he claims that it is illegal to force someone to confirm an already valid travel title. If it’s good, it’s good. And he always enters through the exit. It’s a protest thingy. At least that’s what I think it is.)