A cost-effective alternative to water taxis.
The Vaporetto is Venice’s public water bus system, operated by ACTV (Azienda del Consorzio Trasporti Veneziano). It’s the city’s main mode of transport, connecting islands and navigating the canals. The name "Vaporetto" means "little steamer," a nod to early steam-powered boats. Locals may also call it "un batèlo" or "un vaporino." Whether you're commuting or sightseeing, the Vaporetto is the easiest way to explore Venice’s waterways.
Venice’s Vaporetto system has 23 active lines, connecting the city’s major landmarks and surrounding islands. Whether you’re cruising down the Grand Canal, heading to Murano’s glass factories, or exploring Burano’s colorful houses, here are the key routes you need to know:
The Vaporetto, Venice’s public water bus system, runs year-round with varying schedules depending on the time of day and season. Here’s what you need to know:
Operating hours: Most main lines run from 5am to 12am.
The best pass depends on your stay. A 24-hour pass (€25) or 48-hour pass (€35) is great for short visits, while longer stays may benefit from the 72-hour pass (€45) or 7-day pass (€65). The Venezia Unica card bundles transport with museum access.
It depends on the kind of experience you’re looking for. The Vaporetto is functional and affordable, covering all major routes, while gondolas are more for sightseeing and can be pricey.
Take the ACTV (Line 5) or ATVO express bus to Piazzale Roma or opt for the Alilaguna water bus for a scenic transfer to locations like St. Mark’s Square.
Water taxis are fast and private but cost around €120+. They’re worth it if you have heavy luggage or want a hassle-free transfer.
Yes! The Vaporetto runs 24/7, with Line N operating from 11:30pm – 5am for late-night travel.
You must always validate your ticket from the electronic ticket checkers before boarding a Venice water bus. Make sure that your luggage does not exceed the limit.
Since the waters do not create large waves, you do not have the chance of getting seasick. However, if you feel nauseous, inform the sailors and boatmen. They will help you through the journey.
A standard Vaporetto ticket is valid for 75 minutes, allowing unlimited transfers within that time. Multi-day passes remain valid until their expiry.
Yes, but keep it compact, especially during peak hours, to ensure a comfortable ride.
There are no toilets on a Venice water bus.
Kids under 6 travel free, and the Rolling Venice card offers discounted fares for ages 6-29 on transport and attractions.
If you lose your ticket before validation, you must buy a new one—lost tickets cannot be replaced or refunded once validated.
Carefree use of the water bus all day long without having to buy tickets all the time. It's a very convenient way to explore the city. The ticket worked perfectly at every station. The first time we received the tickets via the code at the machine also went smoothly
Enjoyed the ease of getting on and off when needed and not having to worry about getting a separate ticket at each time we wanted to go somewhere. If in doubt about which taxi to get on, there was always somebody around to answer a question..
Simply beautiful - you MUST have seen it! Great with audioguide ! Also very moderate prices in the coffee house !
The history, it explains so much about Venice.
Everything was amazing. God organization og the visit. Fantastisk interior.
Amazing building with a good preservation and well organised
Doge’s Palace is an essential destination for visitors to Venice—melding drama, history, and visual splendor. The grandeur of its architecture and the emotional contrast between gilded state rooms and somber prisons craft a compelling narrative of power and justice. Guided tours bring hidden areas to life; self-led visits still impress, though reservation is recommended to avoid long waits.
The sheer magnitude of opulence, scale and Al frescoes were jaw dropping. The curation of the palace offered easy access and historical descriptions and displays made such a difference to the palace experience and it was such a memorable moment which we will never forget of our European summer holiday!
The experience started on a great note by being able to skip the long line and just go in and start going through the different rooms in the Palace. The explanations of the use of each rooms and of the art in them was also very helpful. Even though it was in July, it was not too crowded. I also enjoyed the views to the city from opened windows and the view from the Bridge of sighs was a highlight. Highly recommended visit when in Venice.
We can get on and off everywhere. We loved the bus stop shelters and the digital displays showing when the next vaporetto was coming.
Entry with the skip the line feature was wonderful-we just walked right in. The palace is a must see-it was beautiful and the legal history was so interesting
There was an additional charge for the ticket and then you had to book three tickets before you reached the machine that printed out the ticket. No longer up to date.
The ticket is good for traveling and you can ride everything. Simply check in. However, the purchase is cumbersome, buy online, go to some vending machine I know where and then print out the ticket. I understand that it has to be printed out, otherwise you can't ride the water bus, the barrier to the ride only opens when you put on the ticket
Skip the line tickets were great as we had no waiting, just walked straight in. Easy directions to follow inside the palace for our self guided tour. If you want to see the art gallery then you have to pay a discounted fee of 2 euro per person. Overall loved the Palace & would recommend this activity as a must do in Venice.
No line got in right away Nice also the exhibition that you could visit by adding 2 € special bonus to the low price since it is a supplement
Having these tickets made getting into the attraction really easy with little to no queuing. We had a lovely couple of hours going round the palace and found it interesting even without a formal guide taking us round.
At first I was worried about where I could redeem the ticket. It was all very easy at a ticket machine. The ships arrived on time.
The ticketing and entry process was easy! The Doges Palace is a hidden gem yet so very obvious! Really enjoyed the experience.
File cut appreciable. The Doges' Palace is a must-see in Venice. 30 euros is the entrance fee. Allow a minimum of 2 hours, or even 3. We recommend it.
The vaporettos are a great experience, as they take us everywhere for 48 hours, and the special tickets for the Doge's Palace allowed us to enjoy the visit without waiting.
We appreciated how few people there were to enter the palace with our queue-cutting ticket. Good experience to discover this magnificent place. A French audio guide would be a plus.
Quick and easy online booking. A beautiful place to visit, €5 online audio guide with 36 points of interest. A nice cafe on site, too. It was a highlight of our trip to Venice.
We had a great time. My advice to anybody would be to get a live guided tour. We use the audio guide, and it wasn't great audio!
The ease of getting around, seeing Venice from the sea, discovering the palaces... only downside: there's no timetable available and it's not always easy to know where to wait.
Pain-free and Queless well worth the visit. The prebooked tickets 🎟 eradicated any hassle.👌🤘👍
Super saver Venice combo – 2-day unlimited Vaporetto & bus access, plus fast-track entry to top museums.
Inclusions Venice ACTV Water Bus Pass
2-day access to ACTV Vaporetti(Water-buses) in Venice, Lido and lagoon islands
2-day access to ACTV Buses in Mestre, Marghera and mainland
** Venice Museum Pass with Fast-Track Tickets to Doge's Palace**
Skip-the-line tickets to Doge’s Palace
Entry to Museo Correr
Entry to Archaeological Museum
Entry to Monumental Rooms of the Biblioteca Marciana
Venice ACTV Water Bus Pass
Venice Museum Pass with Fast-Track Tickets to Doge's Palace
Laila
Nelly
Danny
You can just get in and "ship" off without thinking twice. Unfortunately, the vaporettos were on strike when we arrived, so we had to walk everything with our suitcases 😬.
Venice, I had visited before and many years ago I was also there for the Carnival. This time the one that fascinated me was Burano with its little houses one after the other, painted in bright colors that on a day of so much sun makes them very pretty and puts you in a good mood
Punctual, reliable and very friendly!
The ease of getting around Venice and its surroundings Murano, Lido.
Simply beautiful - you MUST have seen it! Great with audioguide ! Also very moderate prices in the coffee house !
The history, it explains so much about Venice.
Everything was amazing. God organization og the visit. Fantastisk interior.
The landscape😍. The places, the food.
Amazing building with a good preservation and well organised
Skip the line was good (but not necessary on a Saturday in July). We did not have time to get our moneys worth out of the day boat pass. It would have been cheaper and easier to purchase single boat rides from the automated kiosks. But still beautiful!
Doge’s Palace is an essential destination for visitors to Venice—melding drama, history, and visual splendor. The grandeur of its architecture and the emotional contrast between gilded state rooms and somber prisons craft a compelling narrative of power and justice. Guided tours bring hidden areas to life; self-led visits still impress, though reservation is recommended to avoid long waits.
The sheer magnitude of opulence, scale and Al frescoes were jaw dropping. The curation of the palace offered easy access and historical descriptions and displays made such a difference to the palace experience and it was such a memorable moment which we will never forget of our European summer holiday!
The help from tha staff was excellent. I had the wrong ticket, and was offered to buy a ticket for only 19 euros. Thanks a lot to the kindest staff on board
It must be harder to use the vaporetto because you do not wann to walk around the city if you have ticket for all day :)
The experience started on a great note by being able to skip the long line and just go in and start going through the different rooms in the Palace. The explanations of the use of each rooms and of the art in them was also very helpful. Even though it was in July, it was not too crowded. I also enjoyed the views to the city from opened windows and the view from the Bridge of sighs was a highlight. Highly recommended visit when in Venice.
Entry with the skip the line feature was wonderful-we just walked right in. The palace is a must see-it was beautiful and the legal history was so interesting
easy access and more precision using Google maps for orientation and precise timetables when you can't find a nearby place to board.
Friendly staff, which ship goes where, could be better labeled, link to search for the exchange machines of the online ticket in bus ticket did not work in the PDF. Ship is very noisy otherwise great transportation system
Skip the line tickets were great as we had no waiting, just walked straight in. Easy directions to follow inside the palace for our self guided tour. If you want to see the art gallery then you have to pay a discounted fee of 2 euro per person. Overall loved the Palace & would recommend this activity as a must do in Venice.
Skip the line ticketing is the way to go, given the line up of people we saw purchasing tickets. The all day ACTV pass is handy. We had an issue with evening riding. The spot at P. De Roma not the same dock, and no indication to use another one. The return trip from san Marco at S. Zaccaria didn't go where we anticipated it to go, and fortunately it ended up at a stop near us. But we were planning on getting off near the Accademia and walking back. So, better directions would be helpful, or people around to guide you, since the signage wasn't easy to understand.
No line got in right away Nice also the exhibition that you could visit by adding 2 € special bonus to the low price since it is a supplement
Having these tickets made getting into the attraction really easy with little to no queuing. We had a lovely couple of hours going round the palace and found it interesting even without a formal guide taking us round.
The ticketing and entry process was easy! The Doges Palace is a hidden gem yet so very obvious! Really enjoyed the experience.
File cut appreciable. The Doges' Palace is a must-see in Venice. 30 euros is the entrance fee. Allow a minimum of 2 hours, or even 3. We recommend it.
The vaporettos are a great experience, as they take us everywhere for 48 hours, and the special tickets for the Doge's Palace allowed us to enjoy the visit without waiting.
Unlimited travel across Venice's ACTV network all day, plus skip-the-line access to Venice’s seat of power & art.
Inclusions 1-Day ACTV Transport Pass
Doge's Palace Tickets
Exclusions
Bob
Laila
Nelly
Carefree use of the water bus all day long without having to buy tickets all the time. It's a very convenient way to explore the city. The ticket worked perfectly at every station. The first time we received the tickets via the code at the machine also went smoothly
Steamboats punctual ,frequent and very comfortable . We walked around for 3 days . I recommend this cheap and very comfortable solution to everyone.
We loved being able to jump on and off the vaporetto system. Highlights were our use on Line 1 on the Grand Canal and trips out to Murano andd Burano.
You can just get in and "ship" off without thinking twice. Unfortunately, the vaporettos were on strike when we arrived, so we had to walk everything with our suitcases 😬.
The ticket could be booked online in advance. Picking it up at the designated machine with the assigned code worked well. The tickets always worked reliably. The individual lines have a good frequency and are very reliable.
easily accessible ticket office, very easy airport/landing transfer with conveyor belt, very pleasant and attentive staff despite the language barrier. punctuality, and arrival station in Venice ( fondamente dove) with easy access on foot from our accommodation. Highly recommended for airport transfers.
Every little detail as every corner is special.... Then in Burano it was great with the colors and eating at the sports bar....
Enjoyed the ease of getting on and off when needed and not having to worry about getting a separate ticket at each time we wanted to go somewhere. If in doubt about which taxi to get on, there was always somebody around to answer a question..
Perfect way to see Venice . Use it as you would a hop on hop off. From circumnavigating on the 4+5 routes to enjoying the inner mini cruises on the 1+2 no better way to see this exceptional unique city. Also the added bonus of being able to access the islands of Murano and Burano on the same ticket it really is value for money and more.. I would highly recommend 👌it.
It was FASCINATING!!!! I stayed 5 days and bought the Vaporetto ACTV Water Bus & Mainland Bus Pass for 7 Days. Very practical, I traveled with the Vaporeto several times a day, and even went to Murano, Burano, and Lido (didn't need another pass) . The hotel was in Mestre, and the buses ran all night, even on weekdays.
Venice, I had visited before and many years ago I was also there for the Carnival. This time the one that fascinated me was Burano with its little houses one after the other, painted in bright colors that on a day of so much sun makes them very pretty and puts you in a good mood
Voucher was easy to redeem at ticket office Waterbus travel was fast, and convenient with Rialto Stop short walk to our hotel
The Vaporettos are simply fantastic. They are punctual, reliable, run frequently and have a very dense network. The app makes it easy to find suitable connections. For strangers, it is sometimes a little confusing to know which pontoon to take.
Punctual, reliable and very friendly!
just jump on vaporetto and out of vaporetto-perfecto
Venice is a great city. With very nice people. An all-round successful weekend.
The facility on the website, and in Venice when you had to walk a long way to get back, is to get on the nearest Vaporetto.
The ease of getting around Venice and its surroundings Murano, Lido.
We used lines 1-3. The 2-day ticket was well worth it.
Unique routes, must do ! Wonderful locations !
Very good connections but very crowded so very good
Everything nice,excellent organization ,we will come back to Venice
We were able to obtain the Bilette from the ticket machine in Venice with the existing code. Super
The best way to get to know Venice
Venice is so beautiful, the people are nice.
Complete and cost-effective Venice transport package—airport transfer with unlimited Vaporetto & buses.
Inclusions Alilaguna Water Bus Transfers
Vaporetto ACTV Water Bus Pass & Mainland Bus Tickets
Validity: 1/2/3/7 days
Unlimited use of ACTV Vaporetti (water buses) in Venice, Lido and lagoon islands
Unlimited use of ACTV Buses in Mestre, Marghera and mainland
Exclusions Vaporetto ACTV Water Bus Pass & Mainland Bus Tickets
Blue Line
Click here for the map route.
Red Line
Click here for the map route.
Orange Line
Click here for the map route.
Alilaguna Water Bus Transfers
Vaporetto ACTV Water Bus Pass & Mainland Bus Tickets
Alojz
Bob
Zeiler
Access over 30 monuments and activities across Venice!
Inclusions
1-7-day validity
Attractions: Doge’s Palace, Chiesa di San Sebastiano, Chiesa di San Polo & more
Museums: Leonardo Da Vinci Museum, National Gallery of Modern Art, Archaeological National Museum, Museum Correr (Part of San Marco) & more
Guided tours: Venice City Tour
Boat tours: Gondola ride, Island tour of Murano, Burano, Torcello & more
Discounts with EatWith
Get complete details here
Exclusions
You can cancel these tickets up to 24 hours before the experience begins and get a full refund.
Vaporetto ride a great experience
Optimal means of transportation for Venice! A stop almost every few hundred meters along the large canals. Good connection to the neighboring islands. From early in the morning until late in the evening. Ideal for exploring Venice individually.
No queue Ticket had to be printed out with code In the age of cell phones incomprehensible 😟
Unlimited travel across Venice’s water and land transport—now with a multilingual city audio guide to explore as you go.
Inclusions
1/2/3/7-day validity
Access to unlimited ACTV Vaporetti (water buses) in Venice, Lido and lagoon islands
Access to unlimited ACTV buses in Mestre, Marghera and mainland
Access to Trenitalia regional (R & RV) trains within the Venice municipality.
Digital city audio guide
Exclusions
