A water taxi ride to Venice Airport
05/16/2010
ABOVE: Cheryl has a bad hair day in the back of a water taxi on the Venetian Lagoon.
In the video below, you'll see snippets from a 25-minute ride in a water taxi from the center of Venice to Marco Polo Airport.
The video begins with several still photos of the water taxi being loaded with luggage in the Ca' Foscari canal and heading toward the Grand Canal.
In the Grand Canal, you'll see a traghetto, tourists in a gondola, video clips of other boat traffic, and the water taxi cruising under the Rialto Bridge.
As the boat passes the vaporetto stop at the Pescheria, or Fish Market, it turns right and travels through a narrow side canal to the Fondamente Nova and the Venetian Lagoon.
Once the boat is on the open water, the taxi acqueo becomes a speedboat as it heads for the airport (passing water buses and an Alilaguna airport boat along the way).
The video concludes with the three of us (Durant, Cheryl, and our dog Maggie of Maggieinvenice.com) arriving at the airport and heading for the check-in desk in the departures terminal.
Note: Lighting conditions were a challenge when this video was taken on a sunny spring day, but if you don't mind a bit of glare, the video is worth watching to see what it's like to ride a water taxi between Venice's historic center and Venice Marco Polo Airport:
What is the best way to get from the Marittima Cruise Terminal to the Tronchetto Parking Garage?
Posted by: Steve Steck | 10/21/2010 at 11:01 PM
The People Mover:
http://europeforvisitors.com/venice/articles/venice-people-mover.htm
Posted by: Durant Imboden | 10/22/2010 at 12:04 AM
Whats the best way to get elderly parents who struggle to walk far- from the cruise terminal to the train station(actually its to Hotel Ca Lucrezia) which is very near to it please.
Posted by: D Weldon | 06/17/2012 at 05:02 PM
D. Weldon: Please see the information for arriving cruise passengers in the cruising section of Veniceforvisitors.com. You can get to our cruising pages directly at http://veniceforcruisers.com
You might also want to check the map and directions on the hotel site or booking site. (Hotels nearly always have location information, usually with directions from major transportation points.)
Posted by: Durant and Cheryl Imboden | 06/17/2012 at 05:33 PM
Hello!
Thank you for your website, it is very useful
I'm going to Venice with my wife and our 2 kids, and since we are arriving around 21:00, we started checking for water taxis. Motoscafi is full, and I found an online booking of 95€ at venicelink.com, but from your posts I wonder if we can find a better deal?
What I can't understand from your posts is if we really should book in advance or if there are usually taxis available? And which is cheaper? There are so many warnings about being cheated online one gets wary!
Thank you so much
Posted by: Luis Ferreira | 08/29/2012 at 12:07 PM
You won't get a better deal than 95 euros (normal fare is in the 110-euro range), but it's important to know what you're getting. Make sure that you aren't getting a shared water taxi where you're dropped off at one of a half-dozen or so locations in Venice. What you want is a standard water taxi that will take you to your hotel (if it has a water entrance) or to a point near your hotel (if it doesn't).
We've always hired water taxis at the airport (at the desk of the Consorzio Monotoscafi Venezia, a.k.a. the water taxi drivers' cooperative) or--when leaving in early morning--by phoning the Consorzio, which has a Web site at http://www.motoscafivenezia.it/eng/. I can't imagine why they'd be unable to accommodate you for the time and date of your arrival, since water taxis run 24/7.
Posted by: Durant and Cheryl Imboden | 08/29/2012 at 03:57 PM
I'm going to Venice in 30th March arriving 21.10 and want a water taxi direct to hotel which has canal frontage to canal off Grande Canal. Do I need to book? Or can I book at desk at airport on arrival
Posted by: Jeremy | 03/21/2015 at 11:27 PM
Just go to either of the water-taxi desks that you'll see as you exit the baggage and customs area. The person behind the desk will take your money and give you a voucher, which you'll hand to the driver at the pier.
Posted by: Durant Imboden | 03/21/2015 at 11:35 PM
Is it cheaper to book on line or at airport for water tact direct to hotel and approx cost for two passengers?
Posted by: Jeremy | 03/21/2015 at 11:51 PM
It costs the same whether you book online or in person at the airport. The fare should be somewhere around 110 euros. See our Venice Water Taxis article at Venice for Visitors:
http://europeforvisitors.com/venice/articles/water-taxis.htm
Posted by: Durant Imboden | 03/22/2015 at 01:02 AM
On the way back to the airport, when you get out of the water taxi and have to walk the 7 minutes to the airport, are there any luggage trolleys or porters available if you need them? Thanks!
Posted by: Monica Dennis | 04/01/2015 at 08:01 PM
No porters, but you should find plenty of large luggage carts. See:
http://europeforvisitors.com/venice/articles/venice-airport-luggage-carts.htm
Posted by: Durant Imboden | 04/01/2015 at 08:29 PM
Is it better to book at the desk in the airport before walking to the taxi dock, or to walk to the dock and book there?
Posted by: Simon Hedges | 05/09/2015 at 02:28 PM
Hire your water taxi at the desk in the arrivals area. The desk agent will call ahead to the water-taxi driver, who'll be waiting when you get there.
(You won't save any money by waiting until you reach the piers.)
Posted by: Durant Imboden | 05/09/2015 at 03:48 PM
Is the price for private water taxi quoted per person? We are a group of 8 with luggage.
Posted by: Cathy Morrison | 05/10/2015 at 03:51 PM
No, the price is per boat. The rate is normally good for up to 10 passengers and 10 pieces of luggage.
Posted by: Durant Imboden | 05/10/2015 at 04:16 PM
how much does a water taxi cost from airport to cruise port ( msc cruise) on sunday 2nd oct?
Posted by: avril patterson | 07/25/2016 at 12:26 AM
Avril Patterson: Probably 110-120 euros. But there's no need to take a water taxi to the cruise port. Just hire a land taxi for a fraction of the cost, or take an airport bus to the Piazzale Roma and catch the People Mover from there at a total cost of about 10 euros per person. For more information, see http://veniceforcruisers.com.
Posted by: Durant and Cheryl Imboden | 07/25/2016 at 01:08 AM
WE ARE FLYING TO VENICE (VCE) on 27 SEP 2017 AND WILL STAY AT "HOTEL SATURNIA & INTERNATIONAL, SAN MARCO-VIA XXII MARZO 2398, Venezia, 30124 VE". CAN YOU RECOMMEND A COUPLE MODES OF TRANSPORTATION TO THE SATURNIA & YOUR PREFERENCES, PLEASE, AND FOR THE FOLLOWING REQUIREMENT:
ON 28 SEP WE WILL LEAVE VENICE ON CELEBRITY CRUISE AND WILL REQUIRE TRANSPORTATION TO THE CRUISE PORT FROM HOTEL SATURNIA.
THANK YOU!
Posted by: Cheryl Apple | 06/05/2017 at 10:01 PM
Cheryl Apple, see our Hotel Saturnia & International Hotel directions page at Venice for Visitors, which has step-by-step walking directions, a map, and a link to an article about the Alilaguna airport boat (which you'll take to San Marco):
http://europeforvisitors.com/venice/directions/saturnia-and-international.htm
The page also has directions to the hotel from the Marittima cruise terminals (which you can simply do in reverse if you're going to Marittima from the hotel).
Posted by: Durant and Cheryl Imboden | 06/06/2017 at 12:06 AM
Thank you so much for a wonderful and informative website.
I was planning to book a water taxi for my wife and I at the Consorzio website for our arrival to Venice on the 7th September. I am actually driving and plan to return my Avis rental there around noon time and take a water taxi with our 4 pieces of luggage directly to our hotel near St Marks Square. However the website has declined the booking " due to an event", which I deduced by googling is the Venice Film Festival which runs till 9th September. Will this be a concern if we choose to get a water taxi from the airport during this time ? Thank you.
Posted by: Michael | 08/18/2017 at 02:03 PM
Michael: Is it possible that your credit-card company declined the transaction? It isn't uncommon for foreign transactions to be flagged or blocked if the issuer hasn't been notified ahead of time. I'd suggest checking with your credit-card company just in case, using the customer-service number on the back of the card.
We don't have any special insights about water-taxi scheduling or availability, but the Consorzio should be able to help you. See their Web site's contact page at:
https://www.motoscafivenezia.it/eng/contatti.php
Posted by: Durant and Cheryl Imboden | 08/18/2017 at 05:29 PM
Hi We are arriving in Venice on Sept. 14 about 9 AM and would like to share a water taxi to Hotel Molina Stucky...any one want to share. It's 110 Euros up to 10 people?
Posted by: sue | 08/23/2017 at 03:29 AM
We are scheduled to depart Venice on Jan 1st with a 7am flight. I contacted the Consorzio about reserving a Private Water Taxi and they said the are not doing advanced reservations due to the holiday. However, I have found other websites that are taking reservations (such as https://www.watertaxisvenice.com/). Are these separate companies from the Consorzio? Help!
Posted by: Adam | 10/17/2017 at 06:13 PM
Adam: Yes, they're separate companies, but they should be fine.
Posted by: Durant and Cheryl Imboden | 10/17/2017 at 06:37 PM