ABOVE: A vaporetto platform at Venice's Santa Lucia railroad station.

Venice's vaporetto fares have been obscenely high for years, but now they've jumped again. Last week, ACTV (the municipal transit authority) raised the price of a single ride on a water bus to a whopping seven euros. Prices for tourist tickets of 12 to 72 hours also went up. (The 7-day tourist ticket is still a bargain, relatively speaking, at €50.)

Our advice: Ride the vaporetto only when you must, and plan your excursions to take advantage of time-delineated tourist tickets. (If you use a wheelchair, be sure to ask for a special "disabled ticket," which costs only €1,30 and lets a companion travel with you for free.)

For more information on the ACTV's current fares, see our Venice for Visitors Vaporetto and Bus Fares article. Remember, too, that Venice is a small city where walking is often faster than taking a water bus. Our Walking in Venice article will help you get around with the help of maps and street signs.

Finally, our Venice Local Transportation Index has links to articles about water buses, the inexpensive gondola ferries known as traghetti, water taxis, using automatic ticket machines at ACTV stations, and more.