As you all know, Venice is a whole bunch of tiny land masses separated by numerous canals and connected to one another via lots of bridges.


We will be berthed at the Marittima Cruise Terminal. It is not "Venice", but is connected to it by a walkway bridge on the motorway, an auto motorway (only as far as the Piazzale Roma), and by a monorail called the People Mover.


So option 1 is to walk to Venice from the cruise port. It will take 20 minutes or more. It's a long walk up the dock (and can be very long depending where your ship is berthed), then across a long bridge and then a block through the Piazzale Rome. If this sounds like your cup of tea, then read this step-by-step illustrated guide. The Piazzale Roma (P.le Roma) is really just a giant parking lot filled with buses, taxis, land shuttles, and parking garages, but it's where you can make connections to the rest of Venice via vaporetti, so it's an important place.


Option 2 is to use the auto motorway. Some cruise lines have land based shuttle buses that will take you to the P.le Roma. There may or may not be a fee. Or you can take a land based taxi for about € 15. To catch the shuttle bus or take a taxi walk up the dock to the central part of the cruise port. That's where the land transportation will be.


Option 3 is to take the People Mover (official link here). There is one route and 3 stops so it's easy to figure out. For our purpose here, we will be getting on at the middle stop, the Marittima, and going in the direction of P.le Roma. You will need to walk to the main cruise terminal area and find the ticket vending machine. The fare, no matter where you go is € 1 each way. Buy your ticket and then validate it at the electronic validating machine. The gate will open and you will head up to the platform. Board the train, ride for just over a minute, and get off at P.le Roma. Now all of Venice is yours for the taking.

It seems a shame to talk about the cruise being over before it has even begun. But all good things come to an end and that means getting from the cruise terminal to the airport.

There are several ways this can be accomplished.



Alilaguna runs public water shuttle buses year-round to Venice's Marco Polo Airport from several locations, including the Tronchetto, the closest stop to the cruise ships. To get to Tronchetto, take the People Mover. At the principal landing stations it is possible to purchase tickets at the booths run directly by Alilaguna or by the VeLa company. The Blue and Red Line boats run about once an hour, with the trip taking 1 hour 20 minutes, and fares are moderate at about € 15. Check their website for more information.


Land transportation is available by means of bus or taxi. To take the bus, use the free shuttle bus to the Piazzale Roma, if HAL provides one. If there is no free shuttle then take the People Mover over. To take the bus from Venice to the airport, buy a ticket at the ATVO Bus Terminal in the Piazzale Roma and walk to the D2 bus bay, where you'll see signs for coaches to the Venice Marco Polo and Treviso airports. Unless you are flying Ryanair, board the bus for Marco Polo Airport. Be sure to validate your ticket before or immediately after boarding the ATVO coach. At the Piazzale Roma, stamp your ticket in the machine behind the driver's seat. Be sure you get a blue-gray or blue bus. Those are the ones with luggage storage underneath. The one way fare on the express bus to the airport is € 3 and it takes about 25 minutes.


A land taxi from Marittima terminal to Venice's Marco Polo Airport should cost around €35 to €40. Luggage may or may not be included in the fare, so be sure to ask the price before getting in the cab. It takes about 25 minutes to reach the airport. You can also get a land taxi from the Piazzale Roma, but why haul your luggage over there if you don't need to?


Water taxis are a great way to get to the airport. They can also be an expensive way. The cost is in the € 110 range per taxi. If you have a few people in your group, that fare is not bad at all. I love the water taxis, though, so any fare is fine by me. Licensed water taxis have a yellow stripe with a license number (it's in the window in the picture above). The taxis without the yellow stripe and number are "unofficial" or what we'd call "gypsy cabs". If you're the adventurous type, by all means try an unlicensed taxi. Just be sure to confirm the destination, route and fare before getting on the boat. You will see the taxis when you exit the ship on debarkation day. You can also arrange a water taxi in advance. The boats can hold 10 people, assuming 1 piece of luggage per person. The ride takes anywhere from 45 minutes to an hour, depending on boat congestion at the cruise terminal. Once at the airport, you will be dropped off at the taxi pier and must walk about 10 minutes to the airport terminal. Hint: Try to get a luggage cart once you get off the boat. Some have suggested that a shuttle runs every 10 minutes from the dock to the terminal, but the airport website does not list it. If you are staying in Venice post-cruise, ask your hotel to arrange a water taxi for you to get to the airport. Many hotels in Venice are located on a canal so the taxi picks you up right at the door.


Here is a map of the Marittima Cruise Terminal (click here for a large version). As of this writing, we are slated for Berth 20, but HAL's website also says they use 103, 107, 108 and 117. The green line you see connecting Tronchetto and Piazzale Roma is the People Mover Line. It has an intermediate stop where you see the green loop at the cruise terminal.