Venice Airport: Wheelchair Arrival Help to Water Taxi?

We've already asked this on the Italy section of CruiseCritic, and found most of the basic information we needed about airport and Water Taxi location.

One remaining question:

Sometimes I need a wheelchair, and after a long overnight flight is likely to be a time like that.

At Venice, is there anyone to help with wheelchair assistance IF it's needed, once we get through to the arrivals area, for the walk to the Water Taxi dock?

(We'll be taking a private water taxi, not the alilaguna, at this point.)

We realize that Venice isn't particularly wheelchair accessible, and for the most part, I don't need one. And we'll plan to do a bit more general sightseeing using water transportation, rather than extended walking, where possible.

I don't travel with a wheelchair, but sometimes need one for long walks at airports - especially for arrivals.

(Elsewhere, if I have difficulties, I can just take a taxi or just rest and not go "out". It's one reason we don't do group excursions, and also so I don't slow down the others.)

But after a long overnight flight, and a connection to another flight... that's a time I'm especially likely to need help.

We'd like to know in advance if this is likely to be a routine request (wheelchair assistance to the Water Taxi dock), or if this is more likely to

present a big problem.

(And if it will be a problem, what options do we have so I don't have to sit on the luggage cart on top of the suitcases? :confused:)

We are spending extra time in Venice, so there will be plenty of time to rest, or even take an entire "day off" entirely from sightseeing.

Of course, that "time off" could be in a Water Taxi, just like in other cities it is a "car taxi" to see things :)

We are staying at a hotel with its own dock, to make all of this easier.

Many thanks.

GeezerCouple

We arrived with a wheelchair last year. We had brought our own as it was completely necessary.

We were greeted by a pusher and the chair once we were able to leave the plane. She got us as far as bag collection and pointed out where to exit, but did not go outside of the doors at bag collection . We made our way out with bags and figured out our transport options from there.

I would not expect the pusher to be able to take you past the bag collection nor would I expect them to allow the airport wheelchair all the way to where the water taxis are, but I could be wrong.

We arrived with a wheelchair last year. We had brought our own as it was completely necessary.

 

We were greeted by a pusher and the chair once we were able to leave the plane. She got us as far as bag collection and pointed out where to exit, but did not go outside of the doors at bag collection . We made our way out with bags and figured out our transport options from there.

 

I would not expect the pusher to be able to take you past the bag collection nor would I expect them to allow the airport wheelchair all the way to where the water taxis are, but I could be wrong.

Hmmm...

Did you have to wheel yourself to the water taxi/alilaguna dock?

Or...?

Many thanks.

GeezerCouple

We did get ourselves all the way out to the docks. Maybe she thought we could handle it, since we were a group of 5 and only one in the chair.

It was interesting, though. We took the smart carts all the way to the docks, and seemed to be the only ones who did, but we each had a large bag and a smaller one.

You might consider taking a chair along if you think you'll need it. I found a light one on Amazon for around $100. My DD needed it for about 2 months.

It doesn't seem that anyone has explained how they got from the baggage claim to the water taxis. I may have to push my husband in a wheelchair, and we will have at least one big suitcase and one large carry-on. The hotel and a handicapped tour company have each quoted me around $270 to meet us at the airport and take us to the hotel. I am trying to figure out exactly what costs so much, and what the alternatives are. One of them said that they will put us in a land taxi to take us to a private water taxi (the hotel has its own dock). Could I hail my own land taxi to take us to the water taxis? Are there any porters between the bag collection and the land or water taxis? I don't want to get there and find out that I should have arranged something in advance... or find out that $270 is actually a reasonable price for what is involved. Thanks!

It doesn't seem that anyone has explained how they got from the baggage claim to the water taxis. I may have to push my husband in a wheelchair, and we will have at least one big suitcase and one large carry-on. The hotel and a handicapped tour company have each quoted me around $270 to meet us at the airport and take us to the hotel. I am trying to figure out exactly what costs so much, and what the alternatives are. One of them said that they will put us in a land taxi to take us to a private water taxi (the hotel has its own dock). Could I hail my own land taxi to take us to the water taxis? Are there any porters between the bag collection and the land or water taxis? I don't want to get there and find out that I should have arranged something in advance... or find out that $270 is actually a reasonable price for what is involved. Thanks!

If your hotel has it's own water taxi to greet and transport you from the dock area (or is it just their own dock, but you arrange your own private water taxi?), then what we used might not be ideal.

ended up finding a relatively new service (new to Venice, not new overall) that was so good, we used them again elsewhere during our travels.

We ended up getting a "meet and greet" service that included a car transfer from right in front of the airport to the airport dock area, and then had help with getting to the private water taxi they had arranged.

They helped with our luggage once we exited after customs/etc., and again along the dock right to the water taxi.

Because of all of the help, I did not need to use the wheelchair that the airline arranged when we landed, after we got to the car.

You might try contacting "Marco" at

info@booktaxibarcelona.com

(He's the owner, not one of the phone reps.)

Yes, I know... "Barcelona"???

Yes, we were nervous at first, until the considerable degree of assistance and communication from Marco reassured us.

Well, they have branched out to many other cities in Italy, and are continuing to grow.

We ended up using them for some other land transportation when multiple train/bus transfers just wouldn't work, and the drivers were waiting just as expected.

We will use them in the future, whenever they offer services where we'll be.

The price was less than what you were quoted, by the way.

GeezerCouple

Thanks so much - this is exactly the sort of thing that I was looking for (I'm assuming that you paid under $270)! Do you have any other hints for wheelchair users in Venice? Would love to talk to you privately - I'm new here, so I don't know how that works. Thanks again!

Thanks so much - this is exactly the sort of thing that I was looking for (I'm assuming that you paid under $270)! Do you have any other hints for wheelchair users in Venice? Would love to talk to you privately - I'm new here, so I don't know how that works. Thanks again!

Alas, there is no "private messaging" here.

(We'll probably get a special email address to use for CruiseCritic, so that we can post it. Please give us some time.)

When are you traveling?

First, I do not usually use a wheelchair, but we do need to take private tours/guides, because I need to stop and rest frequently, and occasionally have to stop early.

In Venice, that happened, and our kindly guide (first day of two separate sessions with her) found me a place to sit comfortably, and then she made some phone calls, and arranged for a water taxi to come fairly soon to the nearest place I could board - and back to the hotel we went.

We'd rather do this (risk cutting something short, or spend some time resting) than not do any of the tours or travel at all, needless to say!

Check prices with Marco, and any special requests.

(We paid a bit extra because some of this was a surprise for DH, so I requested the upgraded mahogany "wood" water taxi, rather than the white [fiberglass?] ones that we used the rest of the time.)

Our hotel had quoted us more than twice the amount, and even more if we needed/wanted an escort to remain with us on the water taxi from the airport to the hotel. That certainly wasn't needed.

One other thing, we arranged a gondola ride/tour through the hotel, and it was not a big extra cost. Someone from the hotel escorted us to a special nearby pickup point. On the return, I was unable to climb up where they expected us to get off, so the gondolier spent a few extra minutes and took us directly to the hotel dock instead.

Note that Venice is *NOT* convenient for wheelchairs. There is no question about that.

We did, however, see a wheelchair group tour at the Doges Palace, on an upper floor. We don't know how it was arranged, but our guide did arrange for us to use elevators there and elsewhere, and we wouldn't have known about those otherwise.

We asked questions galore on CruiseCritic (disabled, locations, cruiseline, and ship/roll call), and also on TripAdvisor, and LOTS of time spent with a variety of Google searches, and questions to assorted leads found there.

(A lot of those were dead-ends, but we did always end up finding what we needed, plus a few times we found something unexpected - like private gondolier lesson for DH :) . He took the entire lesson, because there was no way I could stand up on the top of the gondola the way it's done. I spent too much of the time worried that he'd fall in! :eek: But that was a high point for him!)

Also do ask hotel concierges or the "special needs" group at the cruise line.

Finally, we've simply decided that if we need to pay extra so that things can go more smoothly/comfortably or so we can do things that we otherwise couldn't do, then we just consider that part of the cost of the trip... and we go and we enjoy!

And we always request wheelchair assistance at the airport before and after flights.

(The only place that we have so far found it tricky was for a transfer at Rome, for the flight to Venice. We were asked to sit in a hallway that was quickly emptied of all other people. Time was running... Someone DID show up, and it worked out, but it was very odd. The same thing happened on the return, again transferring at Rome, but at least this time we had some vague hope that someone would show up. Still... very unsettling. This might have been because of the recent fire at FCO, so the regular terminals and gates weren't being used??)

GeezerCouple

We leave November 3, and will be in Venice until the cruise leaves on the 7th. We are meeting friends there who will be able to help us a little bit. My husband usually doesn't use a wheelchair, but he can't stand very long or walk very far, either. In the past, we have used a wheeled walker with a seat. I've been there before, and I don't think that he really cares if we take tours or see everything - I think it's more the ambiance and the total experience. So my main concern is getting him to the hotel (the Metropole) and we will wing it from there. I just read that there are several bridges between the hotel and St. Marks, so I had better do my homework. Which cruise did you take from there? We are going to Rhodes, Ephesus, Dubrovnik and Split, Croatia. Thanks for your help - this is the first time that he has flown internationally in this condition.

I always call the hotel's concierge and ask if they have any advice on transportation and tours that are accessible. Just a thought.

Have you seen the Accessible Venice Map?

http://www.comune.venezia.it/flex/cm/pages/ServeBLOB.php/L/EN/IDPagina/1318

We have the accessible map, but pushing a wheelchair with a heavy suitcase and a carryon is another story. (We are leaving for a cruise directly from the hotel, so storing the suitcase is not an option.) Our hotel would gladly pick us up for $270 Euros - just wanted to see if that is as outrageous as it sounds (it's more than we're paying per night). Thanks!

Have you seen the Accessible Venice Map?

 

http://www.comune.venezia.it/flex/cm/pages/ServeBLOB.php/L/EN/IDPagina/1318

Can you tell me how you copied that link? My computer skills are very limited. Thank you.

Wendy

Hi Wendy,

I just RIGHT clicked in the address bar on the top of the Venice map page. One of the choices is Copy. LEFT click on the word Copy.

Then I LEFT clicked in the message box on Cruise Critic . Then the cursor is blinking. RIGHT click and you will see the word Paste. LEFT click on Paste and the link will show up in the message box where the cursor was blinking.

Hope this helps.

PS This is how it works on my computer. I'm not sure about Ipads.

Judy