Venice - transfer between St. Mark's Square to cruise terminal

[minaco]

We will be in Venice mid-August on Norwegian Spirit. We arrive on 08/12 at 2:00 pm and disembark the ship to go home the next morning. My question is...how late do the water shuttles run in the evening? We would like to enjoy a nice dinner in Venice near St. Mark's Square and see it all up at night. But, we aren't too keen on having to walk back to the ship if the water shuttles close early. Any advice you can provide will be much appreciated. Thanks, Mike.

[mapleleaves]

Do you mean the shuttle offered by your cruiseline? or the water bus that will take you thru the Grand Canal? (if the latter, be advised that the People Mover from Piazzale Roma to the pier closes at 10/11pm. )

[minaco]

Yes, the latter...People Mover. So, if we catch the last one of the last departures to head towards the ship, it would need to be before 10 pm? Do you know if the cruiselines offer a shuttle from that area back to the ship?

[mapleleaves]

I doubt the cruiseline would offer a shuttle between Piazzale Roma and the pier. Call NCL and ask .... also ask if their shuttle to/from St Marks is charged per ride, per RT, or unlimited.

 

If the People Mover is closed when you arrive at PRoma you can walk to the pier in about 20 minutes, or, there are usually cabs available since it's the last point of land travel in Venice and it would be a 5 minute ride.

 

Since your date is mid week, the People Mover is open until 11pm. Info on the water buses, routes, etc

http://europeforvisitors.com/venice/articles/venice-vaporetto-water-buses.htm

[minaco]

Thank you for the info. If the walk is only twenty minutes, that is doable.

[Hlitner]

Well, it will take most a little longer than 20 min from the vaporetto pier (P. Roma) to the ship but it is very doable. There is another option if you are tired which is to simply grab a taxi in the P. Roma. There are taxis there that time of night, but they will often want 20 Euros just to run you to the port. So I guess it all depends on how much you like to walk :). Also keep in mind it gets awfully quiet around St Marks Square late at night (almost eerie) since a majority of decent reasonably priced restaurants are not in that part of Venice.

 

Hank

Edited June 14, 2015 by Hlitner

[minaco]

Thanks for the info Hank. Much appreciated. Will have to map this out and decide what we want to do.

[mina]

A related question, we want to take the #1 Vaporetto through the grand canal the evening we are there. I understand how to catch the #1 -- but what happens when you get to the end of the route? Is there another Vaporetto that you can take to go back to where you started ? Do the Vaporetto's run through the evening?

[Hlitner]

A related question, we want to take the #1 Vaporetto through the grand canal the evening we are there. I understand how to catch the #1 -- but what happens when you get to the end of the route? Is there another Vaporetto that you can take to go back to where you started ? Do the Vaporetto's run through the evening?

 

The #1 runs a simple circle route all the way around Venice (in either direction). So if you stay on the boat long enough it will bring you right back to your starting point (which we assume would be the Piazale Roma). It is the same with the #2 which follows essentially the same route but has fewer stops.

 

Hank

[mina]

Thank you, hank!

[diane.in.ny]

I agree with a previous poster that St. Marks can get quite eerie at night. We spend several days in Venice and one evening the fog had rolled in and it was quite spooky ... and empty.

 

Plus, as also noted, the restaurants around St. Marks are expensive and touristy. Perhaps someone could recommend a good restaurant that wouldn't leave you with such a long walk back to the ship.

[minaco]

I agree with a previous poster that St. Marks can get quite eerie at night. We spend several days in Venice and one evening the fog had rolled in and it was quite spooky ... and empty.

 

 

 

Plus, as also noted, the restaurants around St. Marks are expensive and touristy. Perhaps someone could recommend a good restaurant that wouldn't leave you with such a long walk back to the ship.

 

 

A reasonably priced restaurant recommendation closer to the port would be much appreciated. Thanks!

[roothy123]

There is also the Alilaguna water service from the port (about a five minute walk to most docking locations) Alilaguna Blu line to St. Mark's (either San Marco (Giardinetti) or San Zaccaria (Jolanda). I think it's 8 or 9 euros and I've heard there's a ticket kiosk right at the port. I don't know if you can pay on board. No People Mover needed to get to the boat, just the 5 minute or less walk. However, according to the schedule I have (see alilaguna.it) the last boat runs at 5:26 pm from the cruise port, so after that (and to get back) you would have to take the regular water buses run by ACTV after taking the People Mover to Piazzale Roma. Water bus website is actv.it, and it shows both Alilaguna schedules as well as its own. It's not the easiest to use, however, as not all pages have been translated to English. Also, the schedules change a couple times a year, so make sure you have the current one.

 

Alilaguna takes about 20 minutes from "Terminal Crociere" (cruise port) to San Marco Giardninetti. ACTV's 4.2 line takes 26 minutes from San Marco to Piazzale Roma, with slower lines like 1 and 2 taking longer. The 24 hour passes you buy for ACTV do not cover Alilaguna. If you have a pass, using ACTV and People Mover will probably take a bit longer than Alilaguna, but make more sense from a cost standpoint. However, if you just buy a one way ticket on either one, the cost is about the same, though Alilaguna will be a little faster. Also, be aware that there are multiple stops for the San Marco area. Some are closer to the actual square than others, but as long as you don't have luggage, any will do. There are also stops called "San Zaccaria" that go close to the square, and you'll be able to see the square as you approach those stops. You'll need to head over one or two footbridges, but without luggage or mobility problems, these stops can be useful in addition to the San Marco ones. Lines like the 4.1 and 5.1 are faster than lines 1 and 2.

Edited June 19, 2015 by roothy123