The short answer: Venice Marco Polo Airport is on the mainland, across the lagoon from the historic centre. There are four ways in: a private water taxi straight to your hotel (about 30 to 35 minutes), the shared Alilaguna water bus (about 60 to 90 minutes, depending on the line), a bus to Piazzale Roma (about 20 minutes, then a vaporetto or a walk), or a car to Piazzale Roma, where the road ends. Cars cannot enter the historic centre.
Private water taxi: straight to your hotel
The quickest and most direct way. The boat docks are about a 10-minute walk from the terminal along a covered walkway, and a private water taxi takes only your group across the lagoon to your hotel: about 30 to 35 minutes to central Venice, to the hotel's water entrance when there is one. Your luggage travels with you and nobody carries it over bridges. With a booked service like our private water taxi, our staff meets you in the arrivals hall with a name board and walks you to the boat.
Alilaguna: the shared water bus
Alilaguna is the public boat service from the airport docks to several stops in Venice. It is shared, runs on a timetable and stops along the way: about 60 to 90 minutes depending on the line, around 75 minutes to San Marco. From the stop you continue on foot to your hotel with your luggage.
Bus to Piazzale Roma
Buses leave from outside the terminal and reach Piazzale Roma, the last point reachable by road, in about 20 minutes. From there you continue by vaporetto, by water taxi or on foot. It is the cheapest option, but with luggage the last part, through streets and over bridges, is the hardest.
Car with driver to Piazzale Roma
A private car takes about 20 minutes to Piazzale Roma. It makes sense if you are staying in Mestre or on the mainland, or if you continue from Piazzale Roma by water taxi to a hotel in the centre: with car and boat in one booking the boat waits for you where the car stops.
Airport to the centre: a quick comparison
| Private water taxi | Alilaguna | Bus | Car to Piazzale Roma | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Time to the centre | About 30 to 35 min | About 60 to 90 min | About 20 min, then vaporetto or on foot | About 20 min, then by boat or on foot |
| To your hotel door | Yes, when it has a water entrance | No, to the stops | No | Only on the mainland |
| Only your group | Yes | No | No | Yes |
| Luggage | Carried for you | Carried by you | Carried by you | Carried for you to Piazzale Roma |
| When | When you land, 24/7 | Timetable | Timetable | When you land |
Which option is right for you?
Travelling light, with time and a tight budget? Alilaguna or the bus will do. Arriving after a long flight, with family, several suitcases, late at night, or staying in a hotel on the Grand Canal or in the centre? A private water taxi takes you from the arrivals hall to the hotel's door in about half an hour.
Where to find us at the airport
Our desk is in the arrivals hall of Venice Marco Polo Airport, ground floor, Exit 2, open from 08:00 to 18:00. The water taxi service runs 24/7: booked guests are met at arrivals at any hour.
