Venice Cruise Port Transportation
Getting to your ship
Cruise Transfers by private water taxi
- Our excursions partner,
Viator, offers
departure transfers from Venice hotels to the Marittima or San Basilio
cruise piers by private water taxi.
Arrival transfers are also available. (Select the flag icon at the top
of Viator's page for prices in four different currencies.)
If you're boarding a cruise
ship in Venice, the simplest way to get between the airport and the ship is to
buy a transfer from your cruise line. This can be expensive, however, and many
passengers resent having to pay hefty prices for a 20-minute ride by chartered
coach. In this article, we'll tell you how to reach the cruise terminals on your
own by
bus or
land taxi and by
boat or water taxi.

ABOVE: San Basilio (the smaller of Venice's two
main cruise terminals) is next to a vaporetto stop. INSET BELOW: The quays
at Marittima.
Before
deciding how to reach the cruise terminal, you'll need to know where your ship
will be moored. Megaships and other large vessels of cruise lines such as Costa,
MSC, Princess, and Holland America normally use the main Marittima terminal.
Smaller ships often use San Basilio, especially on Saturdays at busy times of
the year when Marittima may not have any vacant berths.
Important:
-
If you're arriving in Venice by ship and need transportation to the
airport, simply follow our directions in reverse.
-
This article focuses on transportation between the airport and the cruise
terminals. If you're arriving or departing by train, use the new
glass-and-metal Ponte di Calatrava pedestrian bridge to get from
Venezia Santa Lucia railroad
station to the taxi stands at the
Piazzale Roma. (Alternatively, you can take a land taxi between the
Piazzale Roma and the
Venezia Mestre railroad station on the mainland.)
-
If you're arriving in Venice a day or two before your cruise, or if
you're staying in Venice afterwards, you may find it convenient to book a
hotel room near the Piazzale Roma instead of lugging your bags to another
part of the city. See
Venice Cruise
Terminal Hotels and
Venice Airport Hotels
for suggestions. Another option--which works especially well if you've got
bulky luggage--is to stay in Mestre, on the Venetian mainland, and take a
cab to your ship. For details, read our Venice Travel Blog post, "Mestre
for Venice Cruise Passengers."
-
Our other articles about
Venice cruises and
Venice
transportation may be helpful when you're planning your trip. And now,
on to the next page:
Next page:
By land: Airport buses and taxis
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