Venice > Local transportation > Vaporetto tickets

Buying Vaporetto Tickets

How (and where) to buy tickets and passes for ACTV public water buses in Venice, Italy.

ABOVE: ACTV workers service a ticket machine at Fondamente Nove.

By Durant Imboden

Updated October 28, 2024

Venice's vaporetti or water buses are operated by ACTV, the local transit authority. To ride them, you'll need a single-fare ticket, an ACTV all-day or multi-day ticket, a Venezia Unica tourist pass, or--for extended stays--the Venezia Unica stored-value pass for frequent users.

Most visitors buy ACTV single-fare tickets  or multi-day passes. (The latter offer better value than the standard ticket, if you plan  your boat trips to maximize your savings during the 24-hour to 7-day validity of your travel card.)

Important: Tickets and passes must be validated before each use. Hold your ticket or pass against the electronic card reader at the entrance to the boat platform and wait for the screen to turn green. (Travel without a validated ticket can result in a 60-euro fine.)

ABOVE: Single-journey vaporetto tickets have magnetic stripes. To validate a ticket, hold it against the vaporetto station's ticket reader until your fare is confirmed.

Here are several ways to buy tickets and passes:

ACTV or Hellovenezia ticket outlets

You'll find a biglietteria or "ticket point" at most larger vaporetto stations, such as Piazzale Roma, Ferrovia (along the water by the railroad station), Rialto, San Marco Vallaresso, and Zaccaria (on the waterfront above the Piazza San Marco and the Doge's Palace).

ACTV ticket vending machines

Touch-screen machines are available in many ACTV stations, either to replace manned booths or to provide backup at busy times or after hours.

For illustrated step-by-step instructions on how to use the machines, see our ACTV Ticket Machines article.

Also see our Directory of ACTV and Alilaguna Waterbus Stops for information about stops that have ticket booths and/or ticket machines.

Tobacconists and newsstands

Tobacco shops, called tabaccherie, are small stores that sell lottery tickets, phone cards, candy, small toys, and other items--including ACTV tickets. Waterbus tickets and passes are also available at many newsstands.

Chat & Go (WhatsApp)

If you're a WhatsApp user, you can scan a QR code at any ACTV stop or add a number to your contacts list to purchase electronic tickets via WhatsApp. See the official Chat & Go page for details.

AVM Venezia app

This official app lets you buy and validate tickets with your Android or iOS smartphone. But read our AVM Venezia app article before taking the plunge.

• Tip: The old cardboard ACTV tickets have been replaced by rechargeable tickets or biglietti ricaricabili. If you pay for two or three tickets at a newsstand or ACTV ticket counter and you're handed only one biglietto, don't worry--several fares are stored on the ticket, and you can present it for recharging when you want to buy more fares.

Tappy

The Venice transportation's new "Tappy" tap & go scanners let you board water buses, land buses, and other means of public transit without a ticket or QR code. Just scan your credit or debit card against the bottom of the Tappy ticket scanner, and the fare will be deducted from your card's account.

For more information about riding Venice's water buses, please see:

• Venice vaporetto water buses

• Venice Vaporetto Routes

• Vaporetto Line 1 (Grand Canal)

• Venice Vaporetto Fares

We also recommend that you look at:

• Arriving in Venice

• Venice Local Transportation Index

About the author:

Durant Imboden has written about Venice, Italy since 1996. He covered Venice and European travel at About.com for 4-1/2 years before launching Europe for Visitors (including Venice for Visitors) with Cheryl Imboden in 2001.

PC Magazine has called this "the premier visitors' site for Venice, Italy." Over the years, it has helped more than 30 million travelers. For more information, see About our site, our Europe for Visitors press clippings, and our reader testimonials.