
ABOVE: A vaporetto of ACTV's
Line 1 makes its way down the Grand
Canal.
By Durant
Imboden
If you've read our
Venice Vaporetto and Bus Fares article,
you know that single waterbus fares for tourists are outrageous: They're nearly
six times the fares paid by local residents and long-term sojourners.
Fortunately, the ACTV--Venice's local transit authority--offers
Tourist Travel Cards that can reduce the financial pain of riding the city's
vaporetti and motoscafi. These electronic cards allow
unlimited travel on ACTV water and land buses for one, two, three, or seven days, depending on which version you buy.
For tourists between the ages of 14 and 29, a 3-day "Young Person's Travel Card" is available in combination with the
Rolling Venice Card. It's a good value, especially if you're staying at the
Venice Hostel on Giudecca.)
Here's our advice on using ACTV's Tourist Travel Cards:
-
Don't buy more time than you need. Venice
is compact and pedestrian-friendly, so you shouldn't need to ride the
vaporetto very often unless you're visiting outlying islands (such as the
Lido, Murano, Burano, and Torcello) or have limited mobility.
-
Consolidate your excursions. For example,
if you're planning to visit Murano's glass factories and take a ride up the
Grand Canal, buy a one-day Tourist Travel Card, make both trips in the same
day, and take a leisurely ride up the Grand Canal on the
No. 1 vaporetto in the evening.
-
Follow
the card's instructions. When you're riding a water bus, hold the
card close to the white electronic card reader at the entrance to the
vaporetto platform until you hear a beep. On land buses, the card reader is
usually inside the bus. (Note: If you see a green card reader in a boat
station, ignore it. Green readers are for the convenience of commuters who
want to check fares on their stored-value cards, and they don't validate
rides.)
-
Be aware of the card's limitations. ACTV
Tourist Travel Cards are not valid on
ATVO airport buses or
Alilaguna airport boats.
Please note:
-
The clock doesn't start ticking on your Tourist Travel Card
until you scan or swipe it the first time, so you can buy the card before
you plan to use it. (The card is valid for a full one to seven days from
the first scan, depending on how many days you've purchased.)
For current ACTV Tourist Travel Card prices, see our
Venice Vaporetto Fares.
Other tips:
-
The "long-term stay" version of the Venezia Unica
stored-value "city pass" (formerly called imob.venezia) can be a great bargain if
you're staying in Venice for a while or plan to visit the city again in the
next several years. The card allows visitors to buy heavily-discounted
resident fares.
-
If you're buying the "tourist" version of the
Venezia Unica stored-value city pass, you
can have your Venice Tourist Card fare loaded onto the pass.
-
You can avoid ticket lines by using the official AVM Venezia smartphone app
to buy and validate fares and passes. (But read our
AVM Venezia app article before taking the
plunge.)