Venice Vaporetto Fares

What you'll pay to ride Venice's water buses this year, and what you need to do before boarding the boats.

ABOVE: Vaporetti, or public water buses, call at the Ferrovia ACTV stop next to Venezia Santa Lucia Railroad Station.

By Durant Imboden

The ticket prices listed in the fare tables below are for Venice's water transit network, which includes the historic center and islands such as Murano, Burano, and the Lido di Venezia. (Venice also has a land bus network that serves car-friendly districts on the mainland and the Lido.)

For tips on where and how to obtain tickets on Venice's public transportation, see our articles about Buying Vaporetto Tickets and ACTV Ticket Machines.

• Finally, don't miss our "Important things to know" right after the fare tables.

Venice Fare Tables

Important things to know:

• You must validate tickets before use. Look for the white electronic card reader near the walkway that leads to the floating vaporetto platform. (Some stations also have green card readers that cannot be used to validate tickets.)
  
  Hold your ticket within 6 cm (about 2.5 inches) of the circular panel for three seconds, or until you see a green light and hear a beep. At some stops, a gate or turnstile will open when you validate your ticket.

• If you're at a vaporetto stop without a ticket counter or machine, buy a ticket from the boat conductor as you board to avoid a fine. On land, purchase bus/tram/People Mover tickets at ticket machines, Hellovenezia/ACTV offices, newsstands, or tobacco shops (look for a blue sign with a white "T").
  
  Warning: We've had reports of ticket inspectors ignoring the ACTV's published policy and fining tourists who tried to buy tickets upon boarding, so we strongly recommend going out of your way to buy a ticket on land to avoid ripoffs.

• An ordinary single waterbus ticket is good for 75 minutes in one direction, which means you can transfer as long as you aren't headed back toward your starting point.

• On water buses, you're allowed to carry one piece of luggage with a combined length, width, and height of 150 cm (60 inches) or less, plus a smaller backpack, purse, or other personal item.
  
  For more luggage, or for a bigger bag, you may need to pay a supplement. Ask the agent in the ticket booth or the boat conductor as you board.

Our best money-saving tip:

• Venice is a compact and walkable city, and you shouldn't need to use the vaporetto often unless you have trouble walking, are pressed for time, or are going to an island (such as the Lido or Murano) outside the historic center. Our advice: Walk when you can, and organize your schedule to make the most efficient use of a tourist travel card.

For more fare information--including conference cards, football tickets, and other special fares--please see the English-language pages at the Web site of ACTV, Venice's transit authority.

If you'll be using land-based public transportation, see:

•  Venice land bus & tram fares: Mestre, Marghera, Lido di Venezia, & Chioggia.

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.