Transportation from the Venice Cruise Port

Transportation from San Basilio

ABOVE: CroisiEurope's Michelangelo cruises near the San Basilio pier.

To Venice's historic center:

Seven Seas Mariner and Silver Wind at San Basilio Venice On foot. From the San Basilio terminal, cross the small footbridge. You'll then be standing at the foot of the Zattere, a broad promenade that runs all the way from San Basilio to the historic Dogana customs house, which offers views of the Grand Canal, St. Mark's Basin, and the Doge's Palace on the San Marco waterfront.

If you turn left and walk inland, you'll soon reach the Campo Santa Margherita (one of Venice's larger and livelier neighborhood squares). Follow the signs for Accademia and San Marco.

Inside a Venice water taxi Water taxi. A taxi acqueo is worth considering if you're staying at a hotel near the Piazza San Marco or another location far from the San Basilio pier. Expect to pay at least €50, and possibly more, for the trip. Read our Venice Water Taxis article before phoning for an aquatic cab.

Note: Viator, our booking partner, offers an arrival transfer service from either the San Basilio or the Marittima terminal. A hostess will meet you when you've collected your baggage, escort you to the water taxi, and--if you desire--travel with you to your hotel. (The service isn't cheap, but it ensures that a water taxi will waiting for you when you arrive.)

ACTV No 2 vaporetto Water bus. The No. 2 vaporetto arrives and departs from a platform just across a small footbridge from the San Basilio terminal. Buy a ticket and validate it with the electronic card reader before you board the boat. (You'll find maps and timetables at the vaporetto station or online.)

Note: If you're staying in Mestre, on the mainland, you can hire a land taxi for €40 or possibly a bit less, depending on traffic and your hotel's location.

To the airport:

Cruise transfers. Chances are, your cruise line will sell transfers by chartered coach from the pier to Marco Polo Airport. We recommend splurging on the cruise line's transfer unless you have at least five hours between the ship's arrival and your flight.

Alilaguna airport boat Alilaguna boat. The "Blue Line" airport boat stops at the Molino Stucky Hilton on its way to Marco Polo Airport. (The hotel is directly across the Giudecca Canal from the San Basilio vaporetto stop.) Boats leave at 30-minute intervals, travel time is 1 hour 38 minutes, and tickets are fairly reasonable in price.

Tip: If you don't mind walking about halfway up the Zattere from the San Basilio pier, you can catch a free shuttle boat to the Molino Stucky Hilton from the ACTV's Zattere boat landing (shown in the inset photo). This will save you a hefty vaporetto fare.

Land taxi. You can catch a taxi cab from behind the San Basilio terminal, although you'll be competing with other passengers for the few available cabs. Travel time to the airport is 20 to 30 minutes, and the fare was €45 the last time we checked. For more information, or to book a cab in advance, see the Radiotaxi Venezia e Mestre Web site.

Private car. A number of limousine services will arrange to have a car and driver meet you at the pier and transport you to Venice Marco Polo Airport or Treviso Airport for a flat fee. (We can't recommend any vendors ourselves, since we haven't used such services.)

Venice water taxi Water taxi.A private water taxi is expensive (€120 or more), but it's a fun way to get from the cruise terminal to the airport. See our Venice Water Taxis article for more details.

To the railroad station:

Venice Railroad Station Venice has two railroad stations: Venezia Santa Lucia, in the centro storico, and Venezia Mestre on the mainland or terrafirma. Many long-distance express trains between other Italian cities stop only at Mestre. (Trains to or from Santa Lucia also pause for a few minutes in Mestre.)

To reach the Venezia Santa Lucia station, hire a taxi or take the No. 2 vaporetto (see above).
To reach the Venezia Mestre station, hire a taxi or take the No. 2 vaporetto to Santa Lucia Station and buy an inexpensive commuter ticket to Mestre at one of the ticket machines. Remember to validate your ticket in a yellow stamping machine before boarding the train.

Hotels near San Basilio:

The Hotels near San Basilio page in our Venice Cruise Terminal Hotels article recommends places to stay that are within walking distance of the pier.

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.