For my summer visit to Venice, Italy with my 16 y.o. niece, I originally included the public transit option in our budget and my mom (aka mom-mom) vetoed it. As a solo traveler, I’m keen to save money and would normally take the Alilaguna boat (15 euros one way) from Marco Polo Airport (VCE) to my lagoon hotel/Airbnb. As I was playing tour guide for a few days with my niece while her mom, my sister, had a conference in London, mom-mom gave me the money to take the water taxi to/from the airport as she wanted my niece to have a fun experience. I couldn’t win the argument with my mom (neither could my sister) so I had the Airbnb host book the water taxi for me.

Spoiler alert: I can’t lie, I really liked the Water Taxi experience from/to the Venice (VCE) airport especially when someone else is paying.

How to Find the Water Taxi Dock at Marco Polo Airport in Venice

Our British Airways flight from London Heathrow arrived on time at half four in the afternoon (4:30 pm/16:30) and as we were flying Club Europe with carry-on only, we quickly deplaned and walked to immigration before clearing quickly to baggage claim.  My phone pinged with two WhatsApp messages – one from our Airbnb host, Francesca, with the water taxi details and the other from the water taxi driver.  He needed to know when we had our bags so he could pull into the dock.  We had our bags but hit a snag at the ladies’ room as the line was long for the three stalls.  I replied once we exited baggage claim and were on our walk (long) to the water dock.

Important Tip: Venice Airport has a luggage storage option if you are traveling with a lot of luggage (maybe for your cruise or whirlwind European adventure). Venice has a lot of stairs and bridges once you disembark from the boats so you may not want to lug it all around.  If you are taking a cruise and meeting the transfer bus at the airport, consider a small bag for your Venice visit and leave the rest of the luggage at the airport.  I’ve done this and it really made a difference to only carry an overnight bag into the city. The water taxi will charge you for excessive luggage so be aware of that when booking.

At the airport, we followed the blue signs toward the water dock (you’ll see images of water) which had us to go up one level (escalator or elevator) to departures and walk the length of the building before reaching the new building enclosure with the moving sidewalks. As we walked the departures level, we saw kiosks for car rental and water taxi bookings, all of which were closed, so definitely pre-arrange your water taxi reservation to avoid disappointment.

Marco Polo Airport (VCE) has built a fantastic water dock building since my last visit, it is air conditioned and includes multiple moving sidewalks. It takes about ten minutes via multiple moving sidewalks (or walking) to reach the last escalator (or elevator) to take down one level.

Once on the ground floor, you will see many boats coming and going.  At the far end is the Alilaguna boat which will take you to St. Mark’s and many other stops along the lagoon.  There are multiple lines so make sure you know your stop and Alilaguna boat line number and color.

Venice Water Taxi Meeting & Pricing

Our water taxi driver texted me (via WhatsApp) his dock location, so it was easy to see him pulling in and confirm he was our guy. He helped my niece onboard (step up and a few steps in) and then jumped up to get the luggage while I boarded.  And then we were off on our three days in Venice.   It’s a quick exchange of people and luggage especially for those with both drop off and pick up at the same time.

The water taxis pricing depends on the drop off location, number of passengers, number of bags, etc. We used a water taxi privately but there are also options to share a water taxi, similar to an airport shuttle van with options sold on Viator, Get Your Guide, etc.  You definitely need to understand all your options if staying in the Venice lagoon or the surrounding islands of Burano, Murano, Lido, etc.

Our Airbnb flat owner pre-booked our water taxi for 140 euros and provided us the name of driver and the taxi number.  This was slightly above other quotes I had seen but to be honest, she took care of everything, so it was worth the extra in my opinion. This was my niece’s first visit to Venice and my return visit to one of my first love cities, one that hasn’t changed since my first visit over thirty (yikes!) years ago.

Venice Water Taxi Experience

The water taxi experience is just so uniquely Venice. It wasn’t my first water taxi ride as we traveled by water taxi on the Walks of Italy Venice tours of the city.  This was my first to/from airport water taxi experience. Watch your head as you duck down to go inside. The boats have an inside seating area with leather seats along with two outside areas to sit (or stand) to get the full experience. The airport water taxi had cloth covers on the inside seats for luggage if needed.

Once we exited the airport dock area and entered the fast lane of the water highway it was quite exhilarating.

When we reached the slower lanes near the lagoon, we stood up in the back for part of the ride to experience the city and then sat down in the smaller canals to relax and enjoy the quick ride (generally a 30-minute journey to/from VCE airport).  The best of both worlds on our first water taxi from the airport experience.

 

Our flat was one stop away from St. Mark’s at Giglio so the water taxi navigated through the main canals (roads) before turning right down a small canal and left out to the Grand Canal before approaching the San Giglio stop. The grand canal was filled with so many boats including the iconic Venice gondola.

Francesca, our Airbnb hostess that I met before when I stayed at their other properties, was waiting for us at the dock and helpful as the exit from the water taxi is a bit precarious given the Grand Canal traffic, waves and water height. Our flat was steps away from the dock so it was perfect all around.  Make sure you know how far your lodging is from the dock as you might have a long walk or encounter many bridges and steps along the way.

Ciao Venice – Taxi to Marco Polo Airport

Our host texted us the taxi number to look for which was ready for us as we arrived at the dock.  The trip to the airport is 30 minutes.  We had the benefit of staying on the Grand Canal so one last trip past St. Mark’s Square and the iconic landmarks and landscapes of Venice before making a left to the canal that takes us to the other side of Venice to the main canal to the airport.  If you think of it as streets its actually an easy trip – grand canal, left, left, right to the airport dock.  We said our goodbyes as the synchronized people and luggage dance occurred at the dock – we exited, and a new set of travelers were ready to board for their Venetian adventure.

While I like to mix budget and luxury options when I travel, the Venice Water Taxi is an attraction much like other “things to do and see in Venice” whereas I looked at it initially as transportation similar to the airport bus hence my hesitation to spend the money.  That said, I can see where the splurge really does make a big difference in the airport transfer experience in Venice.  We saved time, avoided crowds and had a unique view of Venice to start and end our visit.  Traveling solo and keen to find ways to keep it affordable, I’m not sure I can fully endorse the water taxi expense other than on a tour but if traveling with more than one person, it’s definitely a conversation to have to include in your Venice travel budget.