Use Venice's public transportation system to travel from the airport to Venice, cruise the Grand Canal or travel to one of the many Venetian islands. You most likely will arrive to Venice by plane or train. Many of the major sites in Venice are located along the Grand Canal easily accessible by using the Vaporetto #1 or #2. Many day trippers unfortunately never have a chance to fully enjoy the sites due to time constraint. With so many wonderful sites to see and back canals to explore it's a shame that visitors don't allow ample time to enjoy Venice and that's not including the other islands. One can't help but fall in love with Venice.

To get from Marco Polo (VCE) airport which is located on the mainland to Venice, you can take a bus or boat. The express bus is operated by ATVO and takes you to Piazzele Roma, which is the last stop for all motorized vehicles entering the city of Venice. A boat service is operated by Aliluguna and takes you to San Marco square, Choose the Linea Blu or the Linea Rossa route.

Stazione Santa Lucia is conveniently located on the Grand Canal with a vaporetto (water bus) stop right in front of the station. There are two trains station in Venice, Mestre located on the mainland and Santa Lucia. When traveling to Venice, make sure you get off at the last station which is Santa Lucia.

Venice's water bus system is the city's major form of public transportation operated by ACTV. A vaporetto is Venice's version of a bus, but on water. There are many routes that connect Venice to several other islands in the Venetian lagoon, like Burano (famous for lace work), Murano (famous for glass work), Torcello and Lido. The most popular routes on the Grand Canal are Linea #1 (approximately 40 minutes on the Canal) and Linea #2 (fewer stops on the Canal).

Gondolas can be quite expensive depending on the time of day with evening and night being the most expensive. However, when split between several people the cost is not too bad. The cost is higher if the gondolier sings or does anything special. Make sure to take care of all these things with the gondolier before leaving. The longer you ride the more it costs.

A traghetto is a non-decorated gondola that ferries passengers across the Grand Canal at various stops along the Grand Canal usually marked in green and black. The ride takes just a few minutes and costs roughly around 2 euros. It's a no frills experience way to ride in a gondola. See if you have what it takes and stand like the locals or just sit and relax.

Water taxis are expensive and unless you are in a rush to catch a flight, train or cruise ship, I suggest you use the vaporreto.