Venice airport to city centre: bus, water bus

Venice Marco Polo Airport (VCE) lies on the mainland at Tessera, about 12 km from the city across the lagoon. The special thing about Venice: cars and buses end at Piazzale Roma, on the edge of the historic centre. From there you walk or take a vaporetto (water bus) to your hotel. The short answer: take a bus to Piazzale Roma if your hotel is near Piazzale Roma, the railway station or in Santa Croce and Cannaregio. Take the Alilaguna water bus if you are staying near San Marco, Rialto, on Murano or the Lido and want to arrive by boat without changing.

Venice airport to the city: the options

Times: ATVO according to the operator, taxi as pure driving time to Piazzale Roma based on OpenStreetMap, without traffic. AVM and Alilaguna do not give a single journey time on their pages; the times for each stop are in their timetables. Prices: ATVO and AVM according to the operators (as of October 2026).

By bus to Piazzale Roma

Two companies run buses from the stops outside the terminal to Piazzale Roma:

• ATVO express bus: according to ATVO, the bus reaches Piazzale Roma and Mestre in about 20 minutes. A single ticket costs €12, a return €20, according to the ATVO timetable valid from 1 February 2026. Tickets are sold at the ATVO ticket office in Piazzale Roma, at a machine outside it, at outlets in the airport and online.
• AVM bus 5 (Aerobus): the city's public transport company AVM/ACTV runs line 5 to Piazzale Roma; lines 15 and 45 also serve the airport. According to AVM, the airport ticket costs €10 for a single trip (valid for 75 minutes) and €18 return. The normal 75-minute city ticket is not valid for trips to and from the airport.

At Piazzale Roma you are at the edge of the old town: the railway station Santa Lucia and the Grand Canal are a few minutes' walk away, and the vaporetto lines start here.

Bus plus vaporetto: one ticket

If your hotel is near San Marco or along the Grand Canal, AVM sells an Aerobus + boat ticket for €18: it is valid for 90 minutes on bus line 5 and on the vaporetti. You go by bus to Piazzale Roma and continue straight onto the water bus with the same ticket.

Alilaguna water bus: across the lagoon

Alilaguna runs water buses from the boat terminal at the airport directly into the historic centre. The terminal is a walk from the arrivals hall; follow the signs to the water transport.

• Blue Line (Linea Blu): via Murano and the Lido to Fondamente Nove, San Marco and the railway station (Santa Lucia).
• Orange Line (Linea Arancio): to Guglie (Cannaregio), Rialto and Santa Maria del Giglio, near San Marco.
• Red Line (Linea Rossa): a summer line to San Marco; according to Alilaguna it is suspended in winter.

According to Alilaguna, the winter timetable for the Blue and Orange lines starts on 28 October 2026. The boat is slower than the bus, but it brings you close to hotels that are a long walk from Piazzale Roma, and the arrival across the lagoon is an experience in itself. Alilaguna sells its own tickets.

Taxi, water taxi and transfer

Road taxis wait outside the terminal and take you to Piazzale Roma – about 15 km and 20 minutes without traffic. From there you continue on foot or by vaporetto, because no car goes further.

A water taxi from the boat terminal goes directly to many hotels on the canals. It is the most comfortable and by far the most expensive option; ask for the price before you board. A pre-booked transfer is worth it for families or groups with a lot of luggage. Airport transfers in Venice^* can be booked with Welcome Pickups. Our article on when an airport transfer pays off compares the options for ten airports.

Which option suits whom?

• Hotel near Piazzale Roma, the railway station, Santa Croce or Cannaregio: the ATVO or AVM bus.
• Hotel near San Marco or along the Grand Canal: the AVM bus 5 with the Aerobus + boat ticket, or the Alilaguna Blue or Orange Line.
• Hotel on Murano or the Lido: the Alilaguna Blue Line.
• Hotel in Mestre: the ATVO bus or the AVM lines 15 and 45.
• Lots of luggage, group, door to door: a water taxi or a pre-booked transfer.

If you come from outside the EU, for example from the UK, set up mobile data before you land so you can check the boat times on the way – a travel eSIM for Italy^* (Airalo) is usually cheaper than roaming; our eSIM price index compares the prices per gigabyte.

On the day you leave

The buses to the airport leave from Piazzale Roma, the Alilaguna boats from their stops at San Marco, Rialto and Fondamente Nove. Allow extra time for the walk with luggage over the bridges to Piazzale Roma or the boat stop – in Venice, that is often the slowest part of the journey. If you have already checked out and fly in the evening, you can use luggage storage in Venice^* (Radical Storage).

How long to stay and what to see is in our article how many days in Venice.

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