Marco Polo (airport code VCE) is the main international airport for Venice, 13 kilometres north-east of the historic centre on the mainland edge of the lagoon. There are four legitimate ways to reach the city from there in 2026, with costs ranging from €12 to €180 and journey times from 35 to 90 minutes. The right choice depends on three variables: how many bags you are carrying, how many people you are, and which sestiere your flat is in. This guide compares each option honestly and tells you which to pick.
The short answer
Two adults with light luggage going to San Marco or San Polo: Alilaguna Blue or Orange line (€18 single, 80 minutes including walk to the dock). Family of four or any group of four-plus with bags: water taxi (€140 to €180, 35 minutes door to door). Solo budget traveller heading to Cannaregio or staying near the train station: ATVO bus to Piazzale Roma (€12, 20 minutes) then a vaporetto. Travellers going to Treviso airport instead of Marco Polo: see the foot of this article.
The four options compared
| Option | Cost (2026) | Total time | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alilaguna waterbus | €18 single | 65 to 90 min | Couples and solo travellers with light bags, central sestieri |
| ATVO bus to Piazzale Roma | €12 single | 20 min + vaporetto | Solo budget travellers, Cannaregio or near-station stays |
| ACTV city bus 5 | €10 single | 20 min + vaporetto | The cheapest option, locals’ route, basic comfort |
| Water taxi | €140 to €180 | 30 to 40 min door-to-door | Groups of 4+, families with children, late arrivals |
The Alilaguna and the water taxi both deliver you directly to a dock in Venice with no further transfer. The bus options deliver you to Piazzale Roma at the western edge of the city; from there you continue by foot or by vaporetto. The difference matters most for stays in Castello (eastern Venice), where the bus-plus-vaporetto routing adds 30 to 45 minutes to a journey that takes 10 minutes by water taxi.
Alilaguna: the standard waterbus
Alilaguna is the dedicated public waterbus service between Marco Polo and Venice. It is separate from the ACTV vaporetto network but operates on the same principles: scheduled routes, fixed stops, regular departures. A single ticket is €18 in 2026; a round trip is €33. Children under 6 travel free; extra bags beyond hand luggage and one large bag cost around €4 each.
Three colour-coded lines:
Blue Line (Linea Blu). The most useful line for first arrivals: airport to Murano Colonna, Fondamente Nove, Ospedale, Bacini, Lido, Arsenale, San Zaccaria (the San Marco stop), San Marco Vallaresso, Zitelle, Giudecca Stucky. Departures every 30 minutes from 06:15 to 00:30. Total airport-to-San-Marco journey: about 80 minutes including the 10-minute walk from the terminal to the airport dock.
Orange Line (Linea Arancio). Airport to Madonna dell’Orto, Guglie, Rialto, Sant’Angelo, Accademia, San Marco (Giardinetti). Departures every 30 minutes from 07:50 to 00:00. The Orange line is the right pick if your flat is in Cannaregio near the Strada Nuova, or in San Polo near Rialto, or in San Marco near the Accademia. Total journey: 70 to 85 minutes.
Red Line (Linea Rossa). Airport to Murano Museo, Lido, San Marco (San Zaccaria), Zattere. Seasonal (roughly April to October), with similar timings. Useful for Dorsoduro stays near the Zattere.
The dock at the airport is a 10-minute paved walk from the arrivals terminal, signed Alilaguna and visible past the car parks. Tickets are sold at the dock kiosk, at the AVM machine inside the airport, or online via the Alilaguna app. The boat departs from a covered dock with luggage racks.
The Alilaguna experience is the most Venetian way to arrive. You see the lagoon from the water as you approach, you pass Murano on your right, you reach San Marco from the open lagoon side. For a first-time arrival, it is hard to beat. The trade-off is the journey time: 80 minutes is long if you are tired after a flight.
ATVO bus: the fastest budget option
ATVO runs a direct bus from Marco Polo arrivals to Piazzale Roma, the road terminus at the western edge of Venice. €12 single, €22 return, 20 minutes journey time. Departures every 30 minutes from 05:20 to 00:50. The bus is a coach with luggage holds; tickets are sold at machines in the arrivals hall, at the ATVO desk, or at the bus stop just outside the terminal.
At Piazzale Roma you have three onward options. A 10-minute walk to the Santa Lucia railway station and the start of Cannaregio (the Lista di Spagna direction). A vaporetto line 1 down the Grand Canal (35 minutes to San Marco, €9.50 or covered by a multi-day pass). A vaporetto line 2 express down the Grand Canal (25 minutes to San Marco, same price).
Total airport-to-San-Marco time via ATVO plus line 2: roughly 55 minutes including the transfer wait. Total cost: €12 plus €9.50 = €21.50, slightly more than Alilaguna but ten minutes faster.
The ATVO is the right pick for: solo budget travellers, anyone staying near the station, anyone for whom 50 minutes on a bus and a vaporetto beats 80 minutes on a single waterbus. The trade-off is that the bus is firmly land-based; you do not have the lagoon arrival.
ACTV bus 5: the local route
The cheapest option is the public city bus, line 5, run by ACTV. €10 single, includes the connection to ACTV’s water network for 90 minutes after validation. Same Piazzale Roma destination as the ATVO, same 20-minute journey time, slightly busier with local commuters. The bus is a city bus with limited luggage space; not the right choice for travellers with two large suitcases each.
The 90-minute integrated ticket is the practical advantage. If you arrive at the airport at 14:00, validate the ticket at 14:10, you have until 15:40 to board a connecting vaporetto in Venice on the same ticket. For a single traveller with one bag heading to a flat in central Venice, the ACTV 5 plus a quick vaporetto transfer is the cheapest legitimate route at €10 total.
Water taxi: the door-to-door option
A private water taxi from the airport is the most expensive and the most direct option. €140 to €180 in 2026 for a one-way transfer to a central Venice address. The boat is a varnished motoscafo carrying up to 8 passengers with luggage; the journey is 30 to 40 minutes door-to-door, with no transfers and no walking.
The water taxi dock is at the airport, with several private operators offering the same service at similar prices. Reputable services (Consorzio Motoscafi Venezia, Venice Water Taxi, Book Water Taxi Venice) accept advance bookings and meet you at the arrivals exit with a sign; this saves the walk to the dock and ten minutes of negotiation, and locks in the price ahead. Last-minute hails at the dock work but cost more.
The case for water taxi is clear for three groups:
Families with young children. Carrying a stroller, two children, and four bags on a 90-minute Alilaguna route is brutal. Split between four adults and two children, a €170 water taxi works out at about €28 per person, comparable to two Alilaguna tickets plus the lost evening.
Groups of four or more with bags. The €170 cost splits to €43 each at 4 passengers, €35 at 5, €28 at 6. By 5 passengers it equals four Alilaguna tickets; by 6 it is cheaper.
Late arrivals after 22:00. The Alilaguna runs until 00:30, but with reduced frequency after 22:00. A water taxi is on-demand at any hour. After midnight, the water taxi is the only direct option to a central Venice address.
The case against, for couples on a budget: the cost. At €170 for a couple, the journey costs roughly the same as a full additional night in a mid-range flat. The shared water taxi services advertised at €39 per person are a middle path that we have heard mixed reports on (the wait at the dock to fill the boat can be 30 minutes), and we generally recommend either the private water taxi at full price or the Alilaguna at the budget end rather than the shared variant.
Which to pick, by destination
Pair the option with the sestiere of your flat.
Stay in San Marco (central). Alilaguna Blue to San Zaccaria, then 5 to 15 minutes’ walk to the flat. The most natural route; no transfers.
Stay in San Polo (near Rialto). Alilaguna Orange to Rialto, then 5 minutes’ walk. ATVO bus to Piazzale Roma plus vaporetto line 1 to Rialto is the budget alternative.
Stay in Castello (eastern). Alilaguna Blue to Arsenale or San Zaccaria, then 5 to 20 minutes’ walk depending on how deep into Castello. The walk from Arsenale into eastern Castello is residential and pleasant; we recommend it over routing via San Zaccaria.
Stay in Cannaregio (residential north). Alilaguna Orange to Guglie or Madonna dell’Orto. ATVO bus to Piazzale Roma plus a 15-minute walk to the Cannaregio side is also practical.
Stay in Dorsoduro (south). Alilaguna Red (in season) to Zattere, or Alilaguna Orange to Accademia, then walk.
Stay on the mainland (Mestre). ATVO bus 35 to Mestre station, €8 single. Skip the historic-centre routing entirely.
Practical points
Arrival timing. Plan for 60 to 90 minutes from the moment your plane lands to the moment you reach your flat. That includes the 20-minute walk through customs and baggage, the 10-minute walk to the dock or the bus stop, the journey itself, and the final walk to the flat. Cutting it tighter is a recipe for arriving stressed.
Luggage on Venice waterbuses. Alilaguna allows one large bag and one piece of hand luggage per ticket; extra bags are €4 each. Water taxis carry up to 8 passengers plus the bags those passengers brought. Vaporetti (the city water buses) allow one large bag plus hand luggage, with additional bags theoretically chargeable though rarely enforced.
Children on transfers. Children under 6 travel free on Alilaguna and ATVO. The Alilaguna boats have basic seating but no dedicated child seats; small children should be held or seated on a parent’s lap. Strollers fold and stow under seats or in the luggage rack.
Cash and cards. All four operators accept cards at point of sale. Cash is also fine. The water taxi sometimes prefers cash if you negotiate a slight off-meter price; reputable operators take cards. The integrated 90-minute ACTV ticket requires validation by tapping the orange reader on the bus or vaporetto.
Tickets to buy in advance. Alilaguna and ACTV multi-day passes (24h, 48h, 72h, 7-day) include both airport transfers if you start on day 1; if you plan to use vaporetti during your stay, a 72-hour ACTV pass at €45 covers your arrival vaporetto and your three days. See The Venice Vaporetto for the pass breakdown.
Treviso airport, briefly
A smaller share of Venice arrivals fly into Treviso (TSF), 40 kilometres north-west, mostly on low-cost carriers. The transfer is by ATVO express bus to Venice Piazzale Roma, €12 single, 70 minutes journey time. Departures every 60 to 90 minutes, timed to flight arrivals. From Piazzale Roma you continue exactly as you would from Marco Polo by bus: vaporetto or walk.
There is no water option from Treviso. If you fly into Treviso and want a water arrival, take the bus to Piazzale Roma and then a vaporetto line 1 or 2 down the Grand Canal.
What this means for your booking
Most travellers we host take the Alilaguna on arrival and the water taxi on departure. The reasoning: arrival is when you are most tired and the Alilaguna’s slow lagoon entry is a welcome decompression; departure is when you are most loaded with bags and a 35-minute direct door-to-door run beats a 90-minute multi-leg routing on the way to a flight.
A reasonable budget for a couple: €36 round-trip on Alilaguna (€18 × 2), or €18 on the way in plus €85 split per head on a departure water taxi (€170/2). The total airport transfer cost for the stay falls between €36 and €110, against a four-night flat cost in the €580 to €900 range.
For the broader practical context of arriving and moving around Venice, see Practical Venice. For the vaporetto network specifically, The Venice Vaporetto. To check apartment availability for the dates you are landing, the full collection is the next step.
Authoritative external references: Alilaguna official for the waterbus timetable and ticketing; ATVO official for the bus timetable; the airport’s own ground-transport page at veneziaairport.it for the master schedule.
