The water bus is the slow option
Alilaguna's water buses are the most pleasant route from Marco Polo into Venice and, by a wide margin, the slowest of the three. The Blue line calls at Murano Colonna, Lido, San Zaccaria, San Marco Giardinetti and Venezia Santa Lucia railway station, in that order, per Alilaguna's own line page (checked 16 September 2026). The Orange line cuts into the Grand Canal instead of running round the outside of the island, calling at Madonna dell'Orto, Guglie, San Stae, Rialto, Sant'Angelo, Ca' Rezzonico and Santa Maria del Giglio, per its own line page (checked 16 September 2026). Alilaguna publishes the current minute-by-minute timetable only as a downloadable file linked from each line page, and that file's storage address changes with each seasonal update, so this guide does not quote specific journey times here; download the current timetable from the line page above before you plan around a particular arrival time.
Which line you want depends entirely on where you are sleeping, and the three lines land in genuinely different parts of the city.
| Line | Where it lands you | Timetable |
|---|---|---|
| Blu | Murano, Lido, San Marco, Zattere, Ferrovia | Download current timetable from the line page |
| Arancio | Guglie, San Stae, Rialto, Ca' Rezzonico | Download current timetable from the line page |
| Rossa | Murano, Lido, San Marco (summer only) | Not published per stop |
Alilaguna prices the airport crossing at EUR 18 for a single and EUR 32 for a return, with airport to Murano at EUR 10 single and EUR 18 return (checked 15 September 2026). Every ticket includes one hold bag and one item of hand luggage, and each additional bag costs EUR 4.00. Alilaguna's own line pages state that the Blue line runs year-round and the Orange line runs year-round with a reduced winter frequency, while the Red line runs in summer only (Linea Blu, Linea Arancio, checked 16 September 2026). This guide does not quote specific first or last departure clock times, because the operator publishes those only inside the downloadable timetable file rather than on a stable page; check the current file for your travel date.
The land bus to Piazzale Roma
Two different operators run road buses from Marco Polo to Piazzale Roma, and they are not the same product. ATVO's Venice Airport Bus Express covers the trip in about 20 minutes and carries unlimited baggage at no extra cost, boarding at Exit D, second lane, stop number 3 for Venice (checked 15 September 2026). Actv's Aerobus line 5 is a city bus that happens to serve the airport: its official stop list runs to 18 stops through Tessera, Campalto and San Giuliano before it reaches the Venezia terminus (checked 15 September 2026).
The fare structure for the road matters more than the two brands. Actv's urban fare page prices the Aerobus 75-minute ticket at EUR 10.00 and a return at EUR 18.00, and sells a combined Aerobus plus rete unica ticket valid 90 minutes for EUR 18.00, which is the one that lets you step off the bus and straight onto a vaporetto (checked 15 September 2026). ATVO does not publish its Venice Airport Bus Express fare on that service page, so check the price at the machine or on its ticketing site before you queue.
The ordinary EUR 9.50 Venice ticket is explicitly not valid for any journey starting or ending at Marco Polo, and neither is the EUR 1.50 bus-only ticket. If you already hold a 1, 2, 3 or 7-day travel card, the same page sets an airport supplement of EUR 7.00 one way or EUR 13.00 return, which must be bought at the same time as the card rather than added afterwards.
Taxis on the road and water
A taxi from Marco Polo is a road taxi that stops at Piazzale Roma, because that is where the road stops. The airport's own transport page publishes fixed rates of EUR 40 to Venice (Piazzale Roma), EUR 35 to the centre of Mestre and EUR 45 to the cruise terminal, available 24 hours through Cooperativa Artigiana Radiotaxi (checked 15 September 2026). Venezia Unica describes Piazzale Roma as "the automobile terminal that provides the most convenient and rapid access to the historic city centre of Venice", and from there it is a short walk to the Actv landing stages where line 1 and line 2 towards St Mark's, and line 3 towards Murano, depart (checked 15 September 2026).
A water taxi is the only vehicle that can take you and your bags to a door, or near one, and it is the option with the least published pricing. The Comune di Venezia licenses the fleet — 193 bivalent taxi licences, 7 reserved for gondolier cooperatives and 50 solo taxi licences, of which 25 are for boats with a lifting platform for passengers with reduced mobility (checked 15 September 2026).
Vaporetto fares and the 75-minute rule
Actv's ordinary Venice ticket costs EUR 9.50 and runs for 75 minutes from the moment it is first validated, across the navigation network, the mainland buses and trams, the Lido and Pellestrina buses and the People Mover. Within that window you can change boats as often as you like, which is what makes it a transfer ticket rather than a single ride. It excludes Alilaguna's lines, navigation lines 16 and 19, the Casino line, and anything to or from Marco Polo.
For anything more than three water journeys in a day, the travel cards take over.
| Ticket | Price | Validity |
|---|---|---|
| Ordinary rete unica | EUR 9.50 | 75 minutes from validation |
| Venezia Daily Pass | EUR 25.00 | 24 hours, all urban networks |
| 2 days | EUR 35.00 | 48 hours |
| 3 days | EUR 45.00 | 72 hours |
| 7 days | EUR 65.00 | 168 hours |
Travellers aged 6 to 29 can buy a 72-hour ticket for EUR 27.00, which requires first buying a Rolling Venice card for EUR 6.00 from a Venezia Unica ticket office. One detail the name hides: Actv states plainly that the daily and multi-day tickets cannot be loaded onto a Venezia Unica card at all, so holding the card does not mean holding the pass.
Tapping a bank card instead
Contactless bank cards work directly on Actv validators, including on the water, which removes the ticket queue entirely. Actv's EMV page sets the tap fare at EUR 9.50 for the rete unica, applies a best-fare calculation, and gives a worked example: three journeys within 24 hours including navigation reach EUR 28.50 in single fares, at which point the system charges the EUR 25.00 Venezia Daily Pass instead (checked 15 September 2026).
The mechanics are specific enough to be worth reading before you tap. You must tap in on boarding and at every change of vehicle; tap-out is required on the mainland bus and intercity network but not on the navigation network or the People Mover. Up to five people can travel on one card with five taps within 60 seconds on the same validator, and they must then stay together. Charges are debited the day after travel, not immediately.
If the validator is out of service, tell the crew and buy another way — Actv notes that since 1 July 2024 the on-board sale from the sailor on the navigation network accepts digital payment only, with no cash.
The luggage rule that catches people
Actv caps a single item of luggage at 150 cm as the sum of its three dimensions, and larger items are not admitted at all. The general conditions of transport allow each passenger three bags or packages within that limit free of charge, plus a folding bicycle or scooter in its case, and require one additional ticket at the full passenger fare for every three bags beyond that (checked 15 September 2026). Crew may also refuse luggage outright when a boat is crowded.
That is the sharpest difference between the routes. ATVO carries unlimited baggage free on its airport express; Alilaguna includes one hold bag and one cabin bag and charges EUR 4.00 per extra piece; Actv's vaporetti apply a hard dimensional ceiling. A large check-in suitcase close to airline maximum will be near or over the 150 cm sum, so measure before you plan a multi-leg arrival on the vaporetto.
Before you leave the arrivals hall
Decide which dock or lane you are heading for before you clear baggage reclaim, because the water and the road leave from different sides of the airport and the ticket machines differ by operator. Alilaguna's machines sit in the arrivals hall at baggage reclaim and at the airport dock; Actv and ATVO sell from machines near the carousels and from the public transport ticket office in the arrivals hall, per the airport's transport page. If your accommodation is anywhere other than beside a landing stage, budget for the last leg on foot over bridges with your bags, whichever option you chose.
This guide does not cover Treviso Canova airport, rail arrivals at Venezia Santa Lucia or Mestre, cruise terminal transfers, or Venice's access fee for day visitors, which is a separate charge with its own exemption rules. Fares and timetables quoted here were read on the operators' own pages on 15 September 2026; Actv's fare page carried a price update dated 20 June 2025 and the Alilaguna timetables cited run to 28 October 2026, so re-check both before you travel.