The fastest way to get to the city from the airport is certainly not the Vaporatto’s. The bus to Mestre (main train station area) is closer, faster and cheaper. There are also private taxis and rental cars. Of note – the last two only work if you can handle your luggage on arrival to the parking lots as driving all the way to the most popular hotels is simply not going to happen.
Islands connected by tiny pedestrian bridges, cobblestones. Not roads.
The rest of us take the Vaporattos. My stop is off the Orange line. The price is certainly right and the view, if you have enough sense to turn around and look out the windows is lovely. But iti is not fast. The operators are smart – they load by destination with the furtherst getting on first so that their luggage is in the back. Those of us getting off first are the last on. They don’t take more passengers that they have seats. I have a strong feeling that the luggage in many cases is the limiting factor. OTOH, if you have a lot of luggage, you aren’t going to easily haul it all yourself from the airport all the walkways to the piers.
Guglie is the nearest bus stop to my hotel. On the way I had the most interesting conversation with a woman from Toronto. I had pegged the couple as North American or OZ by appearance. Accent put them in Canada. This is her trip of a life time. After raising three children to adulthood and enjoying six grandchildren, the pair is spending a month in Europe. They started in London, train to Paris, then on to Cairns, Nice and EasyJet to Venice. Their last week will be spent in Rome.
My hotel is a couple of blocks from the stop and is not difficult to find, considering that I have stayed here before. My plan is simple. Sleep for the night followed by a leisurely walk to the ship in the morning. I ate my chocolate bar.
Meanwhile, according to messages from home – the water main in front of the house broke. The street got flooded. and a good time was had by no one. Didn’t mind missing that mess…..
-Holly
of note – the one hour delay leaving Toronto due to late arrival of critical cargo was not a positive development for those connecting in Frankfurt to a number of flights. I was delighted to find that my caution on allowing 2 hours between flights paid off handsomely.
