Getting to Venice Marco Polo Airport (VCE) is fast and cheap on public transportation ATVO and ACTV airport shuttle express buses going to Venezia Piazzale Roma and Mestre train station.
ATVO and ACTV buses offer cheap and fast transportation to Venice Marco Polo Airport (VCE) from Venezia Piazzale Roma (near Santa Lucia railway station) and Mestre Stazione Ferrovia (train station). Taxis and private airport transfer shuttles may be useful transport for small groups but are more expensive than buses when traveling to Venice Marco Polo Airport. Further bus services and private transfers or car hire are available for travelers to other destinations in the Veneto and the Dolomite Mountains. Arriving in Venice by boat is more romantic but also more expensive, although in the case of a waterbus (Alilaguna Vaporetto), the ticket price is only €5 more than the airport bus. Buy bus tickets online and go directly to the bus stop.
A pre-booked private transfer by car from Venice Marco Polo Airport (VCE) to Piazzale Roma is around €60, so well worth considering for families or small groups, especially when traveling at odd hours.
Getting to Venice Marco Polo Airport (VCE) by Cheap ATVO Bus
The cheapest and simplest way to travel from either Venice or Mestre to Venice Marco Polo Airport (VCE) is by bus. For most tourists, the ATVO airport shuttle bus services are the most convenient while the ACTV public buses are also useful. The single ticket fare is the same but different tickets are used.
ATVO operates two direct express shuttle bus services to Venice Marco Polo Airport (VCE):
- From Venezia Piazzale Roma (the bus station at the road transportation heart of Venice near Santa Lucia railway station) the Venezia Air Terminal (Marco Polo Airport) express bus service generally runs twice times per hour to the airport with traveling time as quickly as 20 minutes. Buy tickets online.
- From Mestre Stazione Ferrovia (train station), the ATVO express bus service “Fly Bus” runs to the airport up to four times per hour in 20 minutes. This service is the best option for passengers using the railways, as there is no train station at Venice Airport itself. Buy tickets online.
The one-way ticket fare for either bus service is €10 (or €18 for returns within a week). Tickets should be bought from ticket windows or ticket machines and not on the bus. Online tickets for travel between the airport and Venice or Mestre are convenient and valid for travel on any bus on the booked day. Not having to queue to buy tickets on arrival at the airport terminal ticket desks or machines is a huge advantage on busy days.
Validate tickets before boarding, or immediately after getting on the coach, or simply show the online ticket on a phone or the pdf printout to the driver.
Seat reservations are not possible. There are usually no additional charges for luggage.
(Be careful not to use the ATVO bus to Venice Treviso Airport (TSF) by mistake.)
Getting to Venice Marco Polo Airport (VCE) by Cheap ACTV Bus
Public buses operated by ACTV are also available to Venice Marco Polo Airport (VCE) but these are regular commuter buses without special space for luggage and stop more times en route. Bus line route number 5 (AeroBus) goes from Venezia Piazzale Roma in the city of Venice to the airport in around 25 minutes but are sometimes significantly slower than the ATVO bus due to numerous intermediate stops.
ACTV buses to Venice Marco Polo Airport are also €10. ACTV travel passes are usually not valid on airport buses. For most passengers, the ATVO buses are the better option. Tickets are not sold on the bus — buy from an ACTV ticket office or vending machine in Venice before boarding.
The Aerobus and Boat ticket (€18) gives a small saving (and cuts out the need to queue to buy a second ticket) — it covers the Aerobus 5 and the ACTV boats in Venice for a total of 90 minutes of travel. (This ticket does not include the Alilaguna airport waterbus service, which at €15 is very much a good option too, especially when visiting Venice for the first time).
Further Shuttle Buses to Venice Marco Polo Airport (VCE)
Venice Marco Polo Airport (VCE) is used by travelers heading to the whole Veneto region, which includes some popular seaside resorts and the Dolomite Mountains. Shared shuttle bus services are available to many towns in the region and often require advance reservations. Some services are seasonal only. Private airport transfer services should also be booked in advance and may offer better value for small groups. However, always compare offers as prices and conditions vary widely.
In addition to the main services run by ATVO from Venice and Mestre, special ATVO airport shuttle buses are also available to smaller towns and resorts in the Veneto region (some bus services are seasonal). Further regular airport bus services include:
- Venice & Venice Marco Polo Airport to Cortina
- Venice Marco Polo Airport to Portogruaro, Pordenone & Aviano
- Venice Marco Polo Airport to Lido di Jesolo
- Venice Marco Polo Airport to Caorle, P.S.Margherita, Lido Altanea & Duna Verde
- Venice Marco Polo Airport to Bibione
- Venice Marco Polo Airport to Lignano
- Venice Marco Polo Airport to Eraclea Mare
- Venice Marco Polo Airport to San Donà di Piave
By Taxi to Venice Marco Polo Airport (VCE)
Land taxis from Venice Marco Polo Airport (VCE) to Venice, Mestre, or Venice Cruise Port and pre-booked transfers are around €60. Note that many passenger boats no longer depart from the Venice Cruise terminal, however, in some cases, the check-in is still in the old terminal before passengers are transferred by bus to Marghera port. Double-check as private taxi rides may be much more expensive when rushing between ports.
Water Transportation from Venice Marco Polo Airport
It is also possible to travel from Venice Marco Polo Airport to Venice by boat. Vaporetto (waterbuses) are relatively cheap (€15) and a great choice when traveling to destinations in central Venice with stops on the water bus lines such as the Grand Canal and St Marks, or to the islands of Murano and the Lido. Extra luggage often incurs additional fees — add €3 to the Aliglaguna water bus ticket for each suitcase after the first piece of hand luggage.
Other water transport is more expensive — shared airport shuttle boats are a good option for small groups while a private water taxi service is the most convenient but also by far the most expensive way to travel from the airport dock to a private dock at a top hotel.
Cheap flights to Venice on low-cost airlines such as Ryanair and Wizz mostly use Venice Canova Treviso Airport (TSF) — a completely different airport from Marco Polo (VCE). Buses to Venice Treviso are the cheapest way to travel to this small airport from Venice and Mestre but no direct buses connect the two airports. Expect to pay around €100 for a pre-booked transfer car to travel between these two Venetian airports.
Ground and Water Transportation to Venice Airport in Italy
- Best Transportation Options to Venice Marco Polo Airport (VCE)
- Cheap Public Bus Transportation to Venice Marco Polo Airport
- Waterbus and Taxi Boat Shuttles to Venice Marco Polo Airport
- Cheap Alilaguna Vaporetto Water Bus to Venice Marco Polo Airport
- Cheap Public Bus Transportation to Venice Treviso Airport (TSF) — the airport used mostly by low-cost airlines such as Ryanair and Wizz
Online skip-the-line tickets for top sights in Venice such as the Doge’s Palace, the Basilica di San Marco, and the Peggy Guggenheim Collection are great time savers while museum passes also allow for fast-track admissions and may give small savings.