Venice Italy car rentals are one way to get around outside the city center, but the norm in this romantic city is to either use the canals or walk. Venice is a city of around 270,000 people that averages almost 50,000 tourists every single day. As such, the city is prone to overcrowding and is not designed to accommodate cars, or virtually anything else that relies on wheels to get it from one place to the next. There are 117 islands that comprise the archipelago in the Venetian Lagoon along the Adriatic Sea where Venice is situated. Transportation in Venice relies heavily on the water buses, including vaporetti and gondolas, as well as foot traffic. There are some 450 bridges that make it possible for people to explore this charming city by water or foot, without having to ever step inside an automobile. This is certainly a welcome change for most people who wish their vacation to be a peaceful and tranquil one.

There are several different kinds of water bus in Venice. When most people think of transportation in Venice they envision the classic gondola pulled along the canals by a Venetian-born gondolier with striped shirt and straw hat, and in fact, this mode of transportation is still available. It is, however, used primarily by tourists and for ceremonial purposes, such as weddings or honeymoons for instance. The more common means of transportation in Venice are faster boats called vaporetti and motoscafi. These boats run regularly throughout the day and you rarely have to wait more than a couple of minutes to catch one. The most common route you will take when you use a water bus in Venice is the # 1, which makes thirteen stops between the Piazzale Roma and the Piazza San Marco. When you see how easy and fun it is to use the waterways and bridges, you will forget all about Venice Italy car rentals, and will likely want to fit in with all the rest of the experienced tourists and residents who use the waterways as a daily matter of course.

The only problem is that a water bus in Venice can be pretty pricey if you are only using it once. Many people take advantage of 12 to 72 hour cards such as the Venice Tourist Office’s Venice Connected Pass to bring down the price of public transport over the course of their trip. If you are looking for a bit more luxurious experience, you can opt for one of the wood-trimmed water taxis that are akin to limousines in the water. Since there are only a few bridges spanning the two and a half mile stretch of the Grand Canal, you may find yourself in need of a crossing without ready access to a bridge, and without wanting to spend the few Euros for the water bus. In this event, a traghetto may be the perfect option for you. These are stripped down gondolas that will take you across the Grand Canal at the price of around 2 Euros, a perfect option for people looking to hop from one side of the canal to the other for next to nothing. With all of the fun and easy options for getting around the city by foot or by boat, Venice Italy car rentals are certainly not the most popular means of transportation. You can however park your rental car outside the city center in Lido or Mestre.

Venice Map