If you arrive in Venice by plane from the Marco Polo airport you can reach the historic center in several ways:
By taxi: the 15-minute trip to Piazzale Roma will cost you about 40€ (radiotaxi Mestre tel. +39-041-936222). From here, you can either walk into town or take an ACTV water bus.
By water taxi: water taxis are private taxi-powerboats for passenger transport. They are smaller than water buses (they can’t carry more than a dozen people) and are perhaps the fastest way to reach the center (about 30 minutes) but undoubtedly the most expensive too: one trip may cost you up to 70€.
By shuttle bus: the direct ATVO shuttle service from the airport allows to reach Piazzale Roma in 20 minutes, with departures at regular intervals (every 20 minutes). The 8-euro fare includes the transport of luggage. For information on the ATVO buses timetable, see the ATVO web site at the following Internet address: www.atvo.it.
By bus: the service is operated by the municipal transit service (ACTV, line n. 5) therefore several stops are made on the way to Piazzale Roma (the automotive gateway to Venice). The bus line n. 15 will take you to the centre of Mestre. The trip requires about 30 minutes and costs 1 euro, but you’ll have to pay the same amount for each piece of luggage.
By Alilaguna powerboat (Blue and Red lines): You can reach Venice also with a private taxi-powerboat service that uses the ACTV landing jetties network. They’ll take you straight to Venice from the airport, calling only at major stops. This service is much cheaper than private water taxis. The Red line (Linea Alilaguna Rossa) stops in Murano (30′), Lido (55′), Arsenale (1h.05′), S.Marco (1h.10′) and Zattere (1h.20′), while the Blue line (linea Alilaguna Blu) calls at Fondamenta Nuove (30′) and S.Marco (58′). Moreover, a direct shuttle service has been activated from the airport to the Stazione Marittima (the harbour station). The Alilaguna blue and red lines offer an hourly service.
The fare may vary from 5 to 13 euros (for the airport-Stazione Marittima trip) and includes the transport of luggage. For further information on fares and timetables, see the Alilaguna web site at the following address: www.alilaguna.com.