hotel near pier?

If you're a cruise passenger and you're arriving or departing at the Venice Cruise Terminal (Terminal Venezia Passeggeri), staying at a hotel near the ship will help you avoid spending €55 or more for a local water taxi.

In looking for a hotel, you need to know which terminal your cruise ship will be using:

• Large ships (such as Princess and Costa ships) invariably use the main Marittima terminal. This is located just south of where the road bridge from the mainland enters the city. It's about a 15-minute walk or a 5-minute taxi or shuttle-bus ride from the Piazzale Roma, the final destination for buses and taxis that enter Venice. If your ship is using the Marittima terminal, it's convenient to stay at a hotel near the Piazzale Roma.

• Small to midsize ships up to about 30,000 tons (such as Silversea's Silver Whisper or Oceania's Regatta) often use the Marittima terminal as well. However, if more than three cruise vessels are in port, the smaller ships may be assigned to the San Basilio terminal, which is on the Giudecca Canal right below the pedestrian promenade called the Zattere that extends all the way up to a triangular point opposite St. Mark's Basin. The San Basilio terminal is also accessible by road from the Piazzale Roma, but you can reach it on foot from nearby hotels if you aren't burdened with heavy luggage. A vaporetto stop is just a few steps away, over a wooden footbridge.

• River vessels and very small ships nearly always use the San Basilio terminal.

If you aren't sure where your ship will be moored, see the Ship Schedule at the Terminal Venezia Passeggeri Web site. (It's in Adobe Acrobat PDF format, which requires the free Adobe Reader.)

Where to stay

On the following pages, you'll find hotel suggestions for three areas of town:

• Piazzale Roma. Stay here if your ship uses the Marittima terminal, or if your ship uses the San Basilio terminal and you want to transfer by taxi.

• San Basilio. Stay at one of these hotels near the Zattere if your ship uses the San Basilio terminal and you don't mind walking a few blocks and crossing bridges over side canals.

• San Marco-Vallaresso: Consider staying here if your ship has a free shuttle boat to the Piazza San Marco at the beginning or end of the voyage and you're planning to spend a few days in Venice. (Shuttle boats normally use the same Vallaresso platform as the Alilaguna airport boat, so it's convenient to book a hotel nearby.)

Note: Most (not all) of the hotels in this article are represented by Venere, our discount booking partner for Italy. If these don't meet your needs, check your guidebook for other hotels near the Piazzale Roma, San Basilio, or San Marco-Vallaresso.

Also Note: Another great source for Italy accomdations is www.classiccustomvacations.com and the Europe and Italy sections

Cà Doge 
Piazzale Roma (Santa Croce) 467
30135 VENEZIA
www.cadoge.it
info@cadoge.it
tel: +39.041.5286.975
fax: +39.041.2410.865