Venice Travel Blog

Should Venice have an offshore cruise terminal?

ABOVE: A Celebrity cruise ship looms over Venice's waterfront.

SeaTrade Insider, a Web newsletter for the cruise industry, asks if "green or greed" is behind a scheme to build a new offshore cruise terminal in Venice. In an article datelined December 12, SeaTrade Insider reports that the proposal--which involves moving cruise operations to a future container and oil terminal outside the Venetian Lagoon--is backed by Italy's new Minister for the Environment and a number of Venice citizens' groups.

The cruise industry isn't enthusiastic about the proposal, and neither is the management of Venezia Terminal Passeggeri (which operates Venice's existing cruise facilities). The VTP's director acknowledges that air pollution from cruise ships may be a problem, but he points out that the port authority is already developing a shorepower or "cold ironing" system that will make it unnecessary for ships to generate electricity by running their diesel engines in port.

Our thoughts:

• One of Venice's attractions as a cruise port is the proximity of the terminals to the historic center. If ships arrived and departed from a distant terminal outside the lagoon, Venice would be less appealing to shipborne tourists and cruise lines--and that could mean a substantial loss of income for hotels, shops, restaurants, and other local businesses.


• Venice has been a maritime city for centuries, and watching ships go up and down the Giudecca Canal is one of the pleasures of being in Venice (whether as a tourist or as a resident). Not too many years ago, millions of euros were spent to reinforce the walls of the Giudecca Canal against underwater wave action, so the argument that cruise-ship movements cause damage to the the city's infrastructure is less compelling than it was in earlier decades.


• Critics of the proposed offshore cruise terminal suggest that the scheme is "an old tale based on a combination off snobbery, ignorance, and the desire of a cash-strapped city hall to wring fresh funding from the cruise sector." The city already soaks tourists with high transit fares and a new hotel guest tax, and skeptics can't be blamed for thinking that the proposal for an offshore cruise terminal is merely the first step in a plan to squeeze more money from cruise lines and cruisers.

New ACTV route numbers

ABOVE: A Linea 1 (Grand Canal local) vaporetto at the Piazzale Roma station.

On  November 2, ACTV--the agency that operates Venice's water buses--changed some of its route numbers. This means that transit information on many existing Venice maps, Venice guidebooks, and Web sites such as TripAdvisor or Wikitravel is now obsolete.

Two of the most popular vaporetto lines (1 and 2) keep their existing numbers, but new numbers for several other lines may cause confusion:

For example, the LN lagoon route to Murano and Burano is now Line 12,  the DM ("Direct Murano") route has become Line 3, and Line 25 (the water bus between the San Giuliano car park and Venice's historic center) is now Line 21.

To view or print an updated list of vaporetto, motoscafo, and motonave lines, see this article at Veniceforvisitors.com:

• Venice Vaporetto Routes

If you're a first-time visitor to Venice, you may also find our introductory article helpful:

• Vaporetto Water Buses: How to Use Public Transportation in Venice

The ACTV has also juggled the locations of some vaporetto platforms at major stations such as Piazzale Roma and Rialto. This won't cause confusion unless you're a regular user of Venice's water buses, and in any case, each large station should have a "Mappa Degli Approdi" (Map of Waterbus Stops) to make the platforms for different boat routes easy to find.

Updated November, 2011

ATVO bus: Venice Marco Polo Airport to Treviso

ABOVE: The River Sile in downtown Treviso, Italy, not far from the ATVO bus stop at the railroad station.

Recently, we had an inquiry from a reader who wanted to know if there was a bus from Venice Marco Polo Airport to Treviso, an attractive small city near Venice that's well worth a stay of one or two nights.

The answer is "Yes"--at least for now. ATVO, which operates airport coaches and intercity buses in the Veneto region, introduced a Venice Marco Polo Airport-Treviso bus service in June, 2011. As of this writing, the timetable runs through early December, 2011. With luck, the line will be successful enough to continue operating in 2012.

ATVO's Marco Polo-Treviso coaches run eight times a day in each direction, with a one-way fare of €7. (You can buy a roundtrip ticket for €13; the latter ticket is valid for seven days.)

For more information, including a timetable in PDF format, click here. If our link doesn't work--as it may not after early December--see the ATVO's  Bus Service Venice Marco Polo Airport page and look for "Marco Polo Airport - Treviso" on the list of bus timetables.

Please note: 

This new service shouldn't be confused with ATVO's other airport buses, which include:

• Venice Marco Polo Airport - Venice Piazzale Roma
• Venice Marco Polo Airport - Mestre Railroad Station
• Treviso Airport - Venice Piazzale Roma