Venice: no ACTV ticket covers the airport

No ordinary ACTV ticket is valid to or from Marco Polo airport: you buy an Aerobus ticket at €10.00 one way or €18.00 return, and the €9.50 network ticket only starts working once you are in town.

The mistake that costs most arrivals

ACTV tickets do not cover the airport, so getting in from Marco Polo means an Aerobus ticket at €10.00 for 75 minutes, €18.00 return, on lines 5, 15 and 45, or the combined Aerobus plus network ticket valid 90 minutes at €18.00 (2026). The Mestre to Marco Polo Airlink is €10.00.

There is a cheaper way, and it has a condition attached. Holders of a 1, 2, 3 or 7 day ticket can add the airport for €7.00 one way or €13.00 return, but only if the add-on is bought at the same moment as the pass. Buy the pass on Monday and the airport leg on Tuesday and you pay the full fare.

This is the single most expensive misunderstanding for anyone arriving in Venice by air, and no signage at the pier fixes it for you.

Marco Polo and Treviso are two different journeys

Venezia Marco Polo (VCE) recorded 11,850,336¹ passengers in 2025, up 2.2% on 2024, sixth in Italy, operated by SAVE. Treviso Antonio Canova (TSF) recorded 3,200,130², up 5.0%, nineteenth nationally, operated by AerTre.

Marco Polo sits on the lagoon edge north of the city, which is why a boat transfer exists at all. Treviso is a separate city inland and its transfer is a coach, sold separately from anything ACTV prints.

Both airports gained traffic in 2025, Treviso faster in percentage terms and Marco Polo far larger in absolute numbers. When you compare two fares, price the ground leg into both before you choose.

Trains arrive on the water

Venezia Santa Lucia is 2 hours 27 minutes from Milano Centrale, 2 hours 14 from Firenze Santa Maria Novella and 3 hours 59 from Roma Termini on the fastest direct high speed services (timetable in force September 2026).

The Milan route is worth reading carefully: the spread between fastest and slowest direct train was 2 hours 27 to 2 hours 32 in our sample of 13 trains, because the Brescia to Verona to Padova stretch is not high speed and is under upgrade. The Rome route ran 3 hours 59 to 4 hours 20.

Santa Lucia is the station in the historic city. Venezia Mestre is on the mainland, one stop before, and a room booked there is a different trip in every respect that matters. See where to stay in Venice.

Once you are here: €9.50, card only

An ordinary ACTV ticket costs €9.50 and runs 75 minutes across the combined network of boats, buses, trams and the People Mover (2026). On the vaporetti you can only buy by card, never with cash, and the ticket is issued already validated.

The exclusions are specific and they catch people out: the boat ticket is not valid on lines 16 and 19, on the Casino line, or on any Alilaguna service. A bus only 75 minute ticket is €1.50, a carnet of ten bus rides €14.00, and buying a bus ticket on board €3.00.

Timed passes exist for 24, 48, 72 and 168⁵ hours, and their validity starts at your first validation rather than at midnight. They are also the only tickets that accept the €7.00 airport add-on. More at Venice and things to do in Venice.

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