Venice, Italy

Arriving in Venice

Venice was the first stop on the Eurotrip 2019 leg of our vacation after spending 2 weeks in South Africa. When we landed in Amsterdam, our offspring sprung off on their own to meet up with friends.  Both kids ran to the train station at the airport with minutes to spare. My son went to Austria, and my daughter went to France. My wife and I had 1 more flight to Venice and at this point, we just wanted to stop flying. Our flight from Cape Town was via Johannesburg, Paris, Amsterdam, and finally arrived in Venice.

Getting Around Venice

The airport in Venice is about 30-40 minutes by bus from town. There are water transportation options including taxis and buses (boats for about 40 people) from the airport to town, but we opted for a land-based bus. It was the cheaper option and took about the same length of time.  The bus stops next to the train station in Venice and the only option to get to the hotel was to walk about 20 minutes, or take a water bus and walk 10 minutes. We decided to walk to the hotel and take in the sights along the way. After all, we had been on flights, waiting in airports, or on a bus for almost 24 hours prior to arriving in Venice.  It was nice to stretch our legs for a few minutes.

We had only booked a hotel for 1 night in Venice; if needed we could extend another night or move to another area in the region. Venice is interesting to navigate on foot, but not all streets are marked well and your GPS may go in and out walking through the small alleys. We were able to find our hotel after a couple of wrong turns.  The host at the hotel was away when we arrived and we had to wait about 15 minutes. While we were waiting, a quick walk around the area to get a better idea of the surroundings was in order. Once the host arrived, we checked in and freshened up before going out for the afternoon.

Tourists Everywhere

Within a few minutes of walking around our fears came true. Venice is crowded, hot, muggy, and overpriced in July. We expected that, but the crowds of tourists were worse than we’d hoped for.  We tried to avoid the tourist hot spots initially and took a water bus around town. A water bus is a cheap option for getting around Venice and the islands close by. The water bus is also very crowded around the downtown area. If you are going to the islands the water bus is not terribly crowded. However, it is the same boat that services downtown. Once you leave the downtown area it is much better and more relaxing.

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As much as we were going to hate the crowds, we had to see the tourist trap areas. Luckily these are a small part of Venice and you can escape the crowds by walking a few blocks away from the high-traffic spots.  If you stop and sit at a café or restaurant in a high-traffic tourist area, they may charge you up to 100 euros for using the table, even if you only have a coffee. It is best to ask if they have a fee for sitting at the table. I was aware of this before we arrived, and made sure I kept moving and didn’t give the appearance of stopping at a restaurant. The crowds had died down by the time we had arrived, but it was still crowded. We took a few pictures, then we found a side street to begin our escape and to find some dinner.

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Dining Out

Venice is full of places to eat, but remember to avoid tourist traps to save money. If the street looks busy, it is probably a cut through and prices will be higher. We found a quiet little street with an Italian Restaurant (then again, all of the restaurants in Venice are Italian Restaurants) and decided to eat there. You have to eat Italian food when in Italy, and this was a small family-run restaurant it appeared.  It was a warm late afternoon, so we sat outside to people-watch and to enjoy the outdoors.

After dinner, we walked around and then took a water bus to Lido. We didn’t realize that we boarded the water bus going the wrong direction, so we took the long way to Lido.  That was fine; it was relaxing once we found a seat on the boat. By this time, we were starting to get tired.  We just went to a café in Lido to relax and avoid the crowds for a little while before boarding another water bus back to the hotel. The water bus back to the hotel took us down the Grande Canal and by all the tourist spots. It was a beautiful ride back, and we had seats since we boarded before the crowds.

We returned to the hotel to call it a night and to decide where to go next if we weren’t staying in Venice. Due to the crowds, we decided to head towards Trieste and then on to Slovenia or Croatia. The next morning we had breakfast at the hotel and then found a water bus to the train station to catch a train to Trieste. This is a beautiful 2-hour train ride along the Adriatic.

Trieste and Beyond

We arrived in Trieste and made the final decision to go to Ljubljana, Slovenia. Trieste used to have a funicular that would take you to the border with Slovenia, but this has been out of service for a couple of years. The only way to get there quickly is via a short bus ride across the border to Sežana, Slovenia, and then catch a train to Ljubljana.

My Thoughts of Venice

I wanted to see Venice at some point in my life, but it wasn’t a bucket list item for me. Venice was more of an “if I get a chance list” item or “if we can fit it into the trip” item.  Well, we did fit it in on this trip.

• Is Venice a beautiful city? Absolutely, it is very beautiful.
• Is Venice a bucket-list destination? It appears to be based on the crowds, but I would not visit Venice in the summer if you can avoid it. I would not call it a bucket-list destination for me. I left Venice happy that I finally visited, but not terribly upset about spending less than 24 hours there.
• If Venice is a bucket-list destination for you, go for it and then check it off the list. Just be prepared to deal with the crowds or to visit during a less popular time.

Is Venice on your bucket list?