Grand Canal at Sunset

Giancarlo Panella

Your Venice vacation will begin as soon as you land at the city's major airport. Flights to Venice arrive at the Marco Polo Airport ( www.veniceairport.it) on the eastern edge of the lagoon. Marco Polo is 13 kilometres (8 miles) from the city and it is served by most large international airlines. From Marco Polo, you take an ACTV bus nr. 5 to the city centre, which leaves every 30 minutes. Other, more expensive, options are the ATVO buses or waterbuses. www.actv.it

When you enter by train, you will arrive at the Santa Lucia train station ( www.raileurope.com). From there, it is fairly easy to take a water taxi to many of the Venice hotels.

If you are arriving by car, which is not advisable, you can park either at the Piazzale Roma car park or on Tronchetto (an artificial island). Be prepared to queue for a long time and a steep price.

Note to travelers with difficulty carrying luggage: Taking the waterbus from the airport will drop you at the Piazza San Marco or other city centre stop. Unless your hotel is very close to the stop, you may wish to take a water taxi from the airport directly to your hotel, or else switch to a water taxi after the bus drops you off. Venice's bridges and cobblestone streets can be difficult to navigate if you have trouble hauling your bags around.