Exactly How to take the Bus From Venice to Chioggia for a Cruise
We were so excited for our first cruise that had a port of call in Venice. And though the reality of where the cruise port is actually located didn’t ruin our excitement, lo and behold, we quickly realized that cruise ships dock outside of Venice, not in it. We figured it was no big deal and that the port would be within 30 minutes of downtown Venice, the most popular tourist area. Alas, we were wrong again.
The Port of Chioggia is one hour from Venice. Thus, we began planning the logistics of how to get from downtown Venice to Chioggia right after we booked our cruise. It was shockingly hard to find accurate information about our options for getting between the two cities, which left us with a lot of guesswork.
But, luckily for you, we’re here to demystify the process so there are no surprises. After reading the information we have included here, you'll be able to decide whether taking the bus is right for you.
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How to Get to the Port of Chioggia from Venice
First thing’s first: How do you get to the Port of Chioggia from Venice, and where is Chioggia in relation to downtown Venice?
Chioggia is southwest of Venice, and if you look at a map, you’ll be astonished that they’re not that close. Not as close as the Venice airport is to downtown Venice, for example, and not as close as the other cruise port, Fusina.
There are several answers to the question, “How do you get to the Port of Chioggia from Venice?” depending on where you're starting your journey within Venice. Thus, the question requires some refining. So, we pose three questions and answers for you to best serve your Port of Chioggia cruise needs:
- How do you get to the Port of Chioggia from downtown Venice?
- How do you get to the Port of Chioggia from mainland Venice, by the Marco Polo Airport and Mestre train station?
- What is the easiest way to get to Chioggia if you’re flying in the day your cruise starts or you're doing a pre-cruise extension with your cruise company?
We’re going to answer these questions in reverse.
To answer question #3, if you’re cruising on a small ship as we did on Viking Saturn (a Viking ocean vessel) and arriving the day of embarkation, they will arrange transportation for you from the airport (they meet you inside the airport) to the ship. This is also the case if you’re signed up for a pre-cruise extension. So the easiest way to get to Chioggia from Venice in this case is through the cruise line’s transfer.
However, suppose you want to see Venice on your own before or after your cruise. In that case, transportation is not included or provided by your cruise line. Which leads us to answering the first two questions above, below…
Private Transfers Between Venice and Chioggia
From either point—downtown Venice or the mainland area—you can take a private car, a taxi, or a boat.
A taxi or a pre-booked private car will cost between approximately €140 and €200. You can book a car through Viator in advance. We often pre-book a car through Viator when we feel it’s the best option for our trip. However, note that no vehicles are allowed in downtown Venice, so if you are planning to travel by private car, you'll likely still need to meet the driver at Piazzele Roma, as we did for the public bus.
Private Transfers
Chioggia to Venice
Ending your cruise in Chioggia and wanting to explore Venice, post-cruise? You need to prearrange a car to transfer between the two.
Venice to Chioggia
Starting in Chioggia, but need to get there from Venice? Meet your driver at Piazzale Roma and ride in comfort directly to the port entrance.
If you are ending a cruise in Chioggia, prearrange a private transfer. The bus stop at Via Naccari was barely a bus stop; it was more so a spot on the side of the road. If we had to find the bus stop in Chioggia by the port to get to Piazzale Roma in Venice (the opposite bus journey we did) we’re not 100% confident we would have found where to get on the bus. It's different going from Venice to Chioggia because there's a large bus station where the buses depart. That's not the case for the opposite journey.
Point being: if you want to reach Venice from Chioggia after your cruise, book a private transfer.
For a private boat between Chioggia and downtown Venice, you’ll be paying upwards of €300, and it likely won’t get you to Chioggia any faster than a vehicle will. But you'll undoubtedly be taking advantage of Italy's waterways!
Public Transportation Between Chioggia and Venice
Maybe you know the popular website that helps you figure out how to get from point A to B anywhere in the world, called Rome2Rio.com. When we have used it in the past, it’s usually fairly accurate. However, there is a fatal flaw in searching Rome2Rio in this instance. When you search how to get from downtown Venice to Chioggia on Rome2Rio, it tells you to take a combination of a bus and train. This is not the easiest, most direct way.
What it fails to tell you is that there is an incredibly easy and comfortable public bus that boards at Piazzale Roma from downtown Venice. It makes one of its first stops at the Mestre train station on mainland Venice.
There is no direct train from Venice to Chioggia. Trust us—we tried to find one, and it doesn't exist. It's cumbersome and illogical to take a combination of trains and buses, which doubles the time it takes you to get to Chioggia from Venice. Take the bus or a private transfer if you're navigating on your own. It's direct and easy.
Cost and Comfort: The Public Bus Between Chioggia & Downtown Venice
The public bus is comfortable and almost like a coach bus. It costs less than €7 per person! Can you believe it?!
The only drawback to the bus, which you should be aware of, is that it’s not like a Greyhound bus in the United States, where you can load luggage under the bus before boarding. The bus has limited overhead storage space, so most hard-shell carry-on luggage won’t fit. Though there is a small area for other luggage, it's so small it's nearly non-existent. You can place items by your feet, but anything more than a backpack likely won’t fit. You can also use your lap. Or the aisle. So the bus might not be a great option if you're traveling with a lot of luggage.
We each traveled with a small personal bag and a carry-on-sized large backpack that we often use instead of hard-shell rolling carry-on luggage. We squeezed Dan's backpack above us in the small overhead space, and Dan held his personal bag on his lap. I put my personal-size bag above us and sat my big backpack on my lap for the hour commute.
What Bus to Take from Venice to Chioggia & How to See the Bus Schedule
You want to take “Bus 80: SOTTOMARINA – CHIOGGIA – VENEZIA” to get from Venice to Chioggia. The timetable is available online on the Arriva Veneto website. The bus begins its route from Piazzale Roma, so it will likely be sitting there for a few minutes before it leaves the station.
When you board, make sure the bus says “80 SOTTOMARINA,” as shown in the picture below.
When you are looking at the online schedule PDF, make sure you’re reading the headings correctly: one section of the schedule lists buses towards Venice, and the other towards Chioggia-Sottomarina. Bus 80 comes every 20-30 minutes, depending on the day of the week.
Additionally, note that when you’re at the bus station at Piazzale Roma, you likely will not see a sign for Bus 80. However, you will see a sign with the bus company name, “Arriva Veneto.” If you don’t see a sign for Bus 80, don't fret. Instead, look for a sign that says “Arriva Veneto.”
We had to walk from the ticket office all the way around the parking lot where the buses arrive, and past a little park, to get to the bus. It was only a 5-minute walk, but when you don’t know where you’re going, the distance matters.
We spoke to a couple on our Viking cruise who also took the bus from Venice to Chioggia. They saw the first bus they could have boarded drive away without them; they simply didn’t know where to load, and the confusion cost them some time! When it’s raining, timing especially makes a difference because there is no overhead coverage from the weather while you're waiting for the bus.
The lesson is: allow yourself some extra time and patience to find where the bus departs from so you don't miss it. It's all worth the commute once you arrive at Porto di Chioggia to board your cruise!
What Bus Station is Closest to the Port of Chioggia?
“Via Naccari” is the name of the bus stop closest to the port. The bus makes several stops along the route, like a city bus does. Passengers should press the red “STOP” button near their seat to request a stop. It’s similar to how you would request a stop on the 2nd Avenue bus in New York City (or any city bus, really), but the buses in Italy are much nicer than in NYC and fairly quiet!
Additional Important Info about the Public Bus from Venice to the Port of Chioggia
How to Know You're at the Right Bus Stop to Get to the Port
You must pay attention to a map on your phone that tracks your current location because the bus driver does not announce the next stop. (We use our favorite hotspot to access Google Maps when we travel because we don't want to pay roaming fees or use SIM cards.) Additionally, except for the first two or three stops in Venice, the bus stations are very “side of the road,” unassuming bus stops. Think “country road” kind of stops. Most of the stops don’t even have a little bus station awning, bench, or sign. It seems the locals just know where the bus stop is. But if you’re a foreigner, it’s really easy to miss!
We overheard an American woman speaking English, asking the bus driver to tell her where the Via Naccari stop was when we arrived. He said okay, but perhaps he didn’t understand because when we approached it, he didn’t say anything to her. We let her know that it was the current stop, which we knew because we were tracking our route on Google Maps. We spotted a Viking luggage tag on her bag and figured we were heading to the same ship. So we got off together, asked, “Are you going to Viking Saturn?” and we walked to the ship as two couples.
How to Get to the Port of Chioggia Cruise Terminal Once You Get off the Public Bus at the Via Naccari Stop
From the Via Nacarri stop, it’s a 10-minute walk to the cruise port security gate, where you continue your walk to the terminal that leads to the ship.
Google Maps was leading us to an ever-so-slightly different location than the ship was at (even with the ship address from Viking plugged into our phone), so beware as you walk from the bus stop to the ship. Use common sense when viewing your surroundings because once you cross over the bridge on the pedestrian walkway, you’ll see a parking lot on your right and you will likely see the ship in the distance.
If Google Maps is telling you to go right but you see the ship on the left, go left. Once you reach the cruise port, you'll approach a security gate near the entrance.
The port security guard, for whatever reason, didn’t ask to see our IDs or proof that we were boarding the ship. We suppose the evidence of us walking in an industrial part of town, as the port area is, with luggage on our backs and two other couples following us with rolling luggage, was proof enough. He yelled to us in Italian once we were past the gate, but when we replied that we didn’t speak Italian, he didn’t protest, and we kept walking.
Regardless, we had our passports and cruise boarding passes handy, just in case. We needed it shortly thereafter to check in for our Viking Ocean cruise.
How (and Where) to Get Bus Tickets
From our hotel in downtown Venice, we took the vaporetto public boat to the last stop on Route 1, which is Piazzele Roma. Most vaporetto lines, if not all, stop at this station.
It’s important to note that once you get off the vaporetto, depending on which line you take to Piazzale Roma, you may have to walk a bit farther to reach the bus station ticket office. Luckily, Route 1’s stop wasn’t too far from the ticket office. We saw signs directing us there and headed that way. It was raining, so we didn’t want to waste time, especially because the bus station is outdoors except for the ticket office.
The young woman at the desk spoke English nearly perfectly (as most young people in Italy do) and told us we needed to take Bus 80 to Chioggia. She pointed us in the right direction after we paid her 13 euros for two tickets. Once you board the bus, you need to tap the physical tickets to the machine, so make sure you don’t lose them.
How to Pay for Bus Tickets in Italy
You can’t beat the price of the public bus. Although it makes several incredibly short stops along the journey, it’s straightforward and incredibly affordable.
It’s very easy to pay by credit card all over Italy, including for your bus tickets. We tapped our digital wallet from our iPhones to the machine at the bus ticket office. The alternative is to tap your chipped credit card on the machine if you don't store your credit card info in your phone.
Visa is accepted everywhere, and Amex is accepted at most major spots in Italy, including the train stations. However, we are not sure if they take Amex at the bus station because we used our Visa credit card and were in such a rush to make the next bus that we didn’t remember to ask!
If you want to pre-purchase bus tickets online and have them accessible on your phone, the easiest way to do so is to download the Arriva Veneto app to purchase bus tickets, especially if the ticket office isn’t open. We bought them in person because we wanted to speak to someone who knew the bus system better than we did to eliminate room for error. Also, the fewer apps on our phones, the better (we already have so many!). You can also purchase tickets at the on-site ticket machines.
Unlike the trains in Italy, bus prices don’t fluctuate if you buy tickets the day of your trip or several days before going on the bus, for example.
The Public Bus vs. Private Transfers from Venice to Chioggia
If all this completely overwhelms you and you have a ton of luggage, you might want to consider a private transfer. Another factor to consider is your mobility. If you can walk 10 minutes on a paved surface and lift your luggage on and off the bus (or don't mind asking someone else for help), you'll be fine. But if you can't, do a private transfer.
Are you thinking, “I got this! I can do this!” and your luggage is manageable (especially with limited space on the bus)? Then we recommend going for it! We truly love public transportation: it's easy on the wallet (so you can save your money for excursions and souvenirs) and helps reduce fuel consumption and air pollution. It's like a mega-carpool!
Ultimately, if you want to take the bus or a private transfer is up to you. Consider how much luggage you’re towing, how mobile you are since you’ll need to walk from the bus stop to the ship, and your budget. The bus was 13 euros versus a private car, which would have been around 150 euros. And a car doesn’t save you much time either, though it’s more door-to-door.
Though the walk from the bus station to the port was paved and on flat ground (minus the small “hill” bridge over the water), you still need to walk there and tow your luggage. If you have a lot of bags, it’s unlikely to work for your situation.
It's important to note that there aren’t taxis between Via Naccari and the Port of Chioggia. It’s an industrial area that doesn’t get much traffic and taxis don't really come by.
Uber and Lyft are not available in Chioggia.
We were very happy we took the bus, but the choice is personal and yours to make. If you have any more questions about it, don’t hesitate to contact us to ask!
