Venice Cruise Terminals

Port of Venice (City Center)

Aerial photo of Venice, Italy

ABOVE: The U-shaped Marittima cruise basin is at top right, next to the Tronchetto parking island and the causeway to the Italian mainland. San Basilio is behind the small ship to the left of Marittima, near the mouth of the Giudecca Canal.

Also see: Venice Cruise Ports (with maps)

By Durant Imboden

Venice is one of the busiest cruise ports in the Mediterranean, with nearly 500 ship departures and 700,000 cruise passengers per year.

Technically, however, Venice isn't on the Mediterranean at all, or even on the sea:

The city and its cruise-ship piers are inside the Venetian Lagoon, which is connected to the Adriatic Sea by a narrow entrance called the Porto di Lido.

The Terminal Venezia Passeggeri or Venice Cruise Terminal is located near the 4-km causeway that links the historic city with the mainland.

It consists of two main areas: the Marittima basin, which was built to handle the largest ships that call in Venice, and the San Basilio pier, which is just around the corner in the Giudecca Canal.

If you're departing from Venice and haven't arranged transfers through the cruise line, you'll need to know where your ship is moored. You can obtain this information from the English-language ship and ferry schedules at the Terminal Venezia Passeggeri Web site. (See "Web Links" below.)

Please note:

Medium and large cruise ships are no longer permitted in Venice's historic center. Until further notice, many such ships will be moored at industrial piers in Marghera, a district of Venice on the Italian mainland.
Other large vessels may use distant ports such as Ravenna, Chioggia, or Trieste. See Venice Cruise Ports (with maps) and Cruising in Venice: Port Changes. Please note that smaller ships, including river vessels, will continue to use the quays described below.)

Embarkation arrangements can vary according to your cruise line, where the ship is berthed, whether you're handling your own transfers, and when you arrive at the port. (Often, you'll check in at Marittima and be bused to the ship.) Check with your cruise line ahead of time if you haven't been informed about your ship's embarkation procedure.
The Marittima and San Basilio/Santa Marta cruise terminals do have left-luggage (baggage storage) offices. Opening hours may vary by season or even by day, so check ahead with the port if you absolutely need to store and retrieve your luggage on a certain day.
If you want to store baggage in the city before going to the cruise terminal, look for the deposito bagagli, or left-luggage office, in the Piazzale Roma opposite the ACTV ticket office (next to the Pullman Bar). Alternatively, you can try the deposito bagagli office in the Venice Marco Polo Airport arrivals hall or in the Venice Santa Lucia Railroad Station. See our Venice Left Luggage article for more details.
Important: We can't vouch for the hours of deposito bagagli offices on any given day. If knowing this information is critical, you'll need to check with the offices themselves ahead of time.

Marittima Basin

Venice People Mover

ABOVE: An elevated tram, the People Mover, provides barrier-free transportation between Venice's Piazzale Roma and the Marittima cruise basin.

Also see: Hotels near the Marittima cruise terminals

Marittima is the largest of the ship basins at the Port of Venice's Venezia Terminal Passeggeri, with multiple piers and terminal buildings It's within walking distance of the Piazzale Roma, the main car, taxi, and bus gateway to the historic center.

In the past, cruise ships of all sizes could moor at Marittima. It still accommodates ships of up to 25,000 GRT, but larger vessels are now required to use piers in the industrial mainland port of Marghera or other ports along the Italian coast.

Important: If you're cruising on a large vessel, you'll probably check in at Marittima and be taken by bus to your ship's pier on the mainland. But check with your cruise line, because the situation is very much in flux.

Here's how to reach Marittima:

From the airport:

Marittima is a 15- or 20-minute cab ride from Venice's Marco Polo Airport. The fare was €45 range when we last checked.

Other options include an airport bus to the Piazzale Roma, followed by a taxi or bus ride (see below), or a water taxi, which takes about an hour from the airport but offers a scenic ride. (Water taxis are very expensive--figure €100 or more, depending on how many people and suitcases are on board--but the cost becomes more reasonable if it's split among half a dozen passengers.)

From the Piazzale Roma:

Marittima is only a couple of minutes from the Piazzale Roma by taxi. A free shuttle bus normally runs on Saturdays, Sundays, and Mondays during the cruise season.

Alternatively, take the Venice People Mover from the Piazzale Roma, which will drop you off at the entrance to the Marittima ship basin.

You can walk to Marittima from the Piazzale Roma in 10 to 15 minutes. Just follow the road that leads to the causeway and turn left at the port entrance after you cross the railroad tracks.

From the parking island of Tronchetto:

Take a taxi (if you can find one), or--better yet--ride the quick and inexpensive Venice People Mover one stop to the Marittima cruise basin.

Note: You can buy Venice People Mover tickets from a machine as you enter the station, which is along the water behind the main garage. "People Mover" signs will help you find the station.

From the Piazza San Marco:

You can take a public water bus to the Piazzale Roma and proceed from there by taxi, bus, or on foot if you aren't traveling with too much luggage. The No. 2 express boat is quickest; the No. 1 vaporetto down the Grand Canal is handy if you've been staying near one of the intermediate stops. See our vaporetto routes article for more information.

Cruise lines sometimes provide free shuttle boats between Marittima and San Marco, either at the beginning and end of a cruise or during port calls in Venice. Ask your cruise line if a shuttle is available.

From the airport:

San Basilio is a 20-minute cab ride from Venice's Marco Polo Airport. Other options include an airport bus to the Piazzale Roma, followed by a taxi or bus ride (see below), or a water taxi, which takes about an hour from the airport but offers a scenic ride. (Water taxis are expensive, but the cost becomes reasonable if it's split among half a dozen passengers.)

From the Piazzale Roma or the Piazza San Marco:

You can reach San Basilio in a few minutes by land taxi. Water bus line 2 serves the San Basilio ACTV stop. See our vaporetto routes article for more information.

It's also possible to walk to the San Basilio cruise terminal from the Piazzale Roma in 30 minutes or less, but you'll need a good map and a willingness to haul your luggage over a number of bridges.

From Dorsoduro:

Take the vaporetto (see above) or walk along the Zàttere to the small wooden bridge just past the San Basilio vaporetto platform. Cross the bridge shown in the photo above, and you're there.

San Basilio and Santa Marta Piers

ABOVE: An Alilaguna airport boat passes Compagnie du Ponant's L'Austral, which is moored at the San Basilio cruise terminal.

Also see: Hotels near the San Basilio cruise terminal

San Basilio is a long quay that runs from the main port area to the Fondamenta Zàttere, the promenade along the southern edge of the historic center on the Giudecca Canal. It accommodates small ships next to the cruise terminal or at Santa Marta, an extension of the San Basilio pier.

The San Basilio pier has a terminal building for oceangoing cruise ships and hydrofoil ferries to Croatia. If you're boarding a river vessel (such as CroisiEurope's Michelangelo or Uniworld's Venezia, which are based in Venice), you'll normally just go directly to the ship and embark without formalities. Your cruise documents will include boarding instructions.

From the airport:

San Basilio is a 20-minute cab ride from Venice's Marco Polo Airport. Other options include an airport bus to the Piazzale Roma, followed by a taxi or bus ride (see below), or a water taxi, which takes about an hour from the airport but offers a scenic ride. (Water taxis are very expensive, but the cost becomes reasonable if it's split among half a dozen passengers.)

From the Piazzale Roma or the Piazza San Marco:

You can reach San Basilio in a few minutes by land taxi. Water bus line 2 serves the San Basilio ACTV stop. See our vaporetto routes article for more information.

It's also possible to walk to the San Basilio cruise terminal from the Piazzale Roma in 30 minutes or less, but you'll need a good map and a willingness to haul your luggage over a number of bridges.

From Dorsoduro:

Take the vaporetto (see above) or walk along the Zattere waterfront promenade to a small wooden bridge just past the San Basilio vaporetto platform. Cross the bridge shown in the photo above, and you're there.

Web Links

Venezia Terminal Passeggeri
The official VTP site has basic English-language information about Venice's cruise facilities, including a useful map of the Marittima and San Basilio piers. In addition to cruise information, the VTP offers details about hydrofoils to Croatia and Slovenia that operate from San Basilio.

Venice Cruise Terminals

Port of Venice (City Center)

Marittima Basin

From the airport:

From the Piazzale Roma:

From the parking island of Tronchetto:

From the Piazza San Marco:

From the airport:

From the Piazzale Roma or the Piazza San Marco:

From Dorsoduro:

San Basilio and Santa Marta Piers

From the airport:

From the Piazzale Roma or the Piazza San Marco:

From Dorsoduro:

Web Links

Related articles at Venice for Visitors