Water Taxi to the Lido, Punta Sabbioni and Cavallino-Treporti

The water taxi to the Lido and the Cavallino coast runs on official per-boat fares, set by the Comune di Venezia — the city council — and posted at every taxi rank. There are three figures to remember: San Marco ↔ Lido Santa Maria Elisabetta €50, Rialto, Piazzale Roma–Ferrovia or Tronchetto ↔ Lido €70, and historic centre ↔ Punta Sabbioni, Treporti or Sant’Erasmo €115.

Here too the price is for the boat. Divided between four or six people the sum changes character, especially when you are travelling with suitcases, pushchairs or beach gear.

The coast, though, is well served by public transport: ACTV line 14 links Punta Sabbioni to San Zaccaria via the Lido on the normal 75-minute ticket, €9.50 per person. Before you book a taxi, it is worth working out when you actually need one.

Your options compared

Line 14 is the backbone of the connection: San Zaccaria (Pietà) ↔ Lido ↔ Punta Sabbioni, with sailings roughly every half-hour during the day, all year round, and a journey time of about 35–40 minutes. On weekdays there is a variant that skips the Lido and brings it down to 25–30 minutes.

The per-seat boat transfer from Punta Sabbioni to San Marco sits in between: at the time of checking it starts at around €15 per person, guarantees your seat and runs to a fixed timetable. It is not a taxi — it takes you to the scheduled landing stage, not wherever you want to go.

The water taxi remains the only option that leaves from your exact address and arrives at the landing closest to your door, even at two in the morning. That is what you are paying for.

The official fare, route by route

The schedule applied today derives from city council resolutions (deliberazioni di Giunta comunale) no. 227 and no. 516. For the coast, these are the entries that matter, in standard form and in the reduced form for residents and people with disabilities:

• San Marco ↔ Lido S. M. Elisabetta: €50 (€40)
• Rialto ↔ Lido: €70 (€56)
• P.le Roma–Ferrovia ↔ Lido: €70 (€56)
• Tronchetto ↔ Lido: €70 (€56)
• Historic centre ↔ Lido San Nicolò and Excelsior: €60 (€48)
• Historic centre ↔ Sant’Erasmo, Treporti, Punta Sabbioni: €115 (€92)
• Lido San Nicolò or Excelsior ↔ Treporti, Punta Sabbioni: €115 (€92)
• Airport ↔ Lido San Nicolò: €110 (€88)
• Airport ↔ Lido S. M. Elisabetta and Excelsior: €120 (€96)
• Airport ↔ Sant’Erasmo, Treporti, Punta Sabbioni: €140 (€112)
• Historic centre or Lido ↔ Pellestrina: €200 (€160)
• Historic centre or Lido ↔ Chioggia: €250 (€200)

Note the asymmetry: from San Marco to the Lido you pay €50, and the same coming back, but from Rialto or the railway station it goes up to €70. If you can choose where you board, choosing well is worth twenty euros.

The surcharges on the fare sheet are added to the fixed prices: €10 per person from the fifth passenger onwards on fixed-price runs, €3 for every suitcase beyond the first four and beyond the number of passengers, a €10 night surcharge between 22:00 and 06:00, and a €5 call-out surcharge when you set off from, or arrive at, somewhere other than a city taxi rank.

Operators’ commercial rates are higher than these amounts: when you are quoted a different figure, that is a commercial price, not the city fare. The full overview is on Prices.

Where you board: the Lido yes, Punta Sabbioni no

Lido Santa Maria Elisabetta is one of the thirteen city taxi ranks: there is a stand, the fare sheet is posted up, and you can simply turn up without booking. That detail protects you, because the posted fare is the one you are required to pay.

Punta Sabbioni and Treporti have no rank. The taxi has to be called, and the call costs €5 extra (€4 reduced). It is not an arbitrary mark-up: it is the “call-out service surcharge” line on the schedule.

The practical consequence is that you should not improvise on the coast. Book the day before, agree the time and the jetty, and ask for confirmation of the total price and how it is calculated before you step aboard. The city council gives exactly this advice for land taxis, and it holds just as well on the water.

The reference jetty at Punta Sabbioni is the one used by the scheduled service; for private pick-ups the exact meeting point is given when you book, and if you have a voucher it is written on the voucher.

Cavallino-Treporti campsites: how it really works

The Cavallino-Treporti coast is one of the largest concentrations of campsites and holiday villages in Europe, with a largely German and Austrian clientele who arrive by car or camper van and leave the vehicle at the village. From there, Venice can only be reached by water.

The standard routine is a shuttle or a bike to Punta Sabbioni, then line 14 to San Zaccaria. For €9.50 per person you are in St Mark’s Square in about 35–40 minutes, and with the 24-hour pass at €25 the trip back is covered too if you are making several journeys.

The water taxi comes into play in two cases: getting back late at night, when sailings thin out, and large groups with luggage. The €115 official fare divided between six — plus €20 of surcharge for the fifth and sixth passengers — works out at about €22.50 each, twice the ACTV ticket but with no waiting and no changes.

One thing to watch: the capacity quoted by operators is generally up to 10 people and up to 12 suitcases, but the real limit depends on the certificate of the individual boat. If you have bulky gear, say so when you book.

From the airport to the coast without crossing the centre

If your accommodation is on the Lido or at Cavallino, crossing the historic centre with your suitcases is wasted time. The schedule includes direct runs: €110 for Lido San Nicolò, €120 for Santa Maria Elisabetta and the Excelsior, €140 for Punta Sabbioni and Treporti.

You board at the airport’s darsena, the boat dock, reached from arrivals along a covered walkway with moving pavements: 7–10 minutes on foot. The public-transport ticket office is in the arrivals hall; the Alilaguna offices are over by the jetties.

On the way to the darsena, ignore anyone who approaches you offering a ride: deal only at the official counter or with the boat you have already booked. All the arrival options are on Airport → Venice, while Venice → Airport covers the journey back and check-in timings.

How to spend less on the coast

• Choose where you board. San Marco ↔ Lido costs €50, Rialto or the railway station ↔ Lido €70. Twenty euros of difference for a few more minutes of sailing.
• Divide by four. €50 ÷ 4 = €12.50 each to the Lido: barely above the ACTV ticket, with your luggage loaded for you.
• Stay under five people where you can: from the fifth passenger the schedule adds €10 each on fixed-price runs, twice what it adds on metered service.
• Avoid 22:00–06:00: the official night surcharge is €10. Under its own commercial terms the Consorzio Motoscafi charges €15 between 22:00 and 07:00.
• Consider the day pass. At €25 for 24 hours the ACTV pass covers the water, the Lido buses, the Mestre tram and the People Mover: if you are making several trips, it pays for itself.
• Ask about the reduced fare if you are a resident or have a certified disability: it is the second figure on the posted sheet, 20% less.
• Check how you can pay. Online it is card or PayPal; on board, card acceptance is not universal, so ask before you get in.

When a Venice water taxi is the right choice

Three concrete situations, without the sales talk:

1. Getting back at night from Cavallino or the Lido, when the scheduled service thins out and missing a sailing means a long wait on a jetty.
2. Flying in with accommodation on the coast, to avoid a double change and crossing the centre with your bags.
3. Groups and large families, because the cost per head lands close to the price of individual tickets.

Outside those cases, line 14 does its job well and costs a fraction. No reason to spend more.

Combine this with

• Prices for the complete table of official fares and commercial rates.
• Airport → Venice if you are flying in and have to choose between taxi, Alilaguna and bus.
• Murano and Burano if the same trip also takes in the northern lagoon.
• Private taxi for capacity, luggage and the rules of the private service.
• Night taxi for surcharges and journeys after 22:00.
• Luggage if you are travelling with beach gear, pushchairs or wheelchairs.

The short version

A water taxi to the Lido, Punta Sabbioni and Cavallino-Treporti costs €50–70 per boat to the Lido and €115 to the Cavallino coast, plus call-out and night surcharges where they apply. It is money well spent if you are in a group, if you have luggage, or if you are travelling at hours when the scheduled service is no help.

If all you need is a guaranteed seat from Punta Sabbioni to San Marco at a set time, the per-seat boat transfer solves the day for very little.