Vaporetto Tickets and Prices in 2026: Singles, Passes, and the Math
Vaporetto fares are the rare piece of Venice that is actually simple: one single fare, a short ladder of passes, and one rule (validate every ride) that people keep getting fined for ignoring. Here is the whole 2026 price structure, where to buy, and the arithmetic that tells you which ticket to pick.
2026 fares at a glance: single ticket €9.50 (75 minutes, one journey, line change allowed en route); passes €25 / 24h, €35 / 48h, €45 / 72h, €65 / 7 days with unlimited rides on the urban network. A pass beats singles from your third ride in a day.
The 2026 price table
| Ticket | Price | Validity | Break-even |
|---|---|---|---|
| Single | €9.50 | 75 minutes, one journey | — |
| 24-hour pass | €25 | Unlimited urban rides, rolling 24h | Worth it at 3 rides/day |
| 48-hour pass | €35 | Unlimited urban rides, 48h | Worth it at 4 rides/2 days |
| 72-hour pass | €45 | Unlimited urban rides, 72h | Worth it at 5 rides/3 days |
| 7-day pass | €65 | Unlimited urban rides, 7 days | Worth it at 7 rides/week |
Two details hide in that table. First, passes are rolling: a 24-hour pass bought at 15:00 on Thursday runs to 15:00 on Friday, which can cover two evening-and-morning cycles if you activate it late in the day. Second, “urban network” means the city’s vaporetti and land buses — not the airport boats, and not a few outer-lagoon routes that carry a supplement.
The 75-minute rule, precisely
The €9.50 single is a journey ticket, not a ride ticket. You have 75 minutes from validation to complete one trip in one direction, and you may change lines mid-journey — for example, riding Line 2 partway and transferring to a 4.2 toward Murano — as long as you keep moving. What it is not: a hop-on-hop-off pass. Get off to photograph a canal, and a fresh validation (a fresh fare) is required to board again. Inspectors do check, the penalty fares are steep, and “the machine didn’t beep” is not an accepted defense, which is why you should always watch for the green light when you validate.
Where to buy
- Ticket machines at major stops — Piazzale Roma, Ferretto (station), San Zaccaria, Rialto and the other big landings. Cards and cash; the fastest option.
- Tabacchi and newsstands — the tiered “T” signs sell ACTV tickets all over the city.
- Online and in-app — ACTV sells through its own channels and authorized resellers; mobile tickets are scanned at the same validators.
- On board — possible at some landings but costs a surcharge; treat it as the fallback, not the plan.
Choosing in one sentence each
One canal cruise and one island trip tomorrow? Two singles. A normal sightseeing day with three or more hops? The 24-hour pass, every time. A long weekend built around islands and the Lido? The 72-hour pass, activated mid-afternoon on arrival day to overlap two of your three evenings. Based in an apartment for a week and moving slowly? The 7-day pass costs less than seven singles and removes every fare decision.
Do not confuse the vaporetto with the separate Venice Access Fee (the day-visitor charge applied on selected peak dates) or with the airport Alilaguna boats. Neither is covered by an ACTV ticket. Gondola rides and traghetti are also priced separately — see our boat comparison.
Small print worth knowing
Luggage is carried free within reason — the boats are the city’s only way to move a suitcase. Reduced fares exist for children, youths, seniors, and residents in various bands; the exact age thresholds get revised, so ask at the ticket window with your ID if you might qualify. Dogs travel muzzled and leashed with a reduced ticket, another rule that changes occasionally. Fares on this page were checked against ACTV’s published 2026 fares on October 19, 2026 — the operator revises prices every couple of years, so if you are reading this later, sanity-check the single fare first; everything else scales from it.
Ticket questions travelers actually ask
Is a vaporetto pass cheaper than single tickets?
From the third ride in any 24 hours, yes. Singles cost €9.50, so two rides are €19 (still under the €25 day pass) but three rides are €28.50 — already more than the 24-hour pass. Anyone making more than two journeys a day, which describes most itineraries, should buy a pass.
Does one vaporetto ticket cover a change of boat?
Yes. The €9.50 single is valid for 75 minutes from validation and covers one journey in one direction, including one change of line as long as you keep moving within the 75 minutes. It is not a hop-on-hop-off ticket: breaking the journey ends it.
Do vaporetto tickets work on Venice's buses too?
The standard ACTV tourist passes cover both networks — water buses and the city land buses — so the same pass that carries you to Murano also carries you on a bus if your hotel is in Mestre or near Tronchetto. The airport Alilaguna boats are not part of it.
Last verified October 19, 2026.