Venice 2 days itinerary — How to spend 2 days in Venice & what to do in Venice in 2 days?

Hello my friends ! Sorry for the article about my trip to Venice was delayed a bit later than expected :”> Because I had to sit and fix all the photos that I took in Venice to changed to my favorite color. I had 2 wonderful and perfect day in Venice during my trip to Europe. So, 2 days in Venice enough (two days in Venice enough) and what to do in Venice in 2 days? Let’s check it out our suggested Venice 2 days itinerary (Venice italy 2 day itinerary, Venice two days itinerary) from how to get there, where to stay to best things to do in Venice in 2 days and 2 days in Venice what to see to explore the city of love – Venice!

>> Previous article: My trip to Hallstatt, the fairy village of Austria.

After leaving the beautiful village of Hallstatt, I took a train back to Vienna. Return to Airbnb was more than 8PM, I quickly checked-out, had a light dinner at a small restaurant near Airbnb and took the train to the Vienna International Busterminal (VIB) station.

Vienna Erdberg VIB bus terminal: Flixbus from Vienna to Venice

Fortunately, the Vienna Erdberg VIB bus terminal is only 1 train station away from my Airbnb. To get to the Flixbus VIB bus station in Vienna, you just need to take tram U3 (orange) to Erdberg station, the bus stop is located right next to the exit of this station.

One thing to know, the Vienna Erdberg VIB bus terminal is quite small, at the lounge has a few vending machines selling drinks such as coffee, bottled water, snacks and chocolate… There is no food stall so you need to prepare before coming. In addition, there are lockers at the bus station for you to send your luggage from small to extremely large (bulky baggage). If you have to check–out hotel early and still want to go out around Vienna, you can come here to send your luggage and go out.

Our bus arrived the bus terminal at around 10pm. In addition to visitors to Venice, this bus also drops guests in Romania. Exactly at 10:40PM the bus started rolling and I began falling asleep.

2 days in Venice: The first impression of Venice

Around 8AM next morning, I arrived at Venice’s Venezia Tronchetto Parking Terminal. The first impression is that the temperature is warmer than the countries I went through before. I have to say: it’s summer !! haha !! At that time, I was trying to find a toilet to washing up my face, but after spent much time to find, I only found a toilet in the bus / boat ticketing area. And yes, it costs €1.5 to go to the toilet but I was prohibited to brush my teeth and wash my face. Moreover, the lady who works as a laborer who take care of this toilet shown an unpleasant attitude, any guest also felt unhappy about her attitude. The first impression is not so happy about Venice and its people.

Venice has 2 main areas: Mestre – mainland city and Venezia (Venice) – main island.

From Venezia Tronchetto Terminal to get to Piazzale Roma, Venice

First of all, you should know that Piazzale Roma is the main transit station in Venice for buses, boats … If you stay at a hotel or Airbnb in Mestre – mainland city of Venice, you also need to take a bus from Piazzale Roma to Mestre and vice versa.

From Tronchetto Terminal to Venice there are 2 options: Take People Mover train (€1.50) or Vaporetto (€7.50) line 2. People Mover is a type of sky train. The Vaporetto is the Water bus, the main means of transportation in Venice.

If you fly to Venice Marco Polo airport, you go down to the ground floor to take bus 15 or 4L to Mestre, bus 4L to Piazzale Roma. Or water bus on the first floor of the airport to Venice.

Venice Italy 2 day itinerary: Buy Citypass to travel around Venice.

At Piazzale Rome, you will find train, water bus and bus ticket counter to getting around Venice. I recommend if you under 28 years old like me should buy a VENEZIA UNICA City Pass 3 days unlimited + Rolling Card for €28 when traveling to Venice.

Normally a 3-day VENEZIA UNICA City Pass costs €40. However, if you are under 28 years old and you buy more a Rolling Venice card, you only have to pay €28 for the combo including City Pass 3 days + Rolling card. This promotion is not valid for Citypass 1 day, 2 days and 7 days. So even though I only spend 2 days in Venice, I still buy 3 days Citypass to receive this promotional combo.

You can buy online here for €29 or at the ticket counter in Piazzale Roma for €8 like me. You need to show your passport so that they can check your name and age.

I recommend you to buy citypass for cheap travel in Venice. Because each bus trip only costs €1.50 but the Water bus is quite expensive at €7.50 per trip. If traveling in Venice, the Water bus is the main means of transportation. Although Venice is quite small to walk, but it will take a lot of time and health. If you have a citypass card, when you get tired or want to go to a certain place far away, just get on the Water bus to come and be healthy! Or for example, getting to Burano and Murano islands, you don’t need to buy a ticket, they are included in a Citypass.

Venice ACTV Vaporetto and Bus Transports Tourist Ticket

Besides, you should download the AVM Venezia Official App (Iphone + Android) to search for traveling by public transport in Venice. You can also buy a water bus ticket through this app.

Venice 2 days itinerary: Where to stay in Venice?

Before going to Venice I have consulted a few my friends who have visited Venice. They recommend me should stay in Mestre city because hotel or airbnb prices are a lot cheaper than in Venice. Just staying near the bus station or train station you can go to Venice Island very conveniently. From Mestre you can take the 4L bus to Venice within 10-15 minutes and vice versa.

Well, one thing you note when taking bus here that they do not announce the bus stop. So, you should download the offline Google Maps to mark the hotel or Airbnb location to know where to get off. Fortunately I have a version of Google Maps offline, after tracking current location, and see it is close to my Airbnb so I get off the right bus stop. Before you want to get off, you need to press the notification button in advance.

The Airbnb in Mestre that I rented was spacious and clean. The newly house with very new furniture too, located in a residential area, it is very quiet and safe. However, you have to walk a bit to get in from the bus stop (about 800m), sometimes when you get tired after going out all day, so just thinking about walking to return, feeling a bit discouraged =)).

I highly recommended 2 hotels in Venice that I found have lots of good reviews on Agoda.com and Booking.com, you can refer to:

• In Mestre: Hotel Kappa (Agoda.com or Booking.com) with the room rates of $ 81/night/room for 2 person, near bus stop and tram station.
• In Venice Island: Lanterna Di Marco Polo (Agoda.com or Booking.com) at $ 177/night/room for 2 people, on the main island, so the room rates starting from this price or higher.

Below we recommend some best cheap, budget, mid-range and upscale hotels with good ratings and reviews from $65/night you can refer to.

Arlecchino Hotel: A best seller 3-star hotel with room rates from $137/night. (You can check rates on Agoda.com or Booking.com).

Hotel Rialto: A 4-star top rated hotel with room rates from $99/night. (You can check rates on Agoda.com or Booking.com).

Hotel Savoia & Jolanda: A top rated 4-star hotel with room rates from $139/night. (You can check rates on Agoda.com or Booking.com).

Hotel Montecarlo: A top rated 3-star hotel with room rates from $129/night. (You can check rates on Agoda.com or Booking.com).

Hotel Tiziano: A top rated 3-star hotel with room rates from $75/night. (You can check rates on Agoda.com or Booking.com).

Starhotels Splendid Venice: A top rated 4-star hotel with room rates from $218/night. (You can check rates on Agoda.com or Booking.com).

HOTEL OLIMPIA Venice: A top rated 3-star hotel with room rates from $182/night. (You can check rates on Agoda.com or Booking.com).

Hotel Ca’ Dogaressa: A top rated 3-star hotel with room rates from $78/night. (You can check rates on Agoda.com or Booking.com).

Hotel Ai Cavalieri di Venezia: A top rated 3-star hotel with room rates from $236/night. (You can check rates on Agoda.com or Booking.com).

There are hundreds of hostels or hotels in Venice, but if you do not want to run out of rooms during the peak season or the weekend, it is recommended to book in advance via Booking.com, Agoda.com.

What to do in Venice in 2 days (2 days in Venice what to see)? — The very first day in Venice

After taking a bath and resting, we took the bus 4L to Piazzale Roma and then from there we took the water bus to the Venice center. In addition, for those who like waking to explore and sightseeing around, you can walking through the bridge to get to Venice and slowly walk to the center (But be warned that it is quite far with many alleys and corners as mazes).

TIP: You should buy bottled water from supermarkets for cheap. I bought a 2 liter bottle at a supermarket near Airbnb for €0.2/bottle, while if you buy at restaurants, small shops in Vernice are €2 – €3/500ml of bottle, several-fold higher. At Piazzale Roma, station A, if I remember correctly, there is a small supermarket, you can go in and buy for cheap before heading to Venice.

You should keep your water bottle to get your drinking water from the public tabs that found throughout Venice. These public tabs are drinkable, safe and clean.

The first spot is the legendary of Rialto Bridge which is the oldest of the four bridges spanning the Grand Canal in Venice.

From the Rialto Bridge I walked to the Piazza San Marco (St. Mark’s Square). Thanks to the Google Maps, even though Venice is full of narrow alleys and corners, I wasn’t lost =))

Piazza San Marco also known as St Mark’s Square with the famous Saint Mark’s Basilica.

Gondola boat rental spot for €80/40 minutes riding. You should invite other couples to share if you want to reduce rental costs. Or just ride with your lover for romantic :”>

Our dinner is pre-booked at La Zucca restaurant. I found this restaurant on Tripadvisor ranked 32nd out of 2.000 restaurants in Venice. This restaurant is quite small but is extremely famous, so you need to reserve a seat.

Venice 2 days itinerary (2 days in Venice what to see) — Day 2 in Venice: Going to Burano Island

Burano Island is known as the most colorful island in Europe. The ideal place for you to take virtual live photos to worshipping Facebook and Instagram, haha.

From Piazzale Roma, I took the water bus number 5.2 to F.te Nove, and from there took the water bus number 12 straight to Burano. Total travel time is about 1 hour. Also, you can take the water bus 4.2 to F.te Nove.

>> Download water bus map here.

If you do not have a Citypass and have to purchase a single water bus ticket, please note that the fare of €7.5 is only valid for 75 minutes. That means in 75 minutes you can take the water bus as many times as you like.

Day trip to Murano, Burano and Torcello islands.

Around 3PM, I went back to Venice to strolling around for about an hour, then returned to Airbnb. We packed luggage, showered and ate dinner with ready-to-eat food bought from the supermarket near our airbnb. At 8:30PM, we took the bus 15 straight to Venice Marco Polo airport.

Although our flight from Venice to Santorini depart at 5AM. However, after 9:30PM, public transport such as buses no longer operate. If you want to go to the airport you only could take a taxi for about €35– €40 from Mestre to Venice airport.

We slept at the airport until about 3:30AM, then checked-in. Wow!!! Only 2 hours flying and we will set foot on Santorini – The paradise island of Greece, one of the most beautiful sunset places in the World – The next destination in my European travel itinerary.

Some best day tours, trips, activities and transfer services, tickets in and from, and to Venice you can refer to

• Private Venice Marco Polo Airport (VCE) Transfers for Downtown Venice
• Shared Marco Polo Airport (VCE) Transport for Venice by Alilaguna Waterbus
• Venice Gondola Ride
• Venice Guided Day Trip from Milan
• Venice Excursion Day Trip
• Venice Hop-On Hop-Off City Sightseeing Boat Tour
• Gondola Ride and Discover Venice Tour
• Murano, Burano, and Torcello Day Trip
• The Doge’s Palace Tour in Venice
• St. Mark’s Basilica Tour in Venice
• Best Of Venice Walking Tour
• Tasting Venice: Food and Wine Walking Tour

Are you looking for more top things to do in Venice: Tours, activities, attractions and other things? Let’s check it out here: Venice travel blog — The fullest Venice city guide for a great trip to Venice on a budget for the first-timers.