Venice: Hop-On Hop-Off Boat Tours – Prices, Tips & Info

Venice – Hop On Hop Off Boot tours | In all large significant cities there is the popular offer of Hop on Hop Off bus tours for a sightseeing program. The beautiful Venice is vehicle free.

This is why you will experience the romantic lagoon city on a Hop-On Hop-Off boat tour on the canals of the city. It is the most beautiful and pleasant way to discover Venice within 24 or 48 hours.

Hop-On Hop-Off Boat – How does it work?

Those of you who already have little experience with this form of sightseeing, then here you will find a summary of this offer:

• Explore the world-famous lagoon city on the Adriatic at your own pace
• Choose between a 24 or 48-hour ticket all year round
• The ticket validation starts after the first use
• Boat tours are regularly from 9:00 to about 17:30 hrs.
• Departure at any time from any stop 
• Get on and get off and the other way around as often as you like
• Instant ticket issuing as a printout
• Download the Venice Sightseeing Experience App
• Free WiFi onboard
• A non-stop tour takes a little more than 2 hours

From the train station to St. Mark’s Square with the Doge’s Palace and the Bridge of Sighs, line A takes you past many of Venice’s sights to the island of Murano. There you can change and take Linea B to explore the islands of Burano and Torcello. The stop at the Punta Sabbioni pier will be particularly interesting to holidaymakers on the Adriatic and motorists looking for cheap parking outside Venice.

The frequency of Line A and Line B can be seen in the timetable shown. However, the departure times are subject to change and should best be checked again on-site.

How much does the Hop On Hop Off Sightseeing Tour cost?

► Ticket purchase for the boat tour – 24 hours

► Ticket purchase for the boat tour – 48 hours

(48 hours booking option appears when entering the date)

Line A stops

You can find an exact route plan for lines A and B below…

► Ferrovia Compartimentale S. Lucia – Railway Station

The Santa Lucia railway station and the nearby Piazzale Roma bus station are the entrance to the center of this lively lagoon city. You can get there by car, bus or train. From here the city is only accessible on foot, by public water bus or by organized boat trips. This is also where the Hop On Hop Off boat tours stop. Its exact stop is shown on the ticket. 

► Tronchetto

Isola Nuova is an artificial island in the Venice lagoon located to the west of the city. It was mainly developed due to the high demand for parking spaces. The various newly built parking decks are now the starting point for numerous day visitors who want to take advantage of the Hop on Hop off boat tour to visit Venice. 

► Stazione Marittima (Cruise Terminal)

At this stop, on various days, the continuously increasing cruise tourism is taken into account. Many tourists pour directly into the city on foot, while others take part in organized boat trips or go on excursions with the Hop on Hop boat. They will do everything to get to know the sights of Venice as quickly as possible and be back on the ship in time before departure in the evening.

► San Marco

Here is where the heart of Venice beats. People push and shove to visit St. Mark’s Basilica, the Doge’s Palace with its famous Bridge of Sighs, or to climb the Campanile, the freestanding bell tower of the Basilica di San Marco. Quite a few people certainly drink the most expensive cappuccino of their lives in the restaurants and cafés around the Piazza San Marco. Under the title St. Mark’s Basilica and Doge’s Palace you will find all the necessary information about these unique sights.

For those who want to have a longer stop for visits here, I strongly recommend that you get informed about the problems of the waiting times for a visit to the Basilica and the Doge’s Palace. Very often, only the purchase of online tickets in advance helps, otherwise the schedule for the further course of the day gets rapidly delayed. All further information in the respective articles. The entrance to the Markus’ Basilica itself is free. The tickets for the Doge’s Palace are also available directly here.

From St. Mark’s Square, it is about 600 meters or a 7-minute walk to the Rialto Bridge which is certainly one of the most photographed river crossings in the world. To make your sightseeing stop perfect, on the way back to the Hop On Hop Off Tour boat mooring, you should visit one of the most important opera houses in the world, La Fenice, only about 400 meters from San Marco. A guided tour with admission should be booked in advance. Otherwise, book tickets without queuing with an audio guide.

► Murano Island

The next most worthwhile representative stop of all lagoon islands is in Murano, best known for its long tradition of glass blowing. You will surely find the appropriate souvenir here. Everything about this fantastic island is in Murano. If you want to experience Venice without hustle and bustle, you can also stay overnight on the island.

During the summer there is a direct airport transfer by water from Venice’s main airport, Marco Polo. 

From March to October Murano is the starting point of Line B of the Hop on Hop off boat tour for further discoveries in the Venice lagoon. All further information at the waterside moorings of line B, further down in the text.

► Zatterre

The stop is located to the south of the center of Venice in the Dorsoduro district, at Fondamente delle Zattere. This is a long promenade along the canal in front of the city island of Giudecca, which is also suitable for overnight stays. Next to the stop is the beautiful church of Santa Maria del Rosario. Holders of the Chorus Pass have free access to the 16 most beautiful religious churches in Venice for a visit.

Strolling along the spacious boulevard to the east, you will be rewarded with a spectacular view and fantastic photo motifs of the Doge’s Palace, San Giorgio Maggiore, and the mouth of the Grand Canal at the end of the promenade. An unforgettable panorama. This is not the typical Venice, but a perfect stop for a stroll, sitting in the sun, or visiting one of the small restaurants. 

Line B stops

On the island of Murano, from March to October, you can change to line B of the Hop on Hop off boat tour free of charge for further visits. The other stops of the tour are on the islands of Torcello and Burano, and on Punto.

While Torcello and Burano are well worth seeing, Punta Sabbioni is an important ferry port for the water buses and Hop On Hop Off boat trips to Venice. This stop is located on the mainland on a peninsula and is mainly used by tourists who spend their holidays in or around the seaside resort Lido di Jesolo and want to make a day trip to Venice.

✅ You can find detailed information and accommodation possibilities in the articles Torcello and Burano.

Advantages and disadvantages of Hop-On Hop-Off boat tours in Venice

Each form of sightseeing has its advantages and disadvantages. Hop on Hop off boat trips, which are also offered on the canals of Amsterdam, for example, are popular everywhere, particularly because of their association with water. The contemplative tour along a canal is much more relaxing than a comparable tour with a hop-on hop-off bus in hectic traffic.

In a vehicle-free city like Venice, you can compare the Hop-On Hop-Off boat trip with the public water buses (vaporetti), which often follow the same routes.

Advantages

• Public water buses often overcrowded
• Prices are pretty low
• Stops only at the main monuments
• Audio Guide instructions
• Easy ticket purchase

Inconvenience

• A limited number of stops
• Frequency is not very high
• Trips and visits more time consuming
• Use limited in time but sufficient

Is the boat tour with the Hop-On Hop-Off ship worthwhile?

The tour is worthwhile for day visitors, as you can safely and comfortably pass all the significant sights of the city within 2 to 3 hours. This also applies to cruise passengers, whose ships often have only a short stay in the lagoon city. It is even better if you bring some time with you.

The 48-hour ticket is affordable and allows extensive island hopping in summer in combination with line B. All in all, the Hop on Hop off boat tour is an offer that you should check out, especially if you bring along time and calm, as already mentioned.