Venezia Taxi: our review of the consortium

A consortium based on Riva de Biasio

On its English-language website Venezia Taxi presents itself as “Consorzio Venezia Taxi”. Its office is at Santa Croce 328, on Riva de Biasio, a few minutes from the station; its VAT number is 02721160279. A service that repackages Chamber of Commerce data records it as a consortium, with REA number 235799.

On its history the website stays vague: it speaks of “over 30 years of experience” in the sector, without giving a founding year, a number of members or its capital. It is the second most visible name after Consorzio Motoscafi, and Marco Polo airport lists it among the private motorboat operators serving the airport.

The consortium lists service points at Tronchetto, Piazzale Roma, Santa Lucia station, Rialto and San Marco, as well as the Marittima cruise terminal and San Basilio. At the airport it has staff at the desk and at the landing stage.

Four types of boat, no fleet figure

Venezia Taxi describes four classes of boat:

• Standard: white fibreglass hull;
• Luxury Sport: the deck is only partly clad in wood;
• Luxury: all wood, with leather seats and interiors and, on some boats, a fridge;
• accessible boats with a hydraulic lifting platform for wheelchair users.

The total number of boats is not published. Stated capacity is 10 people including luggage; the booking page counts one bag per person, while the FAQ mention a maximum of 12 suitcases. If you travel with more than one bag each, say so in your request and get it confirmed. If you have accessibility needs, our guide to luggage, wheelchairs and tides explains how the landing stages work.

The price list: the lowest direct price from the airport

Here too there is no fixed price list: prices come out of the booking form. We read them for a one-way daytime transfer, two people and two suitcases, in the low season.

Venezia Taxi does not publish journey times per route. For the airport and Piazzale Roma we give the times stated by equivalent private products on the platforms; for the Lido, Murano and Burano we have no reliable figure, and in any case times vary with boat traffic.

On the main route Venezia Taxi costs €20 less than Consorzio Motoscafi (€140 against €160), read on the same day on the two booking systems. From Piazzale Roma to your hotel the two prices are identical: €80.

The city-fare column, however, shows something that needs saying plainly. To Murano the online price is almost double the City’s fare (€110 against €60); to Burano the difference is €40. The tariff applies from taxi rank to taxi rank, whereas the online product is booked and door to door, but anyone going to Murano alone or as a couple should know there are much cheaper options: you will find them on the page about Murano and Burano by water taxi.

Three conditions to read before you pay

1. The inner-canal surcharge. The booking page warns prominently that if the boat goes through the inner canals, you pay €25 extra directly to the skipper. It is an unusual cost: Consorzio Motoscafi publishes no equivalent. If your hotel does not face the Grand Canal or St Mark’s Basin (Bacino di San Marco), factor it in. The general terms repeat it with no exceptions for the airport transfer: if the boat enters the inner canals, the ride rises to €165, i.e. more than the Consorzio’s €160. Ask for written confirmation when you book.

2. Online booking is open only from October to March. For the rest of the year you have to phone or email. For anyone arriving in spring or summer, which is most visitors, the online price cannot be bought with a click: it has to be requested and confirmed in writing. The website also does not accept online bookings for the same day.

3. A withdrawal right with a short deadline. The FAQ and the booking form say nothing about cancellations. The general terms, however, provide a penalty-free right of withdrawal within 14 working days of booking, to be notified by email to info@veneziataxi.it, with a refund via PayPal within 30 days. For a cancellation made after that deadline there is no written rule: if you book well in advance, ask for the terms in the confirmation email before you pay.

The other surcharges are in line with the market:

The night surcharge is €10, the same amount as the city tariff, but the band runs until 7:00 rather than 6:00. Compared with Consorzio Motoscafi’s €15 it is the lower of the two: if you land late, the full comparison is on the page about the water taxi at night.

Cost per head, with and without the inner canals

For two people, €140 is €70 each: far more than the roughly €39 per person of a shared taxi when we checked. For four it comes down to €35 each, already less than the shared taxi.

With the inner-canal surcharge the maths changes little for groups and a lot for couples: €165 for two is €82.50 each, for four €41.25. Beyond four people add €10 per passenger: six people pay €160 plus any extra suitcases, about €27 each.

Contacts and channels

The main number is +39 041 723112; the FAQ also give +39 041 723009. There is a small inconsistency here: the website advertises a 24-hour service, while the FAQ give office hours of Monday–Friday 9:00–18:00. For a booking at the weekend, email is the safer bet: info@veneziataxi.it, booking@veneziataxi.it or prenotazioni@veneziataxi.it.

Online payment is by PayPal or credit card. The general terms warn that if you book on the spot, the wait can be 15–30 minutes. As with all water taxis, if you pay on board, ask first whether the skipper takes cards, and remember that the inner-canal surcharge is paid to him.

What the reviews say

The sample is small, so treat the numbers with caution. The business’s Google listing scores 4.0 out of 5 from 76 reviews. On Tripadvisor there are just 6 reviews, averaging 3 out of 5: too few to say anything.

Among the positive Tripadvisor reviews, one describes two punctual rides with helpful, English-speaking staff. On the negative side, a review on the same platform, titled “Venezia Taxi – Stay away!!”, reports cancelling seven days ahead and not receiving the refund provided for in the terms. It is one traveller’s account, but it touches the weak spot already flagged: refund rules are thin and should be confirmed in writing.

Unlike Consorzio Motoscafi, Venezia Taxi has no significant threads on the Rick Steves forum, the source North American travellers consult most.

When to choose it, and when not

Alternatives

For the same ride from the airport, Consorzio Motoscafi costs €20 more but takes online bookings all year and publishes no inner-canal surcharge. On the platforms the private taxi is sold by Bucintoro Viaggi at about €215 for a boat carrying up to 6 people: pricier, but with free cancellation up to 24 hours before.

If you just need to reach the centre without spending much, the shared water taxi costs about €39 per person and Alilaguna €18. All private options are compared on the page about the private water taxi.

The products below are not Venezia Taxi’s: they are alternatives from other suppliers, bookable online.