Should You Rent a Car for a Venice Cruise?

The first row carries the most weight — on purpose.

A ship at Marittima is a short ride from the airport. A ship at Trieste is about two hours’ drive, and no tap below changes that.

Not sure which you’ve got? Look at the port line on your booking, not the cruise title. The line-by-line table shows what each line prints.

The airport fixes its taxi fares: €45 (about US$50) to the cruise ship terminal and €40 (about US$45) to Piazzale Roma, per cab.

It doesn’t say which terminal that first fare means — name yours to the driver.

The Aerobus is the budget line, from €10 (about US$11) to Piazzale Roma. Add the People Mover’s €1.50 (about US$2) and two of you pay €23 (about US$25), our arithmetic.

ATVO runs an express to Piazzale Roma or Mestre station in about twenty minutes, bags free — we just couldn’t read its fare.

Alilaguna’s boat costs €18 (about US$20) with one big bag and one hand bag, plus €4 (about US$4) for each extra bag.

It stops at Tronchetto, not Marittima, so with the People Mover two of you pay €39 (about US$45) — the scenic way, and the dearer one.

The People Mover itself runs 7:10 AM to 10:50 PM every day from April to October; in winter, holidays start later and finish at 8:50 PM. From Tronchetto, AVM puts the centre 4 minutes away.

Arriving by train? MSC says to walk about 600 m (roughly 0.4 miles) from Santa Lucia to Piazzale Roma, then take the People Mover and the terminal’s own shuttle.

Radiotaxi Venezia answers +39 041 5964 around the clock and takes cards and PayPal. Uber’s Venice airport page says only that some products “might not be available”; we found nothing confirming which run, and didn’t check FreeNow or Bolt.

Five of you on the bus route pay €57.50 (about US$65) — at that point one cab looks better, if the cab takes five.

Price the car against these numbers, not against nothing.

The US Embassy in Rome: “Americans visiting Italy as tourists and intending to drive should obtain an International Driving Permit before leaving the U.S.”; it also accepts a US licence with an official Italian translation.

ACI’s document list says a non-EU driver needs an international driving permit or a sworn Italian translation of the licence.

The two agree on what matters — a US licence on its own isn’t enough.

ACI adds that both permit types work in Italy: the 1949 Geneva permit, valid one year, and the 1968 Vienna permit, valid three.

Even the one-year permit outlasts a cruise and the days around it.

The State Department says to get it from AAA or the American Automobile Touring Alliance before you go, and to carry your US licence with it.

Get it before you fly: the Embassy’s wording is “before leaving the U.S.”, not at a counter in Mestre.

Hertz Italy applies a Young Driver Surcharge if any driver is under 25, without printing the amount; ACI says some companies set a minimum age of 21 or 25 and a maximum of 79, and want the licence held at least a year.

Search with the youngest driver’s age — not the oldest one’s — or the surcharge turns up at the desk.

ACI calls it “almost impossible” to rent in Italy without a credit card; Sixt’s Italian terms refuse prepaid cards of any kind.

Bring a credit card in the main driver’s name. A debit card you hope will pass is a gamble, not a plan.

ACI’s rule on children: anyone up to 1.5 m tall, about 4 ft 11 in by our conversion, rides in an approved restraint.

We found no Italian price for renting a seat at any Venice desk, so ask when you book — or pack your own.

Most of the case against a car here is about the city, not the drive.

A car parked at Piazzale Roma costs €35 a day while you walk — the hub runs that sum.

The case for one is everything off the lagoon. Collect it the morning you leave the city, and give it back before you sail.

If the quiz said rent, search by the desk you’ll start from.

Discover Cars’ Venice page groups the Piazzale Roma and Mestre desks; for the airport, use the Marco Polo page. Its deposit and coverage are in our review.

Euro fares and rules here were read on Oct 3, 2026. The dollar figures follow the European Central Bank’s Oct 2 reference rate, about $1.12 to the euro; your card will use its own.