How to Get to the Venice Film Festival
Marco Polo, private jet, water taxi, vaporetto or a boat with a skipper: arriving in Venice, then reaching the Lido in step with the screenings.
Last updated 5 October 2026 · 4 min read
The Venice Film Festival is held on the Lido, an island: you arrive by water. Venice Marco Polo airport, on the mainland around eight kilometres north of the city, receives scheduled flights and private jets through its business aviation terminal. From there, the water taxi reaches the Lido in thirty to forty minutes, up to the hotel's landing stage; the Alilaguna Blu line takes around an hour and twenty minutes. From Venice, the vaporetto reaches the Lido in around fifteen minutes. During the festival, a boat with a skipper at your disposal remains a flexible way to go from screenings to dinners.
An island, and why the journey matters
The Lido closes the lagoon on the Adriatic side: an island eleven kilometres long, linked to Venice by water only — cars reach it by ferry. The Palazzo del Cinema is on the seafront, along the Lungomare Marconi.
The journey matters because the whole stay is set by the water: the arrival from the airport, each crossing to a screening, each return after a dinner in Venice. A screening missed for want of a boat cannot be made up.
By air: Venice Marco Polo
Marco Polo is Venice's airport, on the mainland, around eight kilometres north of the city. Its runway of around three thousand three hundred metres receives all types of aircraft, and its general aviation terminal handles private flights, with lounges and ground handling.
The Lido also has a small aerodrome, the Nicelli, whose grass runway receives only small aircraft and helicopters. For a jet, Marco Polo remains the gateway; the boat takes over at the foot of the airport.
By water taxi
The boat dock is linked to the Marco Polo terminal by a covered walkway, around ten minutes on foot. The water taxi waits there, and reaches the Lido in thirty to forty minutes depending on the state of the lagoon, up to the hotel's landing stage when it has one.
During the stay, we can keep a boat with a skipper at your disposal: it waits at the landing stage, takes you to the Lido for a screening, then to Venice for dinner, and brings you back at the hour that suits you. It is quoted individually, by the day or by the journey.
By vaporetto
The vaporetto, Venice's public boat, links the city to the Lido Santa Maria Elisabetta stop in around fifteen minutes; the Alilaguna Blu line also links the airport to the Lido, in around an hour and twenty minutes. It is simple and regular, but the boats are crowded at screening times.
From the Santa Maria Elisabetta stop, the Palazzo del Cinema is at the other end of the island, on the sea side: we then plan a car for the last part of the journey.
| Mode | For whom | Good to know |
|---|---|---|
| Private jet via Venice Marco Polo | All types of aircraft | General aviation terminal; boat at the foot of the airport |
| Water taxi from Marco Polo | Arrival and departure | Thirty to forty minutes to the Lido, depending on the lagoon |
| Boat with a skipper at your disposal | Going from screenings to dinners | Waits at the landing stage; on a quote, by the day |
| Vaporetto from Venice | Simple journeys, by day | Around fifteen minutes; boats crowded at screening times |
| Alilaguna Blu line | From the airport, with no time constraint | Around an hour and twenty minutes to the Lido |
| Helicopter to the Lido aerodrome | A quick connection | Grass runway; permits and weather to be checked |
On the evening of a screening
The rule is simple: leave early, with an itinerary that knows the time of the screening, the landing stage closest to the theatre and the length of the crossing. The boat drops you off, waits or returns at the agreed hour, and brings you back to Venice or to your hotel on the Lido — even very late.
When the lagoon turns choppy, timings slip: we allow a margin, and a fallback by vaporetto or by road across the Lido.
What we arrange
A single itinerary, from the flight to the last boat: the arrival at Marco Polo, the water taxi to the landing stage, the boat with a skipper for the stay, a car on the Lido when needed, and a margin on the evening of each screening. Everything is quoted individually, with timings set to your programme. Our Venice Film Festival VIP page composes the whole stay.
Frequently asked questions
Venice Marco Polo, on the mainland, around eight kilometres north of the city: it receives all types of aircraft and has a general aviation terminal. The boat takes over at the foot of the airport.
Thirty to forty minutes by water taxi, depending on the state of the lagoon; around an hour and twenty minutes on the Alilaguna Blu line.
The Lido has a small aerodrome, the Nicelli, whose grass runway receives only small aircraft and helicopters. For a jet, Marco Polo is the obvious choice.
By vaporetto, in around fifteen minutes to the Lido Santa Maria Elisabetta stop, or by water taxi, directly to the landing stage. The Palazzo del Cinema is then at the other end of the island, on the sea side.
That is what we advise if you are staying in Venice: a boat with a skipper waits at the landing stage, takes you to each screening and brings you back at any hour. It is quoted individually, by the day.
Cars reach the Lido by ferry from the mainland, but a car is only useful on the island itself. We prefer to arrange a chauffeur on the Lido for the last part of the journeys.
Take it further
Your itinerary, from the flight to the last boat
Tell us where you are leaving from, on which aircraft and how many guests: we compose the journeys of the stay — flight, water taxi, boat with a skipper, car on the Lido — on a quote and subject to availability.