Ferries from Venice

Three different things get called the port of Venice, and none of them is the vaporetto. There is the cruise terminal, now governed by a size limit that redrew where large ships can go; there are the seasonal fast catamarans across the Adriatic to Istria; and there is the industrial port at Marghera. A visitor arriving by boat can end up at any of them.

⚠ Since 2021, big ships cannot reach the historic city

From 1 August 2021, Italy banned ships over 25,000 gross tons from the Giudecca Canal — the waterway that leads to the Marittima and San Basilio terminals. The same rules block vessels longer than 180 metres, taller than 35 metres, or burning fuel above 0.1% sulphur.

Those ships now use Porto Marghera on the mainland instead, on a route that keeps them well away from the historic centre. UNESCO had been pressing for the change since 2014. The practical effect for a passenger is that "arriving in Venice by ship" can mean arriving in an industrial port with a transfer ahead of you.

The Adriatic catamarans

Venice is connected to the Istrian coast by fast passenger craft: Rovinj at about 3 h 45 m, Pula around 3 h 30 m, and Poreč and Umag at roughly 2 h 45 m, operated by Venezia Lines. A long-haul link to Igoumenitsa in Greece also appears in the network.

Our timetable currently holds no sailings on any of them. These are seasonal services, typically running from late spring to early autumn, and the dates move year to year — check with the operator rather than assuming the absence here means the absence of a boat.

The vaporetto is a different system entirely

The city's own water buses are urban public transport run by ACTV, with dozens of stops along the Grand Canal and the lagoon. They are not ferries in the sense this site uses the word, they do not carry vehicles, and they do not connect Venice to anywhere outside the lagoon.

If what you need is to move around Venice rather than to reach it, that is the network you want, and it is priced and timetabled as city transport.

Getting between the pieces

Marittima and San Basilio are on the western edge of the historic city, walkable to Piazzale Roma and connected by the People Mover. Marghera is on the mainland and requires a bus or coach transfer.

Piazzale Roma is the point where road transport stops and water transport starts — no cars go further, which is the single fact that governs every arrival in this city.

Season

The Istria catamarans are a summer product and vanish entirely in winter. Cruise calls run over a longer season but under the size rules above. Nothing here operates as a year-round vehicle ferry, which distinguishes Venice from every other major Italian port in this guide.