ACTV and Venezia Unica: review of the official channels for the vaporetto and city services

In Venice public transport has a single operator: ACTV. And most of the city’s official tickets, from the vaporetto to the Civic Museums, go through a single portal: Venezia Unica. We review the two together because they belong to the same public group, and because for a traveller there is really one question: where do I buy the vaporetto, how much do I pay, and what happens if something goes wrong.

Disclosure. We have no commercial relationship with ACTV, AVM or Venezia Unica. We earn a commission only on bookings made through our links to Tiqets and GetYourGuide, at no extra cost to you. Prices were read on the official websites in September and can change.

Who ACTV, AVM and Venezia Unica are

ACTV S.p.A. is the company that runs the vaporetti, motorboats, buses and trams across the Comune di Venezia; it was set up in 1978 and today reports around 160 vessels and more than 190 million passengers a year. It belongs to AVM S.p.A., the mobility holding company wholly owned by the City. The same group includes Vela S.p.A. (88.86% AVM, 11.14% City of Venice), which runs the sales network, the Venezia Unica portal, the Carnival and the Regata Storica. The e-commerce platform was built by Venis, the City’s IT company.

Venezia Unica sells far more than transport: ACTV and Alilaguna tickets, the Civic Museums, the Chorus churches, the Jewish Museum, the Fondazione Querini Stampalia, La Fenice performances and tours, municipal car parks, bike sharing and public toilets. Vela also manages the access fee, although that is paid on a separate portal, cda.ve.it. We found no evidence that Venezia Unica sells private water taxis.

Fares for visitors

Children under 6 travel free. The €9.50 single is expensive for a short hop: with three rides in one day, the 24-hour pass already pays off. To choose a pass for your itinerary, with the lines to take for Murano, Burano and the Lido, see our ACTV vaporetto guide.

Where to buy tickets

You have five routes: the official AVM Venezia app (registration required), the ticket machines at the main landing stages, the Venezia Unica offices (Piazzale Roma, Tronchetto, Lido Santa Maria Elisabetta, Rialto line 1, Burano, Mestre and others), authorised shops, and the veneziaunica.it website. Whatever the channel, the ticket must be validated at every boarding and every change by holding it to the reader on the landing stage: an unvalidated pass counts as no ticket at an inspection.

Lines 16 and 19, the Casinò line and all Alilaguna lines are excluded from standard tickets and passes. One detail to note: some ACTV lines, such as line 13 and part of line 5.1/5.2, are run with Alilaguna boats but require ACTV tickets. The luggage rules are clear: 3 pieces free per person, each up to 150 cm in total dimensions.

Cancellations, refunds and validity

Passes start from the first validation, not from purchase: you can buy them before you travel and start using them on the day you choose. On the official pages we could access we found no clear rule on refunding unused tickets: treat ACTV tickets as non-refundable and buy a pass only when your dates are certain.

Languages and support

For transport the contact point is the DIME call centre, 041 041, open daily from 8:00 to 18:00. The ACTV and AVM websites are in Italian and English. Venezia Unica does not publish a dedicated phone number on the group pages we could consult.

What we like

• One network: a single pass covers the Grand Canal, the islands, the Lido, Mestre’s buses and the People Mover.
• The 24-hour pass includes regional trains within the municipality, handy if you are staying in Mestre.
• Rolling Venice: for ages 6 to 29, 72 hours for €27 is the best price in town.
• Plenty of sales channels, including an official app.

What to watch out for

• The €9.50 single hurts if you only make a few trips; think about how much you will walk.
• Crowding on line 1 between Ferrovia and San Marco, especially mid-morning and late afternoon, according to travellers’ reports.
• The airport is a separate matter: neither the Aerobus nor Alilaguna is included in the pass.
• Venezia Unica support: public reviews of the portal, few in number but largely negative, complain of unanswered emails and refused refunds. Always keep your receipt and booking code.
• Strikes do happen, with guaranteed minimum services; check ACTV notices before an important transfer.

Official or reseller?

On Tiqets the ACTV pass starts at €12, with options from 75 minutes to 7 days, and is non-refundable. The starting price is higher than the official €9.50 single: compare the option you need with ACTV’s fares before buying. The platform’s advantage is practical, not financial: you pay in advance in your own language, with Tiqets support, without registering on the AVM app. Venicelink, part of the Alilaguna group, also resells ACTV tickets: see our Alilaguna review. For the airport, the direct bus on Tiqets costs €12, the same as ATVO’s price.

Who it’s for

The official app and machines are the obvious choice for almost everyone: the lowest price and no middleman. The Tiqets pass makes sense if you want to arrive with everything paid and English-language support. Anyone under 30 should start from Rolling Venice. For an overview of every way to get around, see our Venice transport page, and to combine transport and museums, our page on passes.

Verdict

ACTV offers a dense network and simple passes, at prices set by the City and identical across all official channels. The single is expensive, line 1 is crowded and Venezia Unica’s support does not have a good reputation, but no reseller offers a cheaper alternative: buy from the AVM Venezia app or the machines, always validate, and choose your pass by the number of full days you will spend in the city.