Getting Around Venice with Luggage

Tips for Getting Around Venice with Luggage

With its rich history, beautiful architecture, and incredible design, Venice is a wonderful city to visit. To help reduce stress on your trip, it’s important to be mindful of your possessions. Even if you’re an experienced traveler with full confidence about handling your luggage, this Venice-specific guide will give you some indispensable advice on getting around Venice with Luggage.

How to Pack

Above all, for Italy travel in general, plan to pack light. If you have everything but your bed and refrigerator in your suitcase, you need to cut back. We recommend one carry-on size suitcase, and one backpack. Having too much in your luggage is a mistake for any travel experience, but it can ruin a Venice trip. You’ll get cramped quickly, especially if you’re using public transportation. You don’t want to be the person with three suitcases taking up all the space on the vaporetto. And if you are taking a private water taxi, there are high fees for excess baggage, and it is very difficult to hoist large bags onto the docks from the boats. Bring reasonably sized luggage bags and only bring what is absolutely necessary. The less you have to keep track of, the more relaxed you’re going to be on your trip. If your hotel or holiday apartment in Venice does not have laundry services or facilities available, you can easily request help from a Local on the Prontopia app with taking your laundry to a wash and fold nearby that can likely return your laundry within 1 day, and costs very little.

Prepare to Walk

Venice has only one main road from the train station and Piazzale Roma, the Strada Nuova, and otherwise is composed of winding small side streets and canalside promenades, or “campos” (the Venetian word for piazza). The Venetian canals act as roads would, but you’re still likely going to have to do some walking to get to your hotel that will involve crossing bridges, climbing stairs, and navigating crowds or confusing directions. When traversing the various bridges and staircases of the city, you want to make sure you have luggage that will be easy to wield. A rolling suitcase might be fine for the airport, but it can be awkward to wield on a crowded bridge, up and down a suitcase, or when getting on and off a water taxi. The best luggage for traveling in Venice is the kind that can be easily kept on your person and won’t get in the way of others. Consider a spacious backpack or satchel and be mindful of those around you.

Luggage Storage in Venice

Let’s suppose you’ve just arrived to Venice. You take a look at your luggage and you realize what a mistake you’ve made. There’s no way you can haul this around the city! Or perhaps you cannot check in to your Airbnb or hotel until the afternoon and have arrived to Venice in the morning. In this case, there are luggage storage facilities available to help keep your luggage safe while you explore the city.

If disembarking at the Santa Lucia Railway station, you can keep your luggage at their Desposito Bagagli (open from 6 am to 11 pm), located near Binario 1. While useful, this service is incredibly popular and can have lines. A more economical choice can be using the luggage storage provided by Keep Calm Point (open from 9 am to 7 pm), a local shop adjacent to the station. To find the Keep Calm Point, when you exit the station, go to your left once you get down the stairs. On the corner, you will see a souvenir shop with a sign for luggage storage. There is also a Venice luggage storage site in the city center near Piazza San Marco, the Deposito Bagagli Venezia site in Castello. Prices range from 5-10 euros per bag for a day rate for all options.

Porter Service Venice

When you exit the train station in Venice, you will likely be approached by a luggage porter with an orange vest and a luggage cart asking if you need help. Porter services in Venice are expensive and can be complicated to use as you must make a cash deal with the porter. Porters can be arranged at the train station or Piazzale Roma or requested via phone. The price can very substantially, so, it’s best to not get one unless you absolutely have to. If you request a Prontopia Local to assist you on arriving with getting where you need to go, and you have a large amount of heavy luggage, the Prontopia Local can help you to arrange for official, vetted luggage transport to your hotel or holiday rental at the standardized price, and then help you to get where you need to go hassle free.

The best way to handle getting around Venice with luggage is to pack light, be vigilant about your safety and the safety of your belongings, and have a plan for getting where you need to go, or for getting help from official trusted sources if you need it.

For an easy and stress-free arrival to Venice, use the Prontopia app to schedule a friendly Local to meet you and help you and your things get where you need to go. Using this simple service will add so much value to your arrival–transforming your travel day into a trip day with a chance to meet a helpful local upon immediate arrival! Or request on demand if you find you have the need on the go in the city.