Already buying an ACTV pass? The Aerobus is the airport piece
The ACTV Aerobus runs from Venice Marco Polo Airport T1 to Piazzale Roma in about 25–35 minutes, depending on traffic. It is the go-to bus for people holding 24–, 48–, or 72–hour ACTV passes that also cover vaporetti, since a TripAdvisor poster called it “great value if you’re staying a few days.”
Tickets for the ACTV airport bus cost around €10 one-way when bought separately at VCE or in Venice. You can buy from ACTV machines in T1 arrivals, some newsstands, or ACTV offices at Piazzale Roma, and that same card format will also work on city buses if your pass includes them.
Buses leave roughly every 15–20 minutes during core daytime hours, with early-morning and late-evening gaps shown on the ACTV timetable. The route runs between VCE and Piazzale Roma with intermediate stops on the mainland, which is why it can be slower than ATVO coaches on the same corridor.
The Aerobus boards outside T1 at the signed ACTV stop, usually marked “5 Aerobus” or similar, and drops you at Piazzale Roma near the main ACTV ticket office and vaporetto piers. From there, it is a two- to five-minute walk to most Grand Canal vaporetto lines and the people mover to Tronchetto.
Regulars often default to ATVO for a straighter, slightly faster run, then switch to ACTV Aerobus on trips when they are already buying a 48– or 72–hour ACTV travel card. One frequent comment on forums: combining the Aerobus with that multi-day pass saves a few euros over separate airport-plus-boat tickets.
Watch out for the small print on passes: not every ACTV ticket or time-based pass includes the airport bus, and many visitors only realize this when a driver or inspector asks for an extra airport supplement. If the pass product name does not mention “aeroporto” or list line 5/Aerobus explicitly, budget roughly €10 extra per direction.
Crowding is common on peak departures, especially around flights landing between 10:00 and 14:00 and early evenings, and people report standing with luggage for much of the 25–35 minute run. If you land in that window with large bags, build a 30-minute buffer and aim for the bus queue as soon as you exit customs.
Quick tip: at T1, use the ticket machine before walking to the curb so you can skip the kiosk line and head straight to the Aerobus stop when a bus pulls up.