Venice on a budget
Venice expensive? Well then you don’t know these kneelers yet! Since Venice is so close to Slovenia, we couldn’t skip this place during our road trip. Still, we were not really excited beforehand. Everywhere we read negative stories about the city, especially that it would be terribly crowded and, above all, enormously expensive!
But the gondolas, charming streets, historic buildings and countless bridges won us over. Surely we wanted to see this with our own eyes. So we decided – despite our mini budget of 60 euros per day – to visit Venice by motorhome. Our verdict: Venice on a budget is definitely possible!
- To do
- Hotspots
- Travel time
- Budget
- Practical information
- The nicest accommodations
- How do I get there?
- Our opinion
What to do in Venice
Wandering the streets of Venice and occasionally plopping down on the terrace, that’s actually what we mostly did and it was really lovely! Although we walked fleetingly past the familiar spots, we indeed soon went screaming mad with crowds. So we decided to spend a lot of time mainly in the neighborhoods of Cannaregio, Santa Croce and Castello.
In these neighborhoods you can still find numerous nice Italian joints where you can sit for a great price. Oh and you certainly won’t be short of beautiful bridges and historic buildings either. After an hour of walking through the San Marco district (most popular part), we found it much more enjoyable to spend our time in the lesser-known parts of Venice. Of course, the city remains very touristy, but we really liked the city immensely and are glad we added this place to our itinerary.
Other tips
- Explore the city with a tour of Venice Free Walking Tour
- Visit Santa Pantalon Church absolutely free and for nought!
- Discover the Jewish quarter of Cannaregio
- Visit the island of Burano and/or Murano
- Enjoy great views of the city at the Fondaco dei Tedeschi viewpoint
- If you find a gondola too expensive, you can also take the ferry/Traghetto for only 2 euros.
- Of course, do not miss the real attractions such as Basilica San Marco, San Marco Square, Rialto Bridge, Grand Canal, The Doge’s Palace and the Bridge of Sighs.
Hotspots & food in
Best time to travel to Venice
You can visit all year round, but the city is at its best in warm weather. Try to avoid the high season because of the crowds. The best travel time is from May to June and September to October.
Transportation in Venice
Cars are not allowed in the downtown area. Once you get there you do everything on foot or you take the boat. We went to town by bus ourselves and otherwise did everything else on foot. It was quite a hike, but perfectly doable. By the way, public transportation is top notch. In Venice, most people take the water bus, called the Vaporetto. This is the city’s public transportation system.
Which budget do i need in Venice?
- Camping Venezia for only 20 euros per night with ACSI
- Wine/beer: 2- 3 euros (outside tourist spots)
- Lunch: 10 – 15 euros per person
- Dinner: 25 – 35 euros
- Activities: you can buy a pass for 18 euros where you can visit different buildings. Unfortunately, this was not an option for us because we had the dog with us.
- Bus: 2 euros per person
On average, we spent about 50-60 euros. We had gotten some sandwiches beforehand and brought quite a bit of water. Still, we had drinks in several places around town and even ate a simple pizza.
Practical information about Venice
- Put on good shoes, because you will be doing a tremendous amount of hiking!
- Try to visit Venice off-season.
- Especially avoid the well-known spots, such as the Grand Canal, St. Mark’s Square and the Rialto Bridge. Nice to have seen for a while, but especially the lesser-known neighborhoods of Venice are fun to visit.
- For the nicest camping spot, we always use the app Park4night & camper contact
- Receive discounts on campsites in the early or late season with ACSI discount card.
- Is your faithful four-legged friend going on vacation with you. Then make sure you have the proper vaccinations, Chip and deworming pills.
- In addition, it is mandatory to carry a muzzle in public places and some dog breeds are not allowed.
- The same obligations apply in the car as in the Netherlands. So bring safety jacket and warning triangle!
- In Italy, many stores, restaurants and supermarkets are often closed at noon. Something we forgot almost every day.
Budget tips for Venice:
- Book an overnight stay outside downtown and catch the bus into town for just 2 euros
- Bring drinks and snacks and have a picnic in a quiet place
- Especially avoid the restaurants and cafes around the city’s tourist spots.
- So do you still want to grab some food or a drink? Then do so in the Cannaregio, Santa Croce or Castello districts.
What are nice places to stay in Venice?
Campsites in Venice
Since we were with the camper we spent 2 nights at camping Venezia and this was really perfect. From the campground it is only 10 minutes by bus. With the ACSI discount card, camping costs only 20 euros per night. You quickly recouped the cost of the discount card.
Click here for a list of campsites in Venice >>.
Hotels in Venice
If you prefer not to camp, you also have incredibly nice accommodations in the city.
How to get to Venice?
By car, it is about a 14-hour drive to Venice. If you are only going for a weekend then we especially recommend flying. With Ryanair, you can regularly find competitively priced tickets to the city in the off-season.
If you have a little longer, you can also take a road trip and combine visits with Tuscany or South Tyrol.
