Venice looks like a dream on Instagram. Gondolas gliding through canals, colorful buildings reflected in rippling water, charming bridges at every turn. But show up unprepared and this floating city can drain your wallet faster than you can say “Rialto Bridge.”
I’m not here to scare you off. Venice deserves every bit of hype it gets. But there’s a gap between what travel guides show you and what actually happens when you’re standing in Piazza San Marco at noon in July, sweating through your shirt while fighting for space with ten thousand other tourists.
Here’s what I wish someone had told me before my first trip. These mistakes can turn a magical experience into an expensive headache, but they’re all easy to sidestep once you know what’s coming.
Things to Avoid in Venice
Venice operates by its own set of rules, and tourists who don’t know them end up paying the price. Let’s get into what you should skip so you can spend more time enjoying this beautiful city.
1. Eating Near Major Tourist Spots
That restaurant with the perfect view of St. Mark’s Basilica? It’s probably charging you three times what your meal is actually worth. Tourist trap restaurants cluster around major attractions like pigeons around breadcrumbs, and they’re counting on you being too tired or hungry to walk ten minutes for better food.
I learned this the hard way on my first night. Sat down at a place right off Piazza San Marco, ordered what looked like a simple pasta dish. When the bill came, I nearly choked. €28 for basic spaghetti alle vongole that tasted like it came from a jar. The house wine was another €12 for a tiny carafe. Total damage for two people? Over €80 for a mediocre meal we could barely finish.
The locals don’t eat in these places. They’re eating in the neighborhoods away from the main drags, where rent is cheaper and restaurants actually have to compete on quality. Head to areas like Cannaregio or Castello. You’ll find family-run trattorias serving fresh seafood and handmade pasta for half the price. Look for places where the menu isn’t printed in eight languages and you’ll be fine.
Watch out for restaurants with someone outside trying to pull you in. That’s never a good sign. Real quality spots don’t need aggressive touts. They’re full because the food speaks for itself.
2. Taking Water Taxis From the Airport
Step off your plane at Marco Polo Airport and you’ll see signs for water taxis. They look sleek and romantic, especially after a long flight when you just want to collapse at your hotel. But hold on. That romantic ride will cost you €110 to €150 depending on where you’re going.
For context, the Alilaguna water bus costs €15 per person and gets you to the same places. Sure, it takes longer. Yes, you might need to walk a bit from the dock to your hotel. But you’re saving enough money for a nice dinner or museum tickets. The water taxi is fast and direct, which matters if you’re traveling with small kids or have mobility issues. For everyone else? It’s an unnecessary splurge.
I’ve taken both. The water taxi feels special for about five minutes, then you’re just sitting there watching the same scenery go by, thinking about all the pasta you could have bought with that money. The Alilaguna boats are comfortable enough. They’re not luxurious, but they get the job done and you’re still cruising through Venice’s lagoon, which is pretty spectacular no matter what boat you’re on.
If you’re really watching your budget, take the bus to Piazzale Roma for €8. From there you can walk or catch a vaporetto to your hotel. Your back might hate you if you have heavy luggage, but your bank account will thank you.
3. Buying Bottled Water at Tourist Stands
Venice has free drinking water. Clean, cold, perfectly safe drinking water flowing from public fountains scattered throughout the city. Yet tourists spend €3 to €5 on bottled water from convenience stores near the main attractions every single day.
These ornate fountains called “fontanelle” are everywhere once you start looking for them. Locals fill up their bottles constantly. The water quality in Venice is excellent, better than what you get in many major cities. But somehow this information doesn’t make it into most guidebooks, so tourists keep buying overpriced plastic bottles they don’t need.
Bring a reusable water bottle. Fill it up whenever you pass a fountain. You’ll stay hydrated, save money, and avoid adding to Venice’s already overwhelming waste problem. Those plastic bottles pile up fast in a city with no cars and limited waste infrastructure.
The water from these fountains is the same water that comes out of taps in hotels and restaurants. It’s not sketchy. It’s not questionable. It’s municipal water that meets strict EU standards. I drank from these fountains for a week and felt completely fine. Actually felt better than usual because I was drinking more water than I normally do.
4. Visiting Only During Peak Summer Months
Everyone wants to visit Venice in July and August. The weather is hot, the days are long, and school is out. But this is also when Venice becomes almost unbearable. We’re talking 100,000+ visitors per day crushing into a city built for maybe 60,000 residents who have mostly fled to the mainland.
The heat bounces off the stone buildings and water, turning narrow streets into humid ovens. Crowds make it hard to move, let alone enjoy anything. St. Mark’s Square becomes a sweaty mob scene. The smell from the canals gets worse in summer heat. Good luck getting a decent photo of anything without strangers’ elbows in the frame.
Go in shoulder season instead. April to May and September to October offer better weather, smaller crowds, and lower prices. The city is still beautiful. Maybe more so because you can actually see it without fighting through human traffic. Hotel rates drop by 30-40% compared to peak summer. Restaurant reservations are easier to snag. You can walk into museums without hour-long waits.
I visited in late September and it was perfect. Warm enough for gelato, cool enough that walking all day didn’t feel like a punishment. The light at sunset was incredible. The crowds were manageable. We could stop on a bridge to take photos without blocking a river of tourists behind us. Even better, Venetians who had spent the summer away were back, so the city felt more alive and authentic.
Winter can be beautiful too if you don’t mind cooler temperatures and the possibility of acqua alta (high water). Fewer tourists, atmospheric fog, and you get to see Venice as something closer to what locals experience year-round.
5. Skipping the Vaporetto Pass
The vaporetto is Venice’s water bus system. Single rides cost €9.50 now, which adds up absurdly fast when you’re hopping on and off all day. But tourists keep buying single tickets because they don’t realize how much they’ll actually use these boats.
A 24-hour pass costs €25. Use the vaporetto four times and you’ve already saved money. Most people use it way more than that. These boats aren’t just for getting from point A to point B. They’re also the best way to see Venice from the water without paying for an expensive tour.
Get the pass that matches your stay. There’s a 48-hour option for €35 and a 72-hour one for €45. They’re valid from the moment you validate them, not by calendar day. So if you activate a 24-hour pass at 2pm on Monday, it works until 2pm on Tuesday. Smart timing can stretch your coverage even further.
Line 1 down the Grand Canal is basically a free cruise if you have a pass. It stops at all the major points and gives you incredible views of the palazzos lining the waterway. Line 2 is faster but still scenic. You can ride these boats as much as you want with your pass, turning transportation into sightseeing.
Buy your pass at any vaporetto stop or ACTV office. Don’t wait until you’re desperate to catch a boat because the lines can be long at major stops. Get it sorted early in your trip and you’ll move around Venice with a lot less stress.
6. Following Google Maps Blindly
Google Maps struggles in Venice. The GPS signal bounces off buildings and gets confused by the canals. It’ll tell you to turn right when there’s literally a canal in front of you. Or it’ll route you through a private courtyard that’s locked. Or it’ll send you down a dead-end alley.
Venice wasn’t built on a grid. Streets curve randomly, split unexpectedly, and sometimes just stop at a canal. What looks like a through-street on your phone might be a private passageway. Bridges aren’t always where the map suggests they should be. The whole city is basically designed to get you lost, and digital maps haven’t quite figured it out yet.
Getting lost is actually part of the Venice experience. Some of my best discoveries happened when I gave up on my phone and just wandered. Found a tiny bakery selling focaccia that was still warm. Stumbled onto a quiet square where old men were playing cards in the afternoon sun. Discovered a bookshop so small I almost walked past it.
That said, you need some navigation help. Use your phone for general direction but trust the physical signs too. Yellow signs throughout the city point toward major landmarks like San Marco, Rialto, and the train station. Follow those when you’re genuinely trying to get somewhere specific. For everything else, embrace the confusion. You’re on an island. You can’t get that lost.
Download an offline map before your trip so you’re not burning through data. But also accept that precise navigation isn’t happening here. Know the general location of your hotel and the major landmarks. The rest is just exploration.
7. Paying Tourist Prices for Gondola Rides
A gondola ride is iconic. It’s romantic. It’s also €80 for 30 minutes during the day and €100 after 7pm. That’s for up to six people, so the per-person cost drops if you’re in a group, but it’s still a serious chunk of money for half an hour of floating through canals.
Gondoliers are skilled professionals and their rates are set by the city, so haggling doesn’t work. But you can be strategic. Share a gondola with other tourists if you’re traveling solo or as a couple. Many hotels can arrange shared rides that split the cost. You still get the experience without paying the full rate.
Here’s what nobody tells you though. The traghetto crossings are mini-gondola rides that cost €2. They’re working gondolas that ferry people across the Grand Canal at points where there’s no bridge. You stand up instead of sitting, and the ride lasts maybe two minutes, but you’re on an actual gondola paddled by actual gondoliers. It’s not romantic, but it’s authentic and ridiculously cheap.
If you really want the full gondola experience, book one and enjoy it. Just go in knowing what you’re paying for. It’s a tourist activity, not transportation. The gondoliers know their stuff and will take you through quieter canals most tourists never see. Some even sing, though that might cost extra.
Avoid gondoliers who approach you aggressively or quote prices different from the official rates. Legit gondoliers have licenses and follow the pricing structure. If someone’s offering you a “special deal,” something’s probably off.
8. Bringing Rolling Suitcases on Cobblestones
Venice has no cars. No taxis. No Uber. When you arrive with your luggage, you’re carrying it yourself across countless bridges with stairs. Those cute cobblestone streets? They’re murder on rolling suitcases.
I watched a woman drag a hard-shell roller across the Rialto Bridge, the wheels catching on every stone, the whole thing banging loudly behind her. By the time she reached the top, one wheel had cracked. She still had three more days in the city and had to carry a broken suitcase everywhere she went.
Pack in a backpack or a bag you can carry comfortably. If you must bring a roller, make sure it has sturdy wheels and be prepared to lift it frequently. Better yet, pack light enough that carrying your bag isn’t a workout. You’ll be walking a lot anyway. The last thing you need is to be wrestling with luggage while trying to find your hotel.
Most hotels will store your bags after checkout if you want to explore more before heading to the airport. Take advantage of this. Drop your stuff, enjoy your last few hours without the burden, then grab your bags and go. Much better than dragging everything around all day.
If you’re staying multiple nights, consider hotels that offer porter service or are located near vaporetto stops. Hauling bags through the maze of streets is exhausting enough without making it harder on yourself.
9. Ignoring the Acqua Alta Risk
High water season runs from October through January, though it can happen other times too. The tides rise, seawater floods into the city, and suddenly you’re sloshing through ankle-deep water in Piazza San Marco. It’s not dangerous, but it’s inconvenient if you’re not prepared.
The city has a warning system. Sirens go off a few hours before flooding is expected. Different tones indicate different water levels. Hotels usually warn guests too. When you hear the sirens, that’s your cue to either stay put or grab the rubber boots every shop suddenly starts selling.
These floods are temporary. The water comes in with the high tide and recedes after a few hours. Life goes on. Locals are used to it. They’ve got their boots ready, and raised walkways get set up on major routes so people can still get around.
Pack waterproof shoes if you’re visiting during high water season. Even if there’s no official flooding, streets near the canals can get puddles and splash-back from boats. Your nice sneakers will get soaked. Those cute sandals? Ruined. Bring something you don’t mind getting wet.
Check the tide forecast when you’re planning your days. If serious flooding is predicted, adjust your schedule. Maybe that’s the day to visit museums or explore neighborhoods on higher ground. Save the low-lying areas for when the water behaves itself.
10. Disrespecting Local Living Spaces
Venice isn’t a theme park. About 50,000 people still actually live here, trying to maintain normal lives while tourists flood through their neighborhoods snapping photos of everything. It’s gotten so bad that locals have started putting up signs asking visitors to be quiet and respectful.
Don’t sit on people’s stoops eating takeout. Don’t walk around in swimwear away from the beaches. Don’t block narrow passageways while taking selfies. These sound obvious, but I’ve seen all of them happen multiple times. Residential areas are someone’s home, not your photo backdrop.
Venetians have mixed feelings about tourism. The economy depends on it, but the sheer volume of visitors is pushing locals out. Rent has skyrocketed. Regular shops have been replaced by tourist trinket stores and restaurants. The city is slowly losing its soul to Airbnb and cruise ship crowds.
You can be a better visitor. Shop at local businesses instead of chains. Eat at restaurants locals actually use. Say “buongiorno” and “grazie” instead of expecting everyone to speak English. Pick up your trash. Keep your voice down in residential areas, especially late at night. Small gestures matter when you’re one of millions passing through each year.
If you see a “no entry” sign or a private courtyard, respect it. Some passages look public but aren’t. Venetians get understandably frustrated when tourists ignore these boundaries. You wouldn’t want strangers wandering through your apartment building, so extend the same courtesy here.
Wrapping Up
Venice is going to enchant you. The light on the water, the hidden courtyards, the way the city reveals itself slowly as you wander. But it’ll also test your patience and your budget if you’re not careful.
Skip these common mistakes and you’ll have a better trip. You’ll save money, avoid frustration, and see more of the real Venice that exists beyond the postcard version. The city has plenty of magic to offer when you know how to look for it. Go prepared, stay flexible, and let Venice surprise you in all the right ways.
