Can you spot the Venice Connected kiosk?

When visiting Venice one can pre-book a number of services online with Venice Connected. When it works it must be fantastic. When there are problems no help is available. And a number of people have reported problems.

People have complained that the Venice Connected system is hard to understand. That is the least of your troubles. Here’s why…

The dates mean different things
Different tickets work differently. The date you request for a three-day vaporetto (water bus) pass is the earliest date that you can collect it. The three-day period only starts on the first day that you use the pass. So if you collect it on a Friday and first use it on a Saturday, it will be good for travel up to and including Monday.

If, however, you purchase a public toilet pass then the date you specify is the only date on which it can be used. If your voucher says the 21st then it must be collected and used on the 21st. If you wish to buy tickets for two days then you will have to specify each date separately. And you will have to collect the ticket each day. And that means going to one of the four points at which they can be collected.

This is so much bother that it is not worthwhile unless you anticipate severe gastric disturbance during your stay. An alternative is to buy a seven day toilet pass, which will give you a bunch of tickets. Oddly enough the seven day pass (10 tickets) are not linked to a specific day, so if you have a need to use the toilet facilities ten times in a day you could go wild and use lots of restrooms. If you can find them.

Problem: Four collection points, none within the city
There are four collection points at which Venice Connected vouchers can be exchanged for tickets and passes. These are ONLY at the points of entry to Venice: the railway station, the bus terminal, Tronchetto terminal and at the Marco Polo Airport.

At Marco Polo airport the Venice Connected office (which is the Hello Venezia desk) is poorly signposted and even the ACTV desk did not know about it. When we found it, it was unmanned despite there being two hours before its official closing time. Nobody else could help us, and the vending machine was out of order, so we could not even pick up our vaporetto tickets.

The map on the Venice Connected web site is pretty useless in helping to find the HelloVenezia/Venice Connected desk. As you can see below, it indicates that the desk is in the middle of the road. (This is at maximum size.)

Vaporetto vouchers can be redeemed at ticket machines, but only those that display the Venice Connected logo. If you are not staying at one of the main islands then you may be out of luck – on Murano we did not find a suitable machine, which meant that we had to pay 7 Euros each to get to the main City centre, then hunt around for a suitable machine.

Problem: No telephone support
The only telephone number we could locate was for the Hello Venezia service, and it was entirely a voice-prompt system. Venice Connected do not have a phone number available, which is a huge disadvantage to any visitors who do not have Internet access during their stay.

When we complained on our return home, their response was to send us a flood of (not very relevant) links to their web site.

Problem: Tourist office uninformed about Venice Connected
The centrally located tourist office just off St. Mark’s (at the opposite end from the cathedral) were unable to direct us to any Venice Connected kiosk anywhere in the city. They did not know where they are. And they also did not know where we could obtain our vaporetto tickets. However, when we asked for the closest vaporetto station, we found a machine there that did indeed give us our tickets. But only the vaporetto tickets.

Problem: Queue in order to avoid the queue?
You can also collect your museum pass at participating museums. That sounds handy, until you realise that it means standing in the long queue for tickets at the museum in order to exchange the voucher for tickets. The reason that this is a problem is because one of the main motivations for buying the pass is to avoid the long ticket queues in the first place! So, if they do not feel like manning the kiosk at the airport, or sneak off somewhere for a smoke or a cup of coffee during duty hours then you end up the worse off

In summary, Venice Connected is seemingly unknown to the tourist authorities, you can’t phone them, and you need to print out their entire web site, including pages not accessible from the main menu, in order to use their service. If they are open at the times they indicate, and if the machine at your point of entry is working. Good luck with that.

Their problem, your inconvenience
Even though Venice Connected were responsible for our not being able to collect our tickets on arrival, they declined to refund the extra journey expense that we incurred. We never managed to obtain our toilet tickets, since it takes so long to get back to the airport that we decided not to waste a morning doing so, having already spent half a day getting our vaporetto tickets.

Alilaguna office
The Alilaguna office seemed resigned to the ticket issuing not working at Marco Polo airport – when we submitted our voucher, they just signed it manually.

Conclusion
Venice Connected is a brilliant idea but too complicated, offers unacceptably horrible levels of service and once they have your money they cease caring about you. Our advice:

1. Do not use Venice Connected
2. Buy a three-day vaporetto pass at Marco Polo airport
3. Buy the Alilaguna ticket at the waterside office at the airport
4. Find an out-of-the-way museum to buy a museum pass
5. Pay to use a public toilet if you can find one when you need it

Ciao!

With the cost of  an exotic vacation now having become deadly expensive, staycations, where one remains either in your home town, or in your country, are becoming popular.  They need not be dull.  I guess that the old-fashioned term for this is “day trips”.  You have all the comforts of your own home, and you get to sleep in your own bed at night.

A nice house for a staycation
[Dr James Merriman House in Hilliard, Ohio, picture by Wdzinc, 10 July 2011]

The first advantage for stay-cations is that you are already at your destination!  No crowded terminals, long uncomfortable flights, or unfamiliar languages.  Since getting there and back accounts for most of the stress and a huge proportion of the costs, holidaying near home can be more relaxing, as well as cheap.  And you do not lose a day or two in travel at the start and at the end of your break.

Many people find it key to achieve the following before time off can be regarded as a vacation:

• Break the tyranny of chores
• Break from one’s regular routine
• See new sights
• Eat in new places
• Do new and interesting things

Factors that can spoil any sort of holiday

• Being unemployed (you do not have income)
• A threat of unemployment (you are scared of losing your income)
• Family debts (you already spent your money)
• The price of fuel
• The cost of transport

The common thread between all of these is a lack of funds, for whatever reason.  The good news is that one can usually still have a vacation on the cheap.

If you need a successful vacation at little or no cost then instead of money, you need to invest your time in doing some research and planning.  A number of people find this to be an enjoyable part of the break, and it can mean good quality time together for couples or families.

Though research is necessary, it need not be tedious.  There are very few places that are unremittingly dull.  If you live in such a place, and your research does not turn up anything fresh and new, then you will be left with no choice but to travel, unless of course you enjoy a very quiet holiday.  With stress in the workplace as high as it is, quiet relaxation is attractive to many more people.

Things to do, places to see

All too often you will find that the places in your home town that you would like to see are open and uncrowded when you are at work, so if you time your holiday at home correctly you will be able to take your time about seeing the sights, instead of feeling rushed.

The activities that you could indulge in depend on what is available locally at the particular time of year that you take your time off.  Local newspapers often print schedules of events.  A visit to your local visitor’s Information Centre may reveal things that you never knew were on the go.  Museums, galleries and other attractions may have special shows or events planned, particularly around the holiday seasons.

A number of hotels keep their event centres busy with shows or interesting activities.  Tasting various types of alcohol or alcohol/ food combinations is a perennial favourite.

If your town is host to a brewery you may find that there are organised tours, that culminate in sampling their wares.

You might want to try restaurants in a different part of town from where you normally eat, or a restaurant specialising in different cuisine.

Avoiding the traps

Chores, routines and the invasion of work can spoil ones stay-at-home holiday.  If you leave things to their own devices then it is almost an inevitability.  Planning is needed.

As far as chores go you have basically three options: leave them until after your break, schedule a specific and limited time slot each day, or swap around duties with another family member.  If you are saving enough money from staying at home then maybe you can get paid help.

To prevent your regular routines from taking hold, you need to plan temporary new routines while you are off work.  While you will not find it relaxing to run your schedule like a railway timetable, if you block out your day differently you may find it more pleasurable.  For instance, your bedtime may normally be constrained by the time you need to get to work.  When you are off duty perhaps your personal inclination is to go to bed later and get up at a corresponding time.  Or you would like to get up really early some days and watch the sun rise.

The ugly intrusion of work can be a problem.  While it may take a bit of acclimatisation, a lot of  people find that they do not truly relax until they drop off the network.  Some ideas for this include putting you mobile phone off, except for specific times each day.  Keep your Internet use to a minimum, so that you do not spend your time tracking events or data trends, your Facebook page, or Tweets.  The more you can reduce the number of things that you have to track mentally, the better able you will be to relax.

Have fun!

[*] The actual country of Romania has wonderful, unspoiled scenery and heaps of historical places and is worth a visit.  But that probably would not be a cheap holiday unless you already live there.

You will never see everything you wish to on your first visit, unless you are a student and taking a ‘fashionable’ gap year.  With that in mind, we have the following suggestions of must-sees that are either free or fairly cheap:

• London Eye.  Take a 30 minute trip and enjoy the 360 views..  Between GBP17 and GBP25, depending on whether you book them online or once there.  Online is cheaper.  London Eye Info and tickets online.
• Oxford Street is the perfect place for a morning stroll.  You will find a few ‘cheaper’ curio shops in amongst the high flyers in the retail industry.
• View the changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace.  More information on changing of the guard.
• The British Museum.  This one is free and has such a lot to see.  You will still not see everything, so get a catalogue and opt for what you are most interested in.  British Museum website
• Tower of London.  Tickets can be booked online.  Please note that not all the museums inside are included in the price.  The queue to see the crown jewels can be quite long.  They have a rolling film of the Queens coronation to keep your mind off the paid-for wait.  The White Palace is included and a definite see for the history-lover.  Tower of London website

On Arrival

Overseas visitors can expect an in-depth questioning as to your reasons for coming.  Make sure you have back-up documentation on you, should it be required.  Accommodation, proof of funds and so forth.

The tube trip from Heathrow into central London is approximately 45 minutes.  The tube system is phenomenal in terms of on-time service and user friendly signage.

Getting Around

If you are arriving in peak time, our warning is to stand at least a meter back from the yellow lines when waiting for the tubes.  This is for your own safety and peace of mind, as the Londoners jostle each other to get on board.

General London Transport

London Tube

Maps

Buy a travel card for zone 1 and 2 before you leave your own country.  It will be of use.  Heathrow falls outside of these zones and you will need to buy a one-way from there to the centre of London as well.

One of the ‘cheap and cheerful’ ways of seeing London, is using your travel card to take busses within the specified zones.  Of course, there will be no running commentary on board, but you will see all you need too, in your own time.

Within easy travelling distance (overland train services) are Hampton Court Palace (birthplace of Henry VIII), Stratford-Upon-Avon, Windsor Castle and Kensington Palace to name a few.