Day trips from Venice: train, bus or tour, what each costs and how long it takes

💡 The Short Version: Padua is the quickest trip: 26 to 28 minutes by fast train from €5.00. Treviso is 31 minutes, Vicenza 44 and Verona 1 hour 12 minutes by Frecciarossa. Murano, Burano and Torcello are one boat line from Fondamente Nove and a €25 day pass. The Dolomites, the Prosecco hills and Lake Garda are tours or a car: no train reaches the mountains, and the Garda ferries start at Peschiera del Garda. Florence is 2 hours 13 minutes by Frecciarossa, Bologna 1 hour 33 and Milan 2 hours 29. Trenitalia changes its timetable in December. Or book a tour: the Dolomites, Lake Braies and Tre Cime dayad is from €98.45 for 9 hours, Verona, Sirmione and Lake Gardaad from €112.50 for 10, and the Prosecco hills in a small groupad from €151.20 for 6. A tour reaches the places no train does (GetYourGuide).

The day trips compared

Train fares are Trenitalia’s “from” fares for a second-class single from Venezia Santa Lucia, doubled for the return; the Trenitalia app shows the exact fare for your date. Tour prices are GetYourGuide’s lowest “from” prices for one adult.

A Trenitalia regional train at Venezia Santa Lucia. Photo: Maksym Kozlenko, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.

When a tour is worth it

A tour earns its price where there is no train, or where the day has several stops.

• The Dolomites. No train runs to the mountains. Dolomiti, Lake Braies and Tre Cime di Lavaredoad is from €98.45 for 9 hours in a van of up to 8 people; Dolomites Day Trip with Cortina and 2 Lakesad is €159 for 9 hours. The Dolomites guide compares them with the coach.
• The Prosecco hills. Two wineries, tastings and a light lunch in the small-group tourad at €151.20 for 6 hours, or from €126.65 for a winery tasting and the town of Asoload. The train takes you to Conegliano, not into the vineyards.
• Verona with Lake Garda. Verona, Sirmione & Lake Garda with Boat Cruisead is from €112.50 for 10 hours, leaving from Mestre, with a guide for the walk round Verona and a private boat cruise round the Sirmione peninsula. Entry tickets and lunch are extra. The same two stops by train are a Frecciarossa, a ferry and your own timetable.
• The Brenta Riviera. The villa boat is €147ad, the operator’s own price.
• The lagoon islands. A boat tourad is €18 to €25, about what a 24-hour pass costs, so you are paying for the guide and a glassworks stop, not saving money.

Not worth a tour: Padua, Treviso, Vicenza, Florence, Bologna and Milan, where the train is the trip.

The trips with their own guides

Murano, Burano and Torcello

ACTV line 12 · Murano 9 minutes, Burano about 41 · 24-hour pass €25 · tour from €18

The three islands are one boat line from Fondamente Nove, with Torcello a five-minute shuttle from Burano. The island guide has the boat times, the museum prices, the Torcello rule and the tours, and a section on the Lido.

Padua

Fast regional 27 to 28 minutes · from €5.00 each way · Scrovegni Chapel €16

Giotto’s frescoed chapel, part of Padua’s fourteenth-century fresco cycles on the UNESCO list since 2021. The chapel is a timed slot, booked online by the day before. The Padua guide has the trains and the rules at the door.

Verona

Frecciarossa 1 hour 12 minutes · from €29.00 each way · Arena €12 · opera season from June to 11 September 2027

The Roman Arena, Juliet’s House and a city on the UNESCO list since 2000. The Verona guide has the trains, the Arena by day and at night, and the VeronaCard.

The surviving outer wall of the Verona Arena. Photo: Adert, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.

The Dolomites

No train · tours from €98.45 · ATVO line 29 on listed days

The mountains are about two hours by road. The Dolomites guide sets the tours against the Cortina coach.

Lake Braies in the Dolomites. Photo: kallerna, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.

The Prosecco hills

Train to Conegliano 50 to 67 minutes · from €6.60 each way · tours from €126.65

Terraced hills on the UNESCO list since 2019. The Prosecco guide covers the train and bus and the tastings.

Vineyards in the Prosecco hills near Collagù. Photo: Patafisik, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Other trips

Lake Garda

Frecciarossa 1 hour 28 minutes to Peschiera del Garda · from €29.00 each way · ferry to Sirmione €11.50 · tour from €112.50

The Frecciarossa that serves Verona carries on to Peschiera del Garda, leaving Santa Lucia at 07:18 and 08:18 for the 1 hour 28 minute run. A regional with a change takes 2 hours 46 minutes from €13.55, and a Frecciarossa to Desenzano del Garda-Sirmione takes 1 hour 33 minutes from €36.00. Navigazione Laghi’s ferry from Peschiera to Sirmione is its route 4 fare, €11.50 full single, and from Desenzano to Sirmione route 1, €3.50; returns are double and fast services add a supplement (navigazionelaghi.it). On a weekday in October the last Frecciarossa back from Peschiera leaves at 21:47 and arrives at 23:19. Sirmione’s Scaligero Castle and the Grotte di Catullo are state museums; the Verona, Sirmione and Garda tourad includes a 30-minute private cruise round the peninsula and about an hour in Sirmione, with entry tickets extra.

Treviso

Regional or fast regional 31 to 39 minutes · from €4.05 each way · last regional back at 23:27

Two trains leave in most half hours, and the station is a 10-minute walk, 0.7 km, from the centre, which sits inside the Venetian walls. On a weekday in October the last regional leaves Treviso at 23:27 and arrives at 23:59. Treviso Canova airport is a separate ATVO coach from Venice: see airport to the city.

Vicenza

Fast regional 46 minutes · from €7.30 each way · Teatro Olimpico €12

The 07:10 fast regional takes 46 minutes; the 07:18 Frecciarossa takes 44 minutes from €22.00; regionals take 1 hour 10 minutes to 1 hour 18 minutes. From the station to the Teatro Olimpico is 1.2 km, 17 minutes on foot. Palladio’s covered theatre is €12, or €9 reduced, on a ticket valid for the day, with a 10-minute light-and-sound show included. It is open Tuesday to Sunday 09:00 to 17:00 (last entry 16:30) from 1 September to 30 June and 10:00 to 18:00 in July and August; it is closed on Mondays, 25 December and 1 January, and the hours change for private events and rehearsals. Individual visitors need no booking, and tickets are sold at the tourist office in Piazza Matteotti 12, beside the entrance (teatroolimpico.vicenza.it). The Vicenza Gold Card is €22 for 11 sites over 12 days, and the Silver Card €16 for 4 sites of your choice over 8 days; ages up to 17 go in free with ID. The interior of Villa La Rotonda, a private villa, opens on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from April to October, 10:00 to 13:00 and 15:00 to 18:00, and on Saturdays and Sundays from 14 November to 8 December 2026 (villalarotonda.it). On a weekday in October the last fast regional back leaves at 23:03 and arrives at 23:52.

The Brenta Riviera

Il Burchiello boat €147 one way, Venice to Padua · Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday · bus 53E from Piazzale Roma

The Brenta Riviera is the stretch of river between the lagoon and Padua that Venetian villas line. Il Burchiello runs the boat, and its full-day tour from Venice to Padua is €147, or €59 for ages 6 to 17, with the villa entries included. In the 2026 programme it ran on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays and the season ran spring to autumn. The guide meets passengers at 08:50 at the Pietà landing stage, San Zaccaria A, on Riva degli Schiavoni, and the boat reaches Padua at about 19:00. It stops at Villa Foscari, “La Malcontenta”, for a guided visit at 10:30, then at Oriago for lunch (an optional set lunch is €27 or €32), Villa Widmann and Villa Pisani at Stra (ilburchiello.it). Padua to Venice runs on other days, and a half day from Venice to Oriago is €69. Book the Venice to Padua day on GetYourGuide at the same price: From Venice: Brenta Riviera Full-Day Boat Cruise to Paduaad is €147 (158 reviews). The train back from Padua is from €5.00.

By road, ACTV bus 53E leaves Piazzale Roma (bay B7) for Padua station via Malcontenta, Oriago, Mira, Dolo and Stra, and ACTV sells a Riviera del Brenta pass at €33.60: the 24-hour ticket and a return on its line 53 between Venice and Stra. Villa Foscari La Malcontenta, a Palladio villa of 1559, is €15 (€8 for ages 11 to 17) and opens on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, 09:00 to 12:00 and 14:30 to 17:30, with visits sometimes suspended (lamalcontenta.it). Villa Pisani at Stra is a state museum, closed on Mondays (museiveneto.cultura.gov.it).

Bologna

Frecciarossa 1 hour 33 minutes · from €39.00 each way

The return is €78.00 at the lowest fares. Bologna’s trains and the regional alternatives from the Florence side are in Florence’s day trips.

Florence

Frecciarossa 2 hours 13 minutes · from €47.90 to €59.00 each way

The fare depends on the train and how early you book. Florence’s own guides carry the rest: what to book before you go to Florence, the Uffizi and Florence in one or two days. Going the other way, Florence’s day trips page covers Venice from Florence.

Milan

Frecciarossa 2 hours 29 minutes · from €52.00 each way

The round trip is about five hours on the train, so Milan suits a stop on a longer journey better than a day from Venice.

Before you choose a day

Airport to the city and Venice public transport cover the first and last day. What to book before you go to Venice has the city tickets, Venice in one or two days and 3 days in Venice show where a day trip fits between them, and where to stay in Venice compares the areas. For the month, see the best time to visit Venice.