Popular Airport | Venice Marco Polo Airport |
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Popular Airlines | |
Approximate Flight Duration | 10 hour 40 min |
Approximate Travel Distance | 8583 Km |
Taking a taxi in the morning or evening outside of rush hours is probably the most reliable method of transport to the airport in densely populated Durban. It’s also possible to reach the airport with rented cars or shuttle company buses.
You can reach the airport by taxi from the city centre in around 30 to 50 minutes depending on traffic conditions. It might be a good idea to speak with the taxi driver beforehand and let them know your time of departure to not have any bad surprises for your journey.
The shuttle buses that leave for the airport depart from Durban Station in the city centre, depart once every day at 8:00, 11:00, and 16:00 and reach the airport in around half an hour.
The traffic flows on the left side in Durban, so if you come from a country where you drive on the right it might be a better idea to hire a car with a driver rather than getting behind the steering wheel yourself. If you come from country where cars drive on the left side, you might be more at home with this option.
There is only one terminal in King Shaka Airport where there is an ABSA bank, which opens half an hour before the first flight and closes half an hour after the last flight. In addition, you can find financial services from the ATMs of First National Bank, Nedbank, and Standard Bank. There is a prayer room for Muslims, and a post office that offers services depending on the first and last flights of the day. There are baby and childcare rooms that mothers can use.
In addition to these services, the airport has many lounges. The most exclusive ones are the South African Airways Business Class Lounge, found near the entrance of the terminal, and BIDVest Premier Lounge. In these lounges you can order some food and rest on comfortable seating areas to read books or newspapers.
Airport restaurants include; Cape Town Fish Market, Cosmic Candy, Big Five Duty Free, Fego Coffee Shop, Kauai, KFC, Milky Lane, Mugg&Bean, Panarottis, Rhapsody’s, Spur, Steers, Sweet Treat, The Airport Cellar, and Wimpy. There is also a Yemaya Nail Express, Woolworts, Vodashop, Tie Stop, The Urban Retreat, The Scoin Shop, NWJ Fine Jewellery, Sneakers, Sunglass Hunt, Nike, MTN, Moda Luggage&Leather, Khasav, Jeep, EM Native, and Electro Electronics for your shopping needs.
Venice has two airports, "Marco Polo" and "Treviso", but a significant number of international flights, including flights from Istanbul, are landing at Marco Polo Airport.
From the airport to the city center you have many options such as train, bus, taxi, vaporetto, car rental and water taxi.
There are two options for transportation from the airport to the city: "ACTV" buses operated by municipality or privately operated "ATVO" buses.
ACTV buses operate from 4 am to midnight every day of the week, between Rome Square and the airport. The journey lasts 25 minutes. Tickets can be picked up from the vending machines at the airport terminals. ATVO buses also work on the same line as ACTV. The bus departing from the airport operated between 7.50 am and 11.50 pm. The duration of the journey is almost the same as ACTV. If you will be staying somewhere outside Venice city center, like Mestre, you can use other routes of ATVO and ACTV.
It is very enjoyable to get to the Venetian islands from the airport with the small sea buses, which are called "Vaporetto", run by the company "Alilunga" because you will start living the Venetian atmosphere as soon as you enter the city. There are 3 separate lines - red, orange and blue; which one to choose depends on your destination. Therefore, it is advised for you to consult your hotel about which line to choose and which stop to get off before you arrival. The journey with these would not be very short. It depends on your destination, but it lasts more than 1 hour. You can get tickets from your arrival terminal. You can reach the pier of boats after a 10-minute walk from the terminal exit.
While the most convenient way to get to the city center of Venice is by bus and vaporetto, you still have the option to take a train. You only need to take a taxi or bus to get to the main railway stations from the airport. With the buses from the airport you can go to the Mestre station in 20-25 minutes and to Santa Lucia station in 35 minutes. Then you can reach the different points of the city by train. It is not a practical and preferred method as you need to change two vehicles with this way.
There is a taxi company named "Radio Taxi" at the airport. You can make reservations in advance or take a taxi to the city center or other area upon your arrival. Taxi fare would be around 40 euros to Rome Square, and 35 euros to the center of Mestre from the airport.
You can rent a car from the lower floor of the arrival terminals. Here you can find a total of eight company offices such as Avis, Europcar, Autovia, Autoeuropa, Maggiore, Sixt, Lacauto and Hertz. If you will only be visiting Venice city center, renting a car is not a recommended option, because you cannot take your car to the city center, where you can travel with boats or by foot. If you rent a car from the airport, you need to park it in the parking lot at the Rome Square.
The water taxi, which is the most elegant and most expensive way of going to the center of Venice from the airport via the canal, is another alternative. When you book in advance, it can be a bit cheaper, but the average prices vary between 80 and 125 euros depending on where you are going.