I'm scared about taking my mum to Venice

[Goingonagondola]

I really want to take my mum to Venice for her 70th birthday in October. She's never been - and always wanted to. But I'm nervous for various reasons. I've hardly ever been abroad (no money till fairly recently) and the rare times I've been I haven't booked or organised anything. My mum is a nervous, 'flappy' kind of traveller. I have anxiety as well.

I so want to do this for her. She's single and a foster carer who really deserves a break. If I don't take her she'll probably never go. It would be lovely to have the memories to share. I just feel like I need to be a different, totally confident and capable person to do this and I'm not.

Do you think I can do it, or is it a disastrous idea? Please be kind - I know I sound totally lame. Does anyone have any specific tips for how to make the trip easier? I thought we'd stay in a hotel so staff can help if there are any problems. Does anyone know Venice enough to give some tips about how to make the trip as easy as possible please?

I'd do a few of the cheap public water taxis before deciding to spend 100 euros on a gondola, we ended up not doing it. One of our favourite things was stumbling across a washing line in Murano which had six gondelier's shirts hanging up on it...

You don't sound lame at all

Do it. For the both of you.

You can do as much or as little as you want.

I have been... I have a chronic pain illness, and so has my mum.

Its a beautiful place and like nowhere else.

Oh and to echo @LonnyVonnyWilsonFrickett , dont shell out for a gondola.

We had a water taxi and I feel i have missed out in the slightest.

Have you thought of Mediterranean cruise which visits Venice .

Do it! I have taken trips with my now 82 year old mamma and she is increasingly anxious about travelling, I make sure we are organised (its a control thing with me) and even if I don’t feel it, I make sure she believes everything is under control. Our latest trip took us to Vienna and it was awfy guid, she had a great time and I am so delighted that I took the leap. Now planning the next trip.

Yes. Just read up a lot about it before and pace yourself. You'll have a wonderful time.

Venice is wonderful. This website has lots of really useful tips so it’s a great source for your research:
www.theveniceinsider.com/insider-tips-for-your-first-trip-to-venice

There are Vaporettos - water buses - and there are water taxis. I’d stay well away from the taxis and use the Vaporettos. A pp recommended the travel passes, they’re well worth it as it works out much cheaper per journey.

We wandered around and just let ourselves get lost. It’s so beautiful, everywhere was fascinating. One way to navigate is to look for the direction markers, high up on corners with arrows pointing to the bus station P. Le Roma or to St Marco. That gives you a general sense of which direction to head. The other way to navigate is by working out where your hotel is in relation to the Grand Canal.

Watch out for tourist traps like the St Marco area. You can have an amazing time without spending silly money at a cafe there.

This one near the Rialto market (which I also recommend!) is friendly and does the most amazing hot chocolate - Caffè del Doge Caffetteria Rialto

The other thing is cash - cash is preferred, small notes. Don’t let the currency exchange people give you high value notes when you get your euros. And watch out for scammers, like you need to in any tourist city.

Re the suggestion to go on a cruise that visits Venice, cruise ships are causing a major ecological problem for the city, do not contribute much to the economy and are not popular with the residents. And really don’t let you experience the wonder of this beautiful and unique place.

Spooky!
Taking my 70 year old mum this year

I’m taking fifteen girl guides... can I swap them for one momma?

The Time Out guide to Venice is great.

We booked through our hotel a "behind the scenes" guide at the Doges Palace - they took us to where Casanova was held and showed us how he escaped.

We also booked a guide to the Jewish quarter (ghetto) which was very interesting and we were shown round one of the synagogues.

Peggy Guggenheim museum was brilliant - but the best bit was just navigating our way there.

You are going to have a lovely time. I'd love to go back!

Just get a hotel in the centre and walk around. There is so much to see. The water taxi is fab and you get tickets near the train station. Venice is compact so that makes it easier. Get the water taxi to Murano too. Get google map on your phone so you know where you are. You are probably over thinking. Flight to airport, bus into Venice, buy water taxi pass when get off bus, water taxi to hotel. Sorted.

Read the TripAdvisor Venice forum. They also have hotel ratings.

Could you do it as a cruise? Then it would all be sorted for you.

www.travelsphere.co.uk/en-gb/tours/venice-and-the-venetian-lagoon/

Here's the hotel you are looking at on TripAdvisor

www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Hotel_Review-g187870-d230427-Reviews-The_Gritti_Palace_a_Luxury_Collection_Hotel-Venice_Veneto.html

Well it's in that link somewhere.

I took my mum in her 70s. We loved it. I strongly recommend that you stay on Lido. It is a larfe, quieter island with lots of space. This hotel was perfect for my mum. Had a lift, not too big, old school charm and a great terrace to watch the world go by. The vaporetto stops just across the road. That takes you in and out to the main island and to other islands.
www.hpanorama.com/
A high street of restaurants and supermarket is 2 mins walk.

We bought a 3 or 4 day pass unlimited to all vaporetto at the airport (machine). It included the ferry from the airport to the hotel. Around 45 euro each.

She loved Venice. I'm sure your mum will too.

The tricky bit is getting from the airport to the hotel .When we first went a few years ago I did my normal no research and rock up at the airport , where I realised I had no idea how to get to the hotel ,as of course we couldn't take a taxi ! .....well not to the hotel door
.We found a very expensive private taxi to our stupidly expensive hotel which luckily was on the grand canal
We have since visited Venice a few times , and stayed twice at Mestre which is a short bus ride away , then either walk or take the Vaperetto, nothing beats that Vaperetto ride down the Grand Canal btw

Venice is very easy to get round on your own , but can be a lot of walking . Do your research on where the hotel is and how you will find it from the airport The vaperetto is a great way to get fron A to B , but you can also just aimlessly wander the streets which is what we do
It's my favourite place to visit

Also, download the ferry times to your phone in advance. They are like bus stops with set times. The ferry workers help people who are unsteady on their feet and there are reserved seats at front for elderly, although we preferred being outside at the back.
There isn't a big step down on to ferries, more of a level ramp.

Can I suggest a package holiday which might ease some of the stress, Riviera travels do a great trip staying at Lake Garda with day trips to Venice and Verona. Really nice guides who organise everything down to the trip on a gondola,takes all the hassle out of trying to organise. I am nearer to your mum's age and went with a friend ,had a great holiday.

I’m also a bit of a nervous traveller (and also quite competent in other areas of life!).

Planning is key. Often for a day out starting at the furthest away point & working back towards your hotel can be good as then you don’t have a massive trek home when you’re tired.

Leave plenty of time for flights etc.

Learn a few emergency phrases if possible.
Make sure your health insurance covers an interpreter, particularly if your mum’s health has been not so good.

It sounds wonderful, I hope you both have a lovely time.

Don't be scared, it will be wonderful! I really envy you, you will both have a fantastic time, I'm sure!
I second: getting a water-bus (vaporetto) pass for several days so that you can hop on and off without worrying about paying each time (I think someone above has given you a link to buying them in advance, which makes them cheaper); arriving by train to see the sun rise (and then taking a vaporetto down the Grand Canal to a stop near wherever you decide to stay); going to Murano for the glass-blowing and Burano for the prettiness; also, just wandering round the streets and alleyways as much as possible, taking in the sights and sounds and popping in to small "local" places for coffees or pasta/pizza and a glass or two of prosecco from the barrel. If you decide the gondola costs too much, why not try taking a "traghetto", which is a gondola which crosses from one side to the other of a canal and at €2 pp per crossing, and is worth it for the experience, I think - also makes you feel as if you are living like ordinary people in Venice, as you see school-children using it to go to school, for example!
quickvenice.com/transportation/traghetti.htm
I second what people say about St Mark's Square, although we went to have an extremely expensive ice-cream once just for the experience at Florian's.
I've been lucky enough to visit Venice several times (first when a student, and also, many years later, took my aged mother there for her first visit - she liked the churches a great deal!) and honestly, my favourite thing of all has been just wandering round, either on foot or by vaporetto, just looking at things and people-watching! Of course, many of the churches have magnificent paintings and there are great museums there, and the Doges Palace is lovely, but it is just wonderful to be able to wander around such a beautiful, atmospheric, city. Take comfortable shoes!
I think we used the Rough Guide - they often have quirky, cheap suggestions for interesting things to do, and good ideas for little places to get good local food, off the beaten track.
Enjoy it!

I used to be a nervous traveller but the internet has been a boon for pre-researching everything, specially Google Streetview for virtual walking the area before you get there.

First, stating the obvious in case you aren't aware of the extent of it, Venice doesn't have any roads or road traffic (apart from one small area but lets ignore that for now) so any journey within Venice will involve walking, and that includes dragging your suitcase to and from your hotel. (I knew someone who thought Venice was like Amsterdam - a fairly normal city with lots of canals. No, it's all canals and no wheeled vehicles.)

Will your mum be able to handle her own luggage or will you have to deal with it? Although the pavements are flat there are bridges to get over the canals so your route will involve carrying luggage up and down steps on the bridges.

Personally I would (and did!) choose a hotel within walking distance of the bus station at Piazzale Roma. It makes getting from/to airport and hotel so much easier - just get the airport bus straight into Venice (you can buy the tickets at a machine so don't need to speak to anyone) then get off at the bus station and you can walk to your hotel within a few minutes. The alternative is getting the water bus which takes longer, get off at the right stop and then navigate to your hotel. It reduces the anxiety of the return trip to the airport even more - far easier to be near the bus station (bus direct to the airport every 15 or 20 minutes) than struggling from the hotel to the vaparetto stop, allowing enough time (what if you can't get on the first boat) and panicking about getting to the airport on time.

The area near Piazzale Roma (bus station) and the train station is the main transport interchange and most of the water buses (vaporetto) stop there so it's an excellent area for transport options. So not only the Number 1 service which goes up and down the Grand Canal to the Lido but also the ones that go to the islands of Burano and Murano.

I don't know why so many posters are recommending using a travel agent as you just need to book flights and a hotel. You are already looking at hotels so you're halfway there already. Make sure you buy travel insurance. It might be expensive if your mum has health conditions so do shop around as prices can vary greatly.

Get a guidebook with a map. Do lots of online research before you go but it's comforting to have a physical book/map while you're there. The hotel will have wifi so you can easily check things online while you're there.

Venice really isn't huge. Wé'd take the boat to a certain point and then walk from there to "home" stopping at whatever and wherever. We were for there for a week and had been down every street by the end of it - even to some particularly obscure places.

When I had to book my honeymoon to Venice at short notice, we booked through Kirker - they include water taxi transfers, tickets to the doge's palace, and can organise walking tours. Everything was made easy for us - www.kirkerholidays.com/destinations/europe/italy/venice