TripHip - Travel Tips and Advice for Traveling on a Budget

Public toilets/ restrooms are few and far between in Venice once you leave the railway station or airport. Cafes and restaurants only have facilities for paying customers. Look for discreet signs in some public squares. Signori is for men and Signore is for women.

For visitors to Venice aged 14-29, enrol with the official youth-orientated discount scheme advertized as 'Rolling Venice'. For 4 euros you will then get discounts to most museums and galleries, 72-hour vaporetto passes and shopping, dining and hotel discounts. You also get a free guide book of walking tours.

Enrol at the railway station or any tourist (APT) office.

Check your restaurant bill in Italy as usually a service charge of 10-12% is automatically added on. It is not necessary to add a huge tip, just round up the bill.

In hotels and on water taxis tipping is expected for bellhops, porters, tour guides and gondoliers.

In Venice, the canals are much like roads for the city, and have a lot more boat traffic on them than the peaceful tourist gondolas. Private, commercial and taxi boats are usually motorized which is great when you want to get somewhere a little quicker, but does make for a busy boatway.

Visitors should know what to expect. The canals aren't just a tourist attraction, they are a vital and active part of the Venice transit system. Too many boats? You can see the canals just as well from the many pedestrian pathways.