The simplest trip is ACTV Line 13 from Fondamente Nove on Venice’s northern waterfront. For Sant’Erasmo from Venice, Capannone is the easiest stop for most first-time visitors, while Chiesa and Punta Vela are useful if you want to cross the island without backtracking. Line 13 accepts bicycles, but space is limited and bringing a bike through Venice’s historic centre creates a separate problem: the city prohibits visitors from wheeling bicycles through the pedestrian streets.
The boat ride to Capannone is roughly half an hour on the normal timetable, after calls at Murano Faro and Vignole. Later stops take longer. For the return, check that the destination says Venezia F.te Nove, not Treporti. The same route number serves both directions.
Where to catch Line 13 in Venice
Go to Fondamente Nove, often shortened to F.te Nove on ACTV signs and timetables. It is on the north side of Cannaregio, facing the northern lagoon rather than the Grand Canal.
Fondamente Nove is not a single little pier. Several ACTV pontoons are spread along the waterfront and identified by letters. The published 2026 Line 13 timetable and recent ACTV service notices place departures for Sant’Erasmo at F.te Nove “D”. Pier assignments can change during works, events or temporary service alterations, so use the letter as a starting point and then confirm that the electronic display actually shows 13 and S. Erasmo / Treporti.
If you arrive at Fondamente Nove on another vaporetto, do not automatically wait at the pontoon where you disembark. Walk along the fondamenta to the correct Line 13 boarding point. ACTV’s navigation timetable page is the best place to check the current route before leaving your hotel.
For a broader explanation of vaporetto tickets, connections and the different ways of moving around the city, see our guide to getting around Venice.
What Line 13 does before reaching the island
The useful sequence to remember is:
- Venezia F.te Nove
- Murano Faro
- Vignole
- S. Erasmo Capannone
- S. Erasmo Chiesa
- S. Erasmo Punta Vela
- Treporti
The published timetable also contains shorter island sections and connections, so do not assume every column works as one identical through journey. Check the specific departure you intend to use, especially if you want Chiesa or Punta Vela rather than simply getting off at Capannone.
On a typical daytime trip, Capannone is reached in about 28 minutes from Fondamente Nove. Continuing farther around the island adds time, but it can save considerably more walking once you arrive.
Which Sant’Erasmo stop should you choose?
Capannone: the easiest general-purpose arrival
S. Erasmo Capannone is the most straightforward choice for a first visit. It is the first island stop when arriving from Venice and is a practical starting point for the roads through the agricultural landscape.
It is also the stop to favor if the Torre Massimiliana and the Bacan side of the island are priorities. From the landing, roads lead through the fields toward the fortified southern end of Sant’Erasmo.
Capannone is also a sensible choice if you have not decided on a detailed route. You can arrive, orient yourself and then either walk or cycle farther around the island.
Chiesa: best for the main settlement
S. Erasmo Chiesa serves the principal residential cluster. The island church is beside the settlement, and this stop is useful if you want to start in the inhabited centre rather than at the western end.
It can also be a good finish point. If you walk or cycle from Capannone through the island, there is no rule saying you must return to the same vaporetto stop where you arrived. Check the departure board for a boat toward Venezia F.te Nove and leave from Chiesa instead.
Punta Vela: useful for a one-way island crossing
S. Erasmo Punta Vela is farther around the island and faces the quieter northern lagoon, with views toward islands including San Francesco del Deserto and the Burano side of the lagoon.
It makes most sense when your route deliberately ends there. It is less convenient if your main goal is the Torre Massimiliana and you then need to retrace your route.
Vaporetto tickets and the cheapest choice for a day trip
ACTV currently charges €9.50 for the standard 75-minute urban ticket. That ticket covers Line 13 and allows transfers within its validity period. Tickets must be validated at the start of the journey and again when changing services. The current fare rules are published on the ACTV Venice urban services page.
For a simple out-and-back visit, two standard tickets cost €19 in total. A 24-hour pass costs €25, so it becomes more attractive if you will make at least one additional normal vaporetto trip during the same 24-hour period. Longer passes currently cost €35 for 48 hours, €45 for 72 hours and €65 for seven days.
If you use a physical ticket or pass, tap it at the validator before entering the boarding area. If you change boats, validate again. For tickets bought through an app, follow the app activation instructions before boarding rather than waiting until you are already on the boat.
Taking a bicycle on Line 13
ACTV specifically permits bicycles on Line 13. A normal, unfolded bicycle requires a €1.50 bicycle ticket in addition to your own passenger ticket or pass.
There are two details that matter more than the low price.
- The bicycle ticket lasts only until you get off that vessel. If you deliberately disembark and then board another boat, you need another bicycle ticket.
- A bike ticket does not guarantee boarding. Bicycles are accepted only up to the capacity of the designated storage area, and the captain has the final decision for safety reasons.
This means a group arriving with several bikes should not build a tight itinerary around one particular sailing. If the bike area is full, passengers may have to wait for another boat.
ACTV introduced a bicycle-space reservation system in 2026, but its official bicycle reservation announcement covers Lines 11 and 14. It does not provide a reservation guarantee for Line 13.
A folding bicycle is treated differently if it is completely folded and placed inside a suitable bag or case. Under ACTV’s current conditions, it can travel free as luggage when the sum of the bag’s three dimensions does not exceed 150 cm.
The bicycle rule that catches visitors in Venice
Being allowed to put a bicycle on Line 13 does not mean you can wheel a full-size bicycle from your Venice hotel to Fondamente Nove.
The historic centre is pedestrian territory. The Municipality of Venice states that bicycles may not be ridden or even led by hand through the historic centre, apart from a short permitted corridor between Piazzale Roma and Venezia Santa Lucia station. Sant’Erasmo itself is one of the lagoon islands where cycling is allowed.
The city explains the rule on its official Venice by bicycle page.
For most visitors already staying in central Venice, this makes renting or obtaining a bicycle after reaching the island far simpler than trying to bring a full-size bike across the calli and bridges to Fondamente Nove. If you plan to rely on an island rental, confirm availability beforehand rather than assuming bicycles will be waiting when your boat arrives.
Cycling once you are on Sant’Erasmo
Sant’Erasmo feels rural because it is rural. Roads run between vegetable plots, vineyards, houses and waterways, and cycling is one of the easiest ways to cover the island. It is not, however, a closed cycling park. Residents and agricultural vehicles also use the roads.
A circuit of the island is roughly 10 km depending on the roads and detours you choose. Some stretches are paved while others can be rougher, so a normal city or touring bicycle is more useful than something designed only for perfectly smooth surfaces.
A useful plan is to arrive at Capannone, cycle toward the Torre Massimiliana and the southern side, continue through the island rather than automatically turning around, and finish at Chiesa or Punta Vela if the return timetable suits you. If this excursion is one part of a longer trip, you can build your Italy itinerary around the transport connections rather than treating every island as a separate out-and-back journey.
How to make the return trip without boarding the wrong boat
The most common mistake is seeing Line 13 and boarding without checking the destination. From Sant’Erasmo, boats can be heading either toward Venice or toward Treporti.
For Venice, look for:
VENEZIA F.TE NOVE
If the display says TREPORTI, you are heading away from Venice. Treporti is on the Cavallino-Treporti side of the lagoon and is not another Venice-centre stop.
At Chiesa and Capannone, it is particularly useful to read the full timetable rather than relying only on the next-arrival display. Line 13 contains local island sections as well as the main connection, and service patterns can differ during parts of the day.
How late can you return?
Line 13 operates well into the evening. In ACTV’s published 2026 timetable, the final regular sequence toward Venice leaves Punta Vela at 23:53, Chiesa at 00:00 and Capannone at 00:10, reaching Fondamente Nove at 00:38.
Do not treat those times as permanent. Special holidays, strikes, regattas, maintenance and operational changes can alter individual calls. Check ACTV again on the day of travel, particularly if your plan depends on the last connection.
After regular Line 13 service, ACTV also operates the Notturno Laguna Nord, the northern lagoon night service. It links Sant’Erasmo with Fondamente Nove during the night, but its stopping pattern is not identical to the daytime service. Look at the exact night timetable for your chosen island stop rather than assuming every departure calls everywhere.
Do not rely on the night boat if you have a full-size bicycle
This is an important distinction. ACTV’s published list of services on which standard bicycles are permitted includes Line 13, but it does not list the Notturno Laguna Nord among the bicycle routes.
If you have an unfolded bike, plan to return while Line 13 is still operating and leave a safety margin. Even on Line 13, bicycle capacity is limited and the captain can refuse additional bikes when the designated area is full. Trying to board the very last suitable departure with several bicycles gives you no useful recovery option.
What to do if something goes wrong
- Your bicycle is refused because the boat is full: wait for the next Line 13 sailing. Bike space on that boat is still subject to availability, so return earlier than necessary rather than aiming for the last connection.
- You boarded toward Treporti by mistake: tell the crew and check the quickest way to reverse direction. If you disembark with a normal bicycle, remember that its €1.50 ticket ended when you got off.
- Your planned Sant’Erasmo stop is temporarily closed: use another island stop if the service notice permits it. ACTV has previously altered Line 13 during works and regattas, sometimes limiting boats to Capannone or Punta Vela.
- You miss the final regular passenger boat: check the Notturno Laguna Nord timetable. Do not assume the same departure time, stop pattern or bicycle rules as Line 13.
- The validator is not working: ACTV instructs passengers to contact boat staff when all validators at a waterbus stop are out of service rather than simply boarding without dealing with validation.
Strollers and reduced mobility
ACTV water services can carry wheelchairs and, when crowding and safety conditions allow, unfolded strollers. Capacity and the vessel in service still matter, so crew instructions take priority.
The island itself is much flatter than central Venice and has none of the constant bridge climbing that makes the historic centre difficult with wheels. The trade-off is that Sant’Erasmo has rural roads and some rougher surfaces, particularly away from the main paved sections. If you are traveling with a wheelchair or sturdy stroller, choosing Chiesa or Capannone according to the place you actually want to reach can save a long unnecessary circuit.
Before leaving the vaporetto on arrival, take a photo of the posted return timetable at your stop. It takes a few seconds and is much easier than trying to remember which of three similarly named Sant’Erasmo landings had the boat you wanted several hours later.