Destinations › Italy › Venice › Scams
Venice, Italy
18 reported scam patterns travellers run into in Venice, what they look like, and how to sidestep them.
Reader overlays on street cash machines in the tourist quarters, and cards taken away from the table to be processed out of sight in restaurants near the main squares.
Boat transfers sold by touts at the rail station and the coach terminal at many times the regulated fare, presented as the only way to reach a hotel with luggage.
Free or heavily discounted boat rides to the glass island offered near the station and the coach terminal, sold as a factory tour. The glassblowing lasts a few minutes; the rest is a showroom where the escort is paid on what visitors buy, at several times the price of equivalent work bought independently.
Change short-counted at kiosks and bars in the tourist quarters, and card terminals set to charge in the customer's home currency at a poor built-in rate.
Bars off the main squares adding rounds and covers that were not ordered, with the total defended by staff presence rather than an itemised recount.
Queue-skip entry to the main basilica and museums sold by street sellers, for a slot that does not exist or a ticket the gate will not accept.
Lagoon and island tours sold from street pitches that run shorter than described, drop the islands the sale was built on, and add a shopping stop that was not mentioned.
Men attaching themselves to visitors at the main basilica and bridge, narrating unasked, then presenting a fee once the group has been walked away from the square.
Fake apartment rental listings collect payment for accommodation that doesn't exist.
Restaurants near St. Mark's Square add a large unlisted "cover" and "service" charge well above standard rates, sometimes without listing bread or water on the menu at all.
Fake "petition" or clipboard signature approach near St. Mark's Square used as a pickpocketing distraction.
Unlicensed or aggressive gondoliers near San Marco/Rialto quote rates well above the official tariff (~€80/30min by day, ~€100 after 7pm) and skip discussing the rate upfront.
Collectors with laminated documents and a donation book working church entrances and the approaches to the main square.
Water-taxi operators quoting a flat fare well above the regulated rate, especially from the airport or cruise terminal.
Street vendors selling counterfeit Murano glass, lace, or leather goods as authentic.
Cafés lining Piazza San Marco add a surcharge whenever live music is playing, often not disclosed until the bill arrives.
A stranger offers a rose or bracelet, or a "free" photo, as cover for a pickpocketing attempt.
A gondolier offers to sing or add an "extra" touch to the ride for a further, undisclosed fee.
