Marina di Venezia Holiday Park

I have to agree with the many positive comments about this site. It is one of the largest campsites in Europe - but doesn't feel it. The blue flag sandy beach shelves gently into the sea. And even on the busiest days you'll find acres of empty space. We went with Venue holidays, and couldn't see why anyone would pay £00's more to go with one of the larger operators. Their caravans & tents are also well located. The downsides to the area/campsite: - a lack of decent family friendly food outlets other than pizzerias. Although this is probably a criticism of the area more than the site. - the time it takes to drive off the peninsula. As another reviewer said, allow an hour. We did get to Verona one day (3 hours), but planned trips to Croatia & Slovenia had to be postponed to another holiday. My wife was still pleased that we brought the car as it allowed us to bring things like body boards, games etc. However, with numerous cycle paths in the area, and punta sabbioni (the nearest water bus stop) only a few minutes away by bike. I think you are better off to fly, and then hire bikes for the duration. If coming by car then consider bringing bikes with you as they aren't cheap. Also, we have driven to the south of france for the last couple of years & its been easy peazy. However, you really do need to allow 20 hours driving time to reach this area - regardless of what the route planners might tell you. - The weather in veneto is unpredictable & you should take forecasts with a large pinch of salt. The weather when we were there was better than the UK, but if you are looking for guaranteed sunshine then head further south. The surrounding greenery is a bit of a giveaway! - For a couple of hours in the afternoon there is a mandatory siesta. You must get out of the pool (although with a beach so close, this isn't so much of a problem), the crazy golf is closed and you aren't allowed to move your car. This is prob ok if you are in a spell of unbroken sunshine, but we had several days where the clouds gathered and it rained PM - and the siesta rule then gave a feeling of being imprisoned!

We looked on Eurocamp's website for some ideas on campsites in Italy and they do the parc videos which give you a flavour of what to expect, then we typed Marina Di Venezia into google and they had their own site. We didn't want to stay in a mobile home unit if we didn't have to and booking direct we had a choice of air conditioned bungalows. We then called the site to check availability, no problem with the language barrier, they were very helpful, they sent through a quote through the post which came in about 4 days, then had to send a deposit via a money transfer (had to do this through our bank and there's a £20 charge) and then we had nothing left to pay until the end of our holiday - apart from the Ryan air flights which were about £380 for the 4 of us. The actual holiday for 9 nights cost about £600 in total in the middle of the summer hols so we had a family holiday in the Adriatic for less than a grand and it was fabulous. We stayed in a basic bungalow, which was perfectly adequate, a queen size bed in a large double bedroom and bunk beds in the kids room with loads of space to play and tastefully designed. No bath but a shower room big enough for me to go in with my children and wash their hair, then a kitchenette - no oven, just a hob and sink plus a full size fridge freezer, table and chairs. Outside we had a patio with table and benches with a little garden out the front. Although this is a large site, if you stay in their bungalows then you are close to all the amenities. We turned right out of ours and a few steps on there was the main street which has all the shops, restaurants etc, about a 3 min walk to the pool and main stage where the entertainment is, and in the other direction about a 3 minute walk to the play area, mini golf, reception etc. The site was immaculate. We had a bit of a tropical storm one afternoon we were there and the following morning, they had their teams sweeping up all the pine leaves, and other tree matter which was everywhere, they drained the fountain and cleaned that out too, and the pools were cleaned, all before anything was open! The shops on site were vast, I picked up a pair of leather flip flops for 10 euros! Someone mentioned you can't get an english paper - they didn't look very hard because we got one every day. There is a grocery store opposite the entrance which is a lot cheaper than the already cheap onsite shop, although their wine offerings aren't as extensive as of that on site, but for everything else the variety was excellent and the lilo's etc are much much cheaper than the one on site - we only found it on the day before we went home. The restaurant next to it wasn't all that good, it was a bit like a canteen and the service was appauling, but if you turn right out of the site and follow the road down for a bit, there's a lovely restaurant with better food and better ambience The restaurant we ate at most on the site was the one near the stage, the service was better earlier in the evening (around 6.30) other times is was quite slow, but you couldn't fault the quality or the price, all really good, and the staff, really very friendly. If you want to get a good view of the show, it's worth getting a table near the stage, or the done thing seems to be saving a seat with a shoe, which we tried, but then someone just took our shoes off and took the seat anyway, so maybe that's just hit and miss. One tip which I nearly forgot, was that you can get a bus from the airport return for about 15 euro's, you'd need to sort that out online I believe, we didn't, we got a bus from treviso airport to venice then a water bus to piazza san marco, then a water bus from there to Punta Sabioni where you can get a bus to the site, that takes 5 mins, we didn't though as we weren't sure what we were doing and the guy from the excersion desk gave us a lift. The whole journey to the airport wasn't easy so you'd do well to find out more - they bus times run in conjunction with ryan air's flight times, The beach was lovely, the sea was warm and prices again were reasonable. We also saw the wonderful firework display, better than anything we've seen in the uk and it seemed to go on forever, they also had a party on the beach with a dj etc, all in honour of the Swiss National Day. The entertainment was ok, not sre aout the kids club as my youngest was too young to join in, but they seemed to be having fun when we saw them. We met a family on our last night who went to MdiV 5 years ago and they said nothing has really changed. There weren't many english people when we first arrived, but a real mix of nationalities, yes, lots of germans, but also french, italian, swiss, dutch, we had some russians in the bungalow next to us, so a real mixture and refreshing not to be somewhere full of english yobs! You must go here, it really was possibly our most relaxing holiday ever, it was safe, clean, plenty to do and really very friendly.

This is a first class camp site. Massive but very professionally run. Spotless facilities and extensive shops/restaurants/bars. Forget the car, hire a bike for 25 euros a week, feel the breeze and get fit. Mini disco every night for the little ones, plus a little train, go-karts, mini golf, bouncy castles and an excellent play area, all staying open until 11pm. Our children (6 and 4) stayed up way after their bedtime every nite and were enthralled. YThere are also shows and a bar/cafe area where teens seem to meet up, so no one left out. There are excellent pools and a top class beach which is far less spoiled than the horrid Lido de Jeselo up the road. And, on our last night, a six-figure firework display along 12 miles of beach that would put any UK civic attempt to shame. All in all, a brilliant experience, helpful staff, and we would love to go back again

We stayed a week in a Eurocamp caravan - all located quite a good walk from the centre of this very large campsite. One point of advice if you do go with Eurocamp: get a caravan with a deck. I spent a lot of time sweeping sand off the floors of ours. The beach here is lovely. Its also an amazing site to watch the huge cruise ships glide by in the morning. The supermarket was priced fairly and there were at least four snack bars on the campsite if you want a quick bite. My husband watched the England v Germany game while we were there. We also got one of the takeaway pizzas which weren't bad. We played mini-golf a fun, imaginative course. They are strict about the opening hours of shops and the swimming pool, which are closed between 2.00 and 4.00 pm. The beach is open all hours, so we never bothered with the pool. We went to Venice on three different days, taking our car to the port where we passed by the hawkers to the pay and display car park (5 Euros for 12 hours, some other places were charging 7.50). We were told this was cheaper than taking the bus, since there were four of us. One day we took the direct boat to Burano and then went to Murano and Venice on a 12-hour boat ticket which is only 1 Euro more than a return ticket. There are a lot of Germans at the campsite. Mainly this means that staff will try to speak to you in German if you don't look Italian. Also, there are only Italian and German newspapers at the shop. The only downside to being at the Marina di Venezia is because it is so far down the penisula it takes you a long time to drive the last 10 miles to get there. It took us an hour to get to the mainland when we were leaving. We had a great week though and would recommend this to anyone with children who wants a bit of culture with their beach holiday.

We have three children and it is easier to camp (but in a caravan) and its costs a lot less too!!!! We stayed in the Thomson Alfresco caravans (they do need updating a little) but it was a fantastic holiday - 5 minutes from the on-site beach and 10 minutes to the pool - the restaurants were fabulous too!

We dropped in without a reservation in mid-June in the midst of a one month RV tour for what we considered "a vacation from our vacation." The site was only half full and the minimum stay was two nights rather than the seven in high season. We ended up staying three nights and found it interesting and largely enjoyable. There are 3000 campsites here which perhaps explains the occasionally over-organized feel. Also, there are quite a few all -season residents - seniors who have caravans with immaculate add on tents, canvass cook shacks, temporary floors, mini gardens, fencing and windchimes - essentially, this is their cottage and when you pull in beside their piece of paradise with a rental RV, two pre-teen boys and speaking ENGLISH, they are not wreathed in smiles. In our first chosen location, a number of them actually came out to stand in the empty spaces adjoining their sites and tried to convince us they were reserved. These were Italians, by the way, not Germans. We travel often in Europe and have thick skins; rather than get into it with them, we thanked them in Italian for their very warm welcome and left them looking a bit ashamed. Then found a much nicer site closer to the beach. We only met one other family speaking English during our stay, but this was typical throughout our trip. We rented bikes on site for the duration of our stay at a very reasonable cost and rode around the campsite. To walk everywhere would be exhausting I think. The limited pool hours were annoying given the long days of June. Also the pools - and everything but the restaurants - close for two hours mid day, so pool use is 10 - 1 and 3 - 7. The entire beach was raked and vacuumed every night. Having just now returned from Greece where I sat in an ashtray every time I went to the beach, I have a keen appreciation for this effort. The water was warm, and watching cruise ships pass close by on their way into the Lagoon was wonderful. If you are a morning person, a walk on the beach to collect shells before the crowds arrive was magic. My boys, aged 10 and 12 ran loose and loved it. Some of the best gelato we had on our trip - and we had lots - was here and it was 90 cents a scoop. Very cheap. Try the melon or strawberry or tiramisu flavours - in fact try them all. The grocery store on site was large and really well stocked and the prices were more than reasonable, which was a really pleasant surprise. We didn't eat out much there, as we could get excellent fresh food, cold beer and everything we wanted and enjoy our campsite. My son did buy a very raw hamburger at one point and they obligingly made him a new one, bien cuit. We rode into Cavallino to the market day and got some great buys. It is about 9 km on a straight flat bike path, so provided you can stand the heat, I recommend it. Organized activities at the campsite were a bit under attended and disorganized. The beach bocche (sp) was fun. The little kids do a mass karaoke sing along every evening which we all found charming. The entertainment which followed was high-school quality at best and frequently tres frommage. The campsite sells a bus and ferry package to travel into Venice but the options they offer are limited and expensive. They offer a 24 hour ferry pass, but not the 12 hour one available at the port. Since the campsite costs about 50 dollars CDN a night we didn't want to absorb this cost and the costs of a day in Venice simultaneously and came up with a great solution. We checked out of the campsite after three days and drove the two km. to the port and parked for about 6 Euros for 12 hours. Bought a 12 hour pass which was a great value as we ferried to Piazza San Marco, later to Murrano, all the way up the Grand Canal and late in the evening made the return trip to Punta Sabbione. Then we drove our RV along the seawall about 2 km in the direction of the beach to a large gravel parking lot and free-camped for the night, leaving the next day for Liguria region. There are signs there clearly explaining in three languages that so long as all your wheels are on the ground, you don't extend awnings or steps , and you don't discharge fluids you are considered to be 'parking' rather than 'camping', which would be illegal. There were others RVs there and we felt safe. We found one day in Venice enough with our kids. It is beautiful but really crowded. It was disappointing to see the Rialto bridge covered in graffiti. I think the city should get its employees out early and paint it out - every single day if necessary. My kids were in awe of the basilica, and we visited the treasury for a small fee. We walked and ferried around, took it all in and were satisfied. If you are hoping to see the glass production at Murrano, go early, they pack it in around 4 o'oclock . Despite all its shortcomings, my kids consider MdiV one of the highlights of their trip. Hope this helps you decide for yourself.

Just back after a 10 night holiday. Massive campsite but very well run and immaculate. We stayed in a Tui mobile home which has absolutely everything you need. Beach is fabulous and swimming pools are fantastic. Great play area for kids, crazy golf, ping pong, basket ball, amusements, bouncy castle and a wee train to take you around the site. Restaurants on site serve great food which is very reasonable. Well stocked supermarket along with fresh fish van and fruit & veg stall. Evening entertainment good some nights, okay others. 5 minute bus ride from the campsite takes you to Punta Sabbioni where you get the ferry across to Venice. The only downside is that you only have a couple of restaurants and a supermarket just outside the campsite. It would of course be nice if you had a wee resort on your doorstep. All in all, we had a fab holiday and would certainly go back.

excellent campsite - superb facilities - too many germans but am going back again - the location is magnificent, beach gorgeous, and right beside the ferry terminal for venice - food on site was class and just a short drive up the strip to Lido di Jesolo

It's a huge camp and like the other reviewer said, caters to Germans. The signs are in Italian and German and when they ask you anything, it always begins with Gutan Tag. Which would be fine if I were actually visiting Germany. Instead, we felt very out of place...like we were intruding on a club. They took our passports for policy reasons and then wouldn't return them. Each office kept sending us to another office who would just send us to a third and then back to the first. It was very irritating and we lost a lot of siteseeing time. They only returned them when we left for our plane because we threw a major fit. They had to open the office early to get us our things. We were extremely nervous that we would miss our plane because of their inefficiency. Like other European campgrounds, the children facilities are only open in the middle of the day. So forget about touring Venice and then letting the kids play in the pool. It closes by 7. And their playground was closed on Sunday morning...though no sign says that. Its just locked because of church services. The church was an open pavilion and was empty...not even a preacher there. The tennis court was right next to this pavilion but people were swinging away. So grunting men and resounding rackets is ok but my 4 and 1 year olds can't go down the slide because that would disturb the crowds of non-existent churchgoers. Hey, I'm a regular church goer at home so services or religion wasn't my problem. It's a stupid policy that disappointed a lot of kids. The beach is very nice and the water is amazingly warm. You do have to walk past the early closing pool to get there...which made my kids cry. And you have to walk past the naked statue in the middle of the shopping district. Call it my Puritan sensibilities, but I don't want my sons ogling a curvaceous woman who only has her front nether region barely covered. So my little children weren't bothered but I'd feel very uncomfortable if I had school age or teenagers there. They'll have to hide nudy mags under their bed like every other American boy! All in all, I'm sad that we went here last. It wasn't a pleasant experience. Neither convenient or comfortable. There's TONS of camping places along this same strip. A smaller one would probably be more to our taste.

We have been to lots of Eurocamps in France but wanted to try a different culture.The camp is huge bigger than our village at home.However ,to experience Italian culture,even just the language you had to go off-site.They cater totally for the German market,infact I felt like I was on holiday in Munich.My husband wanted to practice his rusty Italian,but was spoken back to in German!!!!He even replied with 'Sono Inglesie'he got so sick of it. The swimming pool is NO FUN.There is a separate childrens pool so little ones are well catered for but in the main pool you cannot Divein,jump in,play splashing games,scream and chase each other.Just bob along quietly all wearing mandatory swimming caps.We went to the beach instead. The camp was very clean ,very safe, very sterile.We'll stick to French campsites in future. Diana Taylor Peak District. England.