We greatly enjoyed staying at Casa Kirti! It is in Mestre which is about a 12 minute bus ride from the main area of Venice, so we did not have to worry about the high traffic and congestion of the heavy tourist spots. You can easily buy your public transport passes at the local tobacco shop, just keep in mind that these shops close from about 12:30-3:30 pm - sometimes they don't open before 4:00 pm again so depending when you check in, you might want to get your passes or at least one bus ticket first from the train station when you arrive so you don't have to wait. Gianni was helpful in providing us with a map of the area and giving suggestions of good areas in Venice to eat. He recommended the Cannaregio area since it is not as heavy with tourists and we ended up eating in this location both nights and had a lovely time!! We highly recommend All'Anfora for pizza. We had a fabulous time in Venice and hope to come back again soon!