Delta Hog

2 American adults with 2 teen kids. Have used various train websites and flight websites (orbitz, fly.com, individual airline sites) to price and evaluate various options. I realize at heart it's simply a personal preference/decision, but if anyone has any thoughts on any of the following, I am having a hard time narrowing down.

A.
RyanAir CIA-HHN on a late Friday night flight. HHN airport hotel on Friday night. Will rent car and meet my brother in Rudesheim the next day, which I understand is about halfway between HHN and Frankfurt anyway; so really no additional driving by being way out in HHN. Pro: lowest cost; simplest; no early morning flights (getting everyone out of bed at 5 am will be a task); extra day in Rome. Con: See nothing in between Rome and Germany. Total cost flights/hotel: 300 euro.

B.
Vueling "connecting" flight FCO-BCN-FRA, with first flight leaving early morning Friday and connecting flight early morning Saturday. Friday night hotel in Barcelona. Pro: Full day in Barcelona, never been there. Con: Two early morning flights (7 am each, ugh); 1 less day in Rome. Total cost flights/hotel: 600 euro.

C.
SAS "connecting" flight FCO-ARN-FRA, with first flight leaving noon Friday and connecting flight early morning Saturday. Friday night hotel in Stockholm. Pro: Partial day in Stockholm, never been there. Con: Not much time in Stockholm -- late afternoon arrival and early morning flight departure. 1 less day in Rome. Total cost flights/hotel: 600 euro.

D.
Friday morning train Rome-Venice. Hotel in Venice. Me & wife have been there but would love to show kids. Saturday train Venice- Frankfurt. Pro: VENICE! Also the train ride through the Alps is a big draw. Con: Long long hours of train travel; one less day in Rome; get to Frankfurt much later. Total cost trains/hotel: 500 euro.

JBord

You're right that it comes down to preference. That said, I don't even see C as a reasonable option when compared to the other three. Why lose all that time just to get dinner in Stockholm and go to bed (by the time you get to the hotel and check in), for double your best cost option? Option B to BCN is only slightly better and I wonder how much of Barcelona you'd get to see.

To me, either A or D are the smartest options, to make the most of your time. For option D, the train ride would be 12-13 hours, correct? So you would only get a few hours to explore Venice with the kids. Would it be an option to fly VCE-FRA instead of take the train and gain an extra 8 hours in Venice on Saturday?

You also don't mention how long you'll be in Rome. Part of your consideration is whether you want an extra day there or not.

Delta Hog

Good points. Yes, Stockholm would be last option for me. Only reason it is on the list because it might be the #1 city to visit on the "Places We've Never Been" list for the wife. She really wants to see Stockholm. But for just a couple of hours? I don't know.

We are in Rome Tu-W-Th. Friday is either another day in Rome (option A, where our outward flight would be 8 pm) or one of the other three trips. Only reason NOT to do A is to see another city for a day.

I think train to Venice and then VCE-FRA flight on Saturday would be ideal. But, I am not finding any flights VCE-FRA anywhere near the price range you see on Trips A-D above. Much more expensive. And RyanAir does TSF-HHN, but from all information I have they do NOT do this flight on Saturday (the schedules for my particular time frame, late May 2016, are not yet out on ryanair.com).

JBord

That's not much time in Rome. I'd probably take the extra day there. Best to save Stockholm for when you have more time, IMO, but always good to have a happy wife too!

The long train ride from Venice made me cringe, I've only been on overnight trains that long (last one was Vienna-Venice coincidentally). As you probably know, you could hit the main tourist spots in Venice pretty quickly though if you go that route.

One last thought. If this is about fitting another city in, what about flying Rome to Cologne, and driving or train from Cologne to Frankfurt? Cologne is a city you can visit pretty quickly, focusing on the cathedral and surrounding area. It's not Venice or Barcelona though! The train station is right next to the cathedral square and hotels too.

Twickenham

Option D includes the train through the Brenner Pass, right? Then for me, that's the only option that would be on the table. Slam dunk.