chuck1

I was looking at the Superior one-way FCO to VCE.
We will be staying near the Spanish Steps and near St. Mark's and will each have one large bag to check.
I'm not too familiar with the drive out to FCO but know getting to Termini will be quicker.
I've done the private water taxi from VCE to the hotel but not sure about the way from the train station to the hotel in VCE.
I was looking at the Executive Class on the train and it looked great.
I'm looking for less luggage hauling on my own as the biggest selling point.

TATLTAIL

Train is 110% the easier way: FCO is quite far outside the centre, and VCE is an expensive taxi or crowded vaporetto. Italo and the frecce from Trenitalia are all very good, faster than train on this route mutatis mutandis.

cheltzel

I think there may be some conflict between convenience and less luggage hauling if you take the train. I am not trying to dissuade you from taking the train, just trying to get you to manage your expectations. I have taken the FrecciaRossa a number of times in both Business and Executive classes and found it a very pleasant way to travel. The total travel time from Rome's main train station (Termini) to the main station in Venice (Santa Lucia) is approximately 4 hours. And TATLTAIL is absolutely spot on about how far both FCO and VCE are from the actual cities of Rome and Venice.

Unless you want to go totally high end (meaning spending well over $100 more) and use a porter for your luggage and take a water taxi, you will have to take your bags from the Santa Lucia station to the Ferrovia "E" ferry/vaporetto stop. After a 40 minute boat ride, you get off at the San Marco Vallaresso "B" stop and the San Marco Square in about a 100 m walk.

The route I outlined above is to get to the square itself. There are many other options for going from the Santa Lucia train station to the San Marco area. This route has the least amount of walking. You can have a much faster vaporetto trip and get off at the Lido stop. The walk from there to the square is more like 500 m. The best route will depend on exactly where your hotel is located.

The link below will give you a handy way of figuring out how to get from A to B in Venice. Regardless of how you get there, I am sure you will have a wonderful time as Venice is an enchanting place.

https://www.rome2rio.com/map/Venezia...ne-1-ferry/s/0

ckjmglee

I also vote for the train.

Total travel time via the train and flying are fairly similar (given time to/from airport & airport security). The trains are nice and the train feels more spacious in business/executive than coach on the airplane. Are you finding the air/train fares similar?

We took private water taxis in Venice and although not cheap, it saved quite a bit of time...

Venice is magical!

cheltzel

I think the only issue with water taxis and getting to/from your hotel is going to hotels any distance from a canal. On our last visit we used a water taxi from the airport and our hotel. But the hotel had its own taxi dock. So we could land at the hotel and there was hotel staff assisting us with our luggage. If we would have to use a public canal docking location and needed to haul our luggage any real distance from the canal to the hotel, I probably would have used the vaporetto system.

PWMTrav

I'd opt for the train, but you're hauling luggage either way. The advantage to the train is that you'll start and end closer to your destination, but you generally won't check your luggage and need to handle it yourself. On the Venice side, you'll have to decide if you want to walk (free), water taxi (100 or so), or take the vaporetto (7.50pp). But either way, the train station on either end is closer than the airport. If you have the budget for it, the water taxi from Santa Lucia right to your hotel is the easiest option and it's also a lot of fun to be on a private boat going across the lagoon. We did a water taxi once, and walked the other times - if you walk, be ready to go up stepped bridges, and make sure your luggage has good wheels as it's mostly brick/cobblestone. It's a nice walk though - and I say that not even knowing where you're staying, because walking anywhere in Venice is pretty fun.