ChgoBob

Have you considered a 1 hour flight from FCO to VCE on Air One (partner of LH) or another airline? It could save you most of the day.

We had to do it last year (rail strike), and the price was very reasonable. I would definitely do it again rather than spend so much time on the train, besides spending more time getting from the airport to Termini.

lance6

A second class ticket from Roma Termini to Venezia Santa Lucia is about E 45.00. What you'll have to take into account is the travel from FCO to Termini on the Leonardo Express, another E 9.50. If you miss your scheduled train, I believe you can reschedule for a later train, but seats may be filled for that day so you'd have to wait. Or you can just get on the next one, but you may not be guaranteed a seat. What if you stayed in Roma for a few days, then took the train out to Venezia so as to make sure you don't miss the train when you land?

The Eurostar train from Termini to Venezia S.L. will take about 4.5 hrs. Plus the other half hour to get to Termini from FCO and the haul until the train leaves to Venezia. Could add another 6 - 7 hrs total travel time after being on a flight.

I'd look at the low cost carriers and see if you can fly into Venezia at a reasonable fare, it may save you travel time. I am unsure of the train travel from/to the airport to the island, but Trenitalia might have that as well. If you get a rental car at the Venezia airport, then you'll have to leave your car at the big parking lot after crossing the bridge to the island anyways.

Again, the train will be a long-ish trip, but its a neat way to see the countryside. Is your itinerary set to go to Venezia first? Why not stay in Roma first, go up to Venezia, then make your way back down to Firenze then end up in Roma to fly out?

ChgoBob

4 choices here.

1. Private launch pick up. Pretty expensive.
2. Taxi to P. Roma, then vaporetto.
3. Bus to P. Roma (free with vaporetto pass, Venice Card), then vaporetto.
4. Alilaguna from VCE to Venice. (also available with the Venice Card or separately)

Pizzaman

Bob and Lance, thanks for the info. Any suggestions on LCCs? The reasoning behind taking the train ride was assuming that we would be pretty tired upon landing and might need to sleep for a couple of hours to get our bearings. Any feedback on that?

lance6

Is that a tourist discount card? I thought I saw somewhere a "Florence Card" in a tour book.

When we went to Venezia, we just took the the train to Ven. S. L. and got a tourist ticket for the vaporetto. I think I wrote earlier that it was a three day pass, but I have to correct myself and say I think it was only a one- or two-day pass.

It's funny, I learn all these tips and tricks about Italy travel _after_ we return....

Pizzaman

Taking into account time to deplane and clear customs, how long would you allow to get from FCO to Termina starting from the time our flight arrives?

ChgoBob

Air One or Alitalia have non-stops, but you would have to check travelocity, expedia, Opodo.com, Kelkoo http://tinyurl.com/bjsc6
for the fares.

In my experience, the adrenaline is flowing the first day, and you don't get tired until much later, or the next day. Besides, when you wake up to a bright morning sun, you feel like it's a brand new day anyway.

That's why you have to keep going back! We ALL learn so much afterwards to make it faster, cheaper, and more enjoyable.

Here's the page for the Venice Card.

http://tinyurl.com/ak6pf

zemaitis

Definately give yourself at minimum 2 hours to get to Termini.
The passport control line can be long if you have a flight from a "developing" country that landed before yours. They tend to scrutinize travelers from those countries much more. Note that they have different lines for EU and non-EU passport carrying passangers.
Luggage arrival is aways fickle. I have waited from anything as short as 20 minutes to well over an hour when travelling on transacontinental flights into FCO.
Customs usually ignore you (unless they think you look suspicious for some reason) and with the inflow of tourism in the summer it's a walk through. Remember to go through the correct customs for passengers arriving from outside the EU.

lance6

The two-hour time slot is a good figure if you're looking at leaving the plane to arriving at Termini. Our flight landed a few minutes early, at 6:15 pm instead of the scheduled 6:30 pm. It took about 45 min before our luggage arrived. Clearing customs was a breeze, like the previous poster said there are different lines for EU and non-EU originating countries.

There were two flights that landed at about the same time that were going through baggage claim. After the luggage started running through, people were staggered enough getting their things that we spent perhaps 30 seconds in line, and another 30 seconds getting our passports stamped. Granted, we may have been lucky, but I did notice that they weren't taking too much time with most people. Things may be different for you.

The Leonardo Express to Termini leaves every half hour. Here's the link for the train.. If you are going to fly to Venezia, you may or may not be flying out of FCO, you may have to get over to Ciampino. That requires the F4 Metropolitan train out of Termini. I am not too familiar with the train service out that way since the Metro lines do not service the airports. It takes about 30 min to get to Termini. Realize that the Express arrives at Binario 28 or 29 and if you are trying to get to Venezia the same day, those sometimes leave out tracks that are not close by. Binario 29 is the track that is all the way in the far corner of the station, depending on how much luggage you have, it'll be several minutes to get to the other trains.

wallaby

On a purely emotional basis, there is nothing like arriving in Venice by train. Walking out the station entrance and down the broad expanse of steps with the canals in front of you...

lance6

Wallaby I hear you! Wife and I did the same exact thing, walking out of Ven. S.L. and seeing all the historic building fronts, the gondolas, and the canals. Granted we had to squint past all the tourists and souvenir carts, but man was it neat to see!

slawecki

Pizzaman, if you only have 7 days, I would at least consider skipping Venice and having a good time, unless you think you will never return to italy again. You will burn the better part of 2 days in transit to venice and back, no matter how you travel, and if you only have 7, I would not waste the time on the train.

lance6

I agree with slawecki�the travel alone to Venice can be a headache, esp. if you are coming from FCO. Maybe just stick to Firenze and Roma?

What if you kicked a couple nights in Roma, then traveled to and stayed in Firenze in the middle of your trip, then finished off in Roma?

I might even be inclined to stay in Roma for the entire week, there's so many things to see and you don't want to tire yourself out from the travel back and forth to Venice. You could check out Pompeii, I hear that's a manageable day trip....

canuck_in_pa

That's exactly what we did when we went. 2 nights in Rome, train, 4 nights in Florence, train, 1 night in Rome

4 days in Florence was just scratching the surface art wise.

Now, if you could combine the museums from Florence with the night-life of Rome...

EWC-JMU

...then you would have Madrid.