I am looking for suggestions for getting between Venice and Florence in August 2008 with a family of 4 and luggage ? Van / Driver suggestions / etc ?

Thanks

Scott

Well, the train is the most obvious answer, because it takes you from point to point probably the quickest. There's a Eurostar train if you want maximum comfort and ease, although I personally had no problem with the IC/ICPlus trains and even the regional trains. Eurostar trains will have more facilities for luggage right at the doors so you don't have to lug it all the way into your compartment; some cars in the IC trains may have room for luggage at the end of the cars as well.

Here's the Trenitalia website in English to book trains:

http://www.trenitalia.com/en/index.html

I don't why you would consider anything other than the train, it will be easier, more efficient, and cheaper than a car.

We took the Eurostar from Venice to Rome (it stopped in Florence). As we were going on a transatlantic cruise from Rome we had alot of luggage. We took a private water taxi to the station (expensive but worth it) and there was a fellow with a little tractor and cart waiting (we didn't arrange in advance but I'm sure he figured if we were using private transportation we would use him - boy was HE right). He took us to the terminal and waited until our train came in and loaded our luggage. We had bicycle cable locks and threaded them through the luggage as we were warned that sometimes people will jump on at a stop and grab the luggage as it is at the end of the car. When we got to Rome we looked around and again used someone although they had alot of carts available. It is just getting the stuff off and on the train that can be difficult. The food on the train was heavy (pasta and then a meat dish) so you might want to take some paninis with you.

another vote for the train-i've taken it and it is as bdemaria puts it, it's eaisier, more efficient & cheaper than a car but i will add that if done during the day time, everyone (including the car driver) gets to see some very pretty scenery.

just remember, if the train is scheduled to depart at say 13:33, it will depart at 13:33 so don't be late.

I'll vote for the train as well, based on our trip in Sept/Oct this year, we got a eurail pass and loved it. But, as you are going from Venice to Florence, try and reserve your ticket ahead of time from St Lucia station (right in Venice, by the Ferrovia vaporetto station), and try to ensure you don't have to change at Mestre, as carrying your luggage between the platforms is a real pain.

As for the reliability of the trains in Italy, it's perhaps not as good as one of the previous posters said. On our way from Rome to Venice, we had one train switch on our reservation, I think it was in Verona. For some unknown reason our train arrived almost 15 minutes late despite leaving on time without any delays, and we saw our connecting train roll away, on its way to St. Lucia station! We just stayed on our train as it was going to Mestre, we thought it would be easy to get any train across the water to St. Lucia station, and the platform changed at least three times for trains that were to be going to St. Lucia. All announcements there are in Italian-which isn't all the surprising-but the english skills of the workers at the station (while far better than my Italian skills) were pretty much useless. Eventually we ran into a couple who happened to be going to the same hotel as us on the platform....sometimes you get lucky! Enjoy the trip....

Our train was precisely on time BUT our tour guide in Rome said that that was very unusual. He said the reason traffic is so bad in Rome is that everyone drives to work because of unreliable trains. This discussion was going on as we kept repeatedly going to the terminal to pick up our friends who were coming by train from Paris. There was a 2 hour delay in the end.

The train is a great way to go. You will get to see the Italian sites/countryside during the trip and the seats are quite comfortable.

How old are the kids? I think they'll love it.
Just, word to the wise, keep an eye on your belongings.
With such a flurry of activity with the bags/kids, you'll be easily distracted and might be a good target for pick pocketers or petty thieves.
Don't freak out about it. But, just have a watchful eye.

A lot of this depends on the type of train you take. Roman commuter trains are notorious for being late. Int'l trains can be tricky as well. However, the Italian ES system runs on time. On the rare chance is isn't on time and you are more than 30 minutes late, you get an immediate cash refund of 50% of the cost of your ticket. In 10+ years of riding the ES, approximately 10 round trips a year, I have qualified for the rebate 1 time. In all other instances I have arrived early, on time or w/in 5 minutes of the scheduled arrival.

most of our travels had been on the es have been between bologna and venice in feb. on one occasion, the es was buried in snow, and many hours late. the railroad ticket seller put us on the ic . she was adament that there would be room for us, and that it would be on time. they pulled out a fresh train that started in bologna, and went straight to venice. took about 10 min longer than the es. first class was half the price and twice as luxurous as the amtrak here in us. we now take the ic(do I have the letters correct?).

IC = intercitta so indeed you have the correct abbreviation.

Hi bdemaria, how do you apply for this rebate if it happens to you? I never did hear of this. And do you know if it applies to travellers with Eurail passes as well?

I don't know the process w/Eurail passes, but my instinct tells me that there's probably some fine print which excludes you.

As for applying for the rebate, you simply walk to the ES window when you finally arrive at your destination and it is issued on the spot. I've never tried to claim one retroactively.

you know you can get rent a car for a day (hertz) in venice drop in florence around 100 euros, right?

Since moving to Venice I have done the train there twice, and driven twice and would suggest you use the train, especially if you are not familiar with local parking rules and driving customs (Driving in Italy is fun )

Keep your luggage and family together and you will be fine, plus Mestre to Firenze is fairly cheap as TrenItalia shows. Buona Fortuna.


Ciao,
FH