Flying in to Vienna and out of Rome for 16 days. Would like to do Venice, Florence, Sorrento and Rome in Italy. Would ideally like to do one other city in Austria other than Vienna but also want an easy way to get to Venice. Any thoughts on best way to get to Venice? Cannot drive. Need rail/air options only. Thanks!
Posted by
Australia
863 posts
We caught the train from Vienna to Venice with an overnight stop in Sankt Veit an der Glan in Austria. St Veit was a lovely small town and we stayed in a wonderful surrealist designed hotel the Fuchtspalast. Villa has would also be an option. Staying in this area cuts the almost 8 hour train trip into two more manageable 4-ish hour trips.
Posted by
Vienna, Austria
5382 posts
The Man in Seat 61 has an excellent explanation of your train options - https://www.seat61.com/trains-and-routes/vienna-to-venice-by-train.htm
The scenery between Vienna to Venice is spectacular so I recommend a day time journey.
I personally would not break up the trip as there is nowhere on the route that rivals Vienna or Venice. If you insist, then Villach or Klagenfurt make sense.
Be sure to use the Herman spellings of Vienna (Wien) and Venice (Venedig) when booking your tickets.
Posted by
60 posts
In November we flew from Vienna to Venice on Austrian Air. It was a short flight and very inexpensive--about $80 each.
Posted by
Irving
2948 posts
How many nights are you sleeping in Vienna? You need a minimum of four nights for Vienna alone (three full days) but if you can add a night take a direct train from Wien Hbf (central train station) to Bratislava hl.st. (1h 15m) then walk (30m) or taxi to the old town. Bratislava, Slovakia is definitely worth exploring and makes a perfect day trip from Vienna.
Posted by
OP
23 posts
Thank you ALL for such great suggestions! I didn't realize that I could break up the train journey.
Posted by
Vienna, Austria
5382 posts
You’ll need to buy two tickets when you break the journey or make sure that the terms of your ticket allow you to break the journey. Be certain as fines can be stiff.
Posted by
Los Angeles, CA
515 posts
A few months ago I did a similar trip over a longer period. From Vienna (maybe drive to Melk) you could go to Salzburg (possible side trip to Zell Am See or similar lake areas) then Innsbruck then drop down to Bolzano (and nice nearby towns like Merano, Ortisei and Dolomites) then Verona then Venice ... take high speed train through Tuscany and Emilia Romagna foodie area (which I like more than Rome and Venice)... then Rome ... or just stay on the train another hour to Naples, then take train or boat to Sorrento then Positano. You can even take an overnight boat from Naples to Palermo Sicily if you want the real deal.