Arriving in Rome

First answer - it is going to be cheaper to get Euros at an ATM in the Rome airport. Cash in major
cities is not really needed these days, although it is nice to have some for whatever eventuality
might pop up. But use your bank ATM card, not a currency exchange. The straight exchange rate
is better and the fees are much smaller.

As for getting to Venice, you really have two options; train or flight. Buying an additional plane ticket
is risky, especially if you are checking bags. You would have to claim bags, recheck on the second
airline, and reclear security. If you miss the second flight because your first one was late, you're at
the mercy of the second airline to accommodate you. So it is not necessarily quick.

The flight itself is an hour, and the total transit time will depend on your baggage situation, what
the flight sched to Venice is, and how much risk you want to take on the potential of delays.

The train ticket will most likely be less than the plane ticket, but you have to take the airport train
into Roma Termini and then a 4 hour train ride from there. There are obviously more trains on the
schedule than planes.

Thank you so much for the information it is greatly appreciated.
My friend and I were also looking into just hiring a private car to drive us to Venice not real sure how expensive that will be but it might be more comfortable and less stressful.

Katsinca

It's a 5.5 hour trip by train. You can fly on ITA 4 times per day (most days) very inexpensively non-stop--1 hr..

I use very few Euros when I travel because credit cards are accepted so many places. What few cash withdrawals are at bank ATM's. I avoid American Express and other non-bank ATM's because they charge too many service charges.

would it be cheaper to come into the country with some Euros or wait and get money there?

I’m going to Italy in a few days. I googled “buy euros near me” and it directed me to an Investopedia page that listed a place a few blocks away selling Euros at 1.105 when the rate was 1.090. Wells Fargo was selling them at 1.145. I bought them at the 1.105. If you can get a decent rate here before leaving, you should buy them here.

If you buy them there, you’ll probably pay $5 plus 3% or something worse.

My friend and I were also looking into just hiring a private car to drive us to Venice not real sure how expensive that will be but it might be more comfortable and less stressful.

I'm pretty sure it will not be cheap (Google says it's 326 miles). But, there is a website called findtransfers.com,
which will take your xport requirement and farm it out to multiple providers who will quote you a price. It will
be faster to get a handle on the price using a site like that as opposed to trying to contact multiple
providers yourself.

The Rome airport website may also have pointers under the ground xport page.

I did consider buses as an option - they would probably be the cheapest, but also ~8 hours on the bus. The train is going to be much more comfortable for a small added cost.

On Euros, Marco is correct about purchasing Euros at an exchange office. Go to a bank ATM and use your bank
card to make a withdrawal from your checking or savings account.

The advantage of getting Euros before you leave is some level of confidence if you need cash. The advantage of
doing it there is you can withdraw as you need them and not come back home with a lot of Euros you have no use for.

Hi Katsinca -
You definitely do not want to hire a private driver to get you from Rome to Venice. It's a very long distance, and it'll be very expensive. A first dummy booking on mydaytrip.com for a random date in April estimated €1,036 for two.

Either take a "fast" train from Roma Termini or fly from Fiumicino, which is the airport I assume you'll be arriving at. As said above, there are definitely going to be more trains than flights so it's a safer bet if you need to plan for a flight delay or some other snag. Buy your tickets when you arrive. Italian trains are VERY comfortable, and a "fast" one to Venice will pop you out right on the island versus the airport, which is some distance away on the mainland.

You can get Euros from a bank affiliated ATM in Rome or Venice, and that's probably the cheapest way. However. we (and many others) feel more comfortable having some Euros in hand upon arrival. That eliminates the problem of finding an ATM, praying it works (they do malfunction and / or run out of funds), and doing it when you are jet lagged and on strange turf. The extra it will cost to get a hundred or so Euros from your local bank is minimal compared to the cost of the trip. Be sure to check with your bank (and credit card companies) to see if a travel alert needs to be put on the account. Some do, some don't. You don't want them to see a foreigh transaction, think it's fraud, and lock down the account.

Thank you everyone for the wonderful information.It is greatly appreciated! I think I am leaning more towards getting a high speed train ticket versus the private car. I would like to get a nice seat on the train with enough space to put our luggage and just sit back and relax. I believe we are arriving somewhere around 10 o'clock in Rome and I'm hoping to get through the airport within an hour or 2..
Thank you again for all the information.It is deeply appreciated!

Katsinca

Wait until you arrive in Rome to buy your train ticket to Venice
Delays are not unheard of, lines at passport control do happen…

If you do get Euros before departure, don't get too much. You can easily replenish
in Venice. Carrying too much cash is not a great idea for multiple reasons.

Also, whether you take the train or plane, you need to research how to get to your
lodging in Venice once you arrive there. There are options which vary in cost, comfort
level, and how much luggage you're carrying. Venice can be confusing to get around,
so don't necessarily expect to get off the train and walk all the way to your hotel.

Thank you all for the information.I appreciate it . I'm gonna check with my triple.A location to see whether or not I can get money and how much the exchange radius.We may get a few dollars to take with us. And yes, I'm researching how to get from where will we land up in Venice to getting to our hotel. Not sure if we can get there text. I'm not sure if we can get there by taxi.Or by boat still looking up that information

Thank you all again,
Katsinca

And yes, I'm researching how to get from where will we land up in Venice to getting to our hotel.

If you let us know the name of your hotel in Venice, one of us may be able to help with pretty specific directions.

Thank you.That might be a very good idea.Exclamation poi'm assuming if we.
Take the train from the airport.We'll land at the main train station in venice so here is where we would need to go.
Foresteria Valdese Venezia. I do not know much more about the hotel than what I saw from booking.com.But if anybody has any suggestions of how to get from the train station to the hotel it would be appreciated as usual.

Thanks,
Katsinca

People with more expertise in Venice than I will probably know better, but if
you can manage your luggage on a boat with the possibility you are standing,
then from the Santa Lucia train station, walk out to the canal, buy a ticket (1
trip, 9.50 euros), and get on the 4.1 or 4.2 vaporetto boat. From what I can see,
you will want to get off at the Ospedale stop. From there, you have a bit of a walk
(3 or 4 blocks to the accomodation, but you will most likely need Google Maps
or some other navigation to make your way through the streets.

Kastinca, the hotel's website has "How to" directions for getting to it from the train station:

https://www.foresteriavenezia.it/accommodations-castello-quarter-venice/

With the directions from the hotel web site, you should be able to use google maps street view and "walk" the route from the vaporetto stop. It might take a bit of experimenting, and might get frustrating, but once you get the hang of it, you'll be able to see all the landmarks along the way.