Connecting from Venice to Trieste

Hi Wallace -
Question for you? I see that you had previous questions about gondola rides in Venice + visiting St Marks. Will you be spending time in Venice before your cruise - and looking to go onward to Trieste afterwards - or are you intending to go to Trieste upon first-day arrival at Marco Polo and back to Venice after your cruise? Your more complete itinerary could make a difference in transfer recommendations.

I'm guessing you're staying in Venice at least the night before the cruise as flying in on departure day would be riskier than most of us would recommend. In that case, returning to the airport really wouldn't make any sense unless you're only doing it to catch the Flixbus? Editing to add: if there are reports of safety issues with Flixbus I haven't seen them. Still, you ALWAYS want to protect your valuables (cash, credit cards, phone, etc) when sightseeing or taking public transit.

Regardless, Trieste is just far enough away from(at least two hours by road) that a private transfer car/taxi would be spendy but let's see what your itinerary looks like, OK?

Been a while since I was in that area, but in general:

1) Are there reports of luggage theft or even pickpoketing aboard the flexibus?
I am sure there are some, maybe not, but that could be said of any transport in Italy. I assume you mean Flixbus, they are fine in general, but there are other buses such as Itabus.

2) Do the taxis at Marco Polo airport taxi stands go to the Trieste cruise port?

If you find one willing, sure, but for that distance, best to set up something ahead.

3) Are there taxi stands at Piazzale Roma with taxis that go directly to the Trieste cruise port? How much would it cost?

Same as above. As for cost, I have seen estimates of 200 euro or more.

Not sure exactly where you will be starting from, are you just arriving at the airport and going to Trieste? or are you staying in Venice then need to get to Trieste?

An option you have not considered is train, from Venice SMN, the train takes 2-3 hours and costs 20-30 euro, from Trieste station you can get a taxi to the port.

There may be shuttles dedicated to runs to the port from Piazzale Roma in Venice, you might ask your hotel for suggestions, or maybe others on here have thoughts.

I plugged a random date/time for 2 people, Venice Marco Polo> Trieste port, into DayTrip (a driver service that has been recommended on these forums) and came up with $328 for their lowest priced option. You could do the same with desired date and time as that price could shift depending on month/day/time of day.

https://daytrip.com

I'm considering three options to travel from Venice to Trieste

Does the cruise line not have a solution/offer?

Thanks to all who have replied.

I'm going to visit Venice first for a few days, and then I'll head over to Trieste for a cruise.

Thanks Kathy about daytrip.com. I guess it's bit on the expensive side. 443 euros for three people. I'm thinking of going the route of booking through airporttransfer.com.

About the taxis, it seems no one has taken a trip from Marco Polo Airport the to the Trieste cruise port. So no one can be confident that such a ride exists let alone how much it would cost.

I'd prefer to avoid the train since there are accounts (referenced from another Rick Steves forum) of pickpockets and thieves stealing luggage.

The cruise does offer $120 per person from Marco Polo Airport = $360.

Wallace

Take reports of pickpockets and luggage theft as a caution to be vigilant, not to avoid a mode of transport. If that were the case, then you might as well cancel your trip and stay home.

The bad news is you are just as likely to get pickpocketed, or ripped off by a taxi, just getting to Venice, the same with getting on the Vaporettos, or even just wandering Venice. Not to mention virtually every other phase of your trip. The good news is that trouble of this type is unlikely, and you can easily mitigate your risk with simple measures.

I never say never, and I am as susceptible as anyone to having a loss, but in 25 years of travel and more trips to Europe than I can accurately remember, I, and many on this forum, have never had an issue.

The train is safe and no more a risk than any other mode of transportation, certainly more cost effective, and likely safer, I would still suggest that as the best option.

I'll agree with Paul, Wallace. There's no need to fear the trains as they're usually very efficient, and you run no more risk of being pickpocketed or having some other sort of negative experience than you would doing some of the other things he listed. You just have to keep your cards/cash/phone stashed underneath your clothing - never in an exterior pocket or unlocked purse; this applies to everyday sightseeing too - and your eyes on your bags when on the train. There's also NO need to backtrack to Marco Polo airport if you're staying on the island of Venice so I'd think twice about a service which is largely for airport transfers.

You can get on a train at Venezia S. Lucia station - on the island - and go all the way to Trieste Centrale station in 2 hours and 5-to-22 minutes: you don't have to change trains. I'm looking at tickets that are running from 16,00 euro to 21 euro pp depending on time and date. From Triestre Centrale, grab a taxi to the port. The trains have restrooms, and you can also take your breakfast or lunch with you! Do any of the 3 of you have any mobility issues we need to be aware of?

My observation has been that long distance taxi/transfer trips work out to about one euro per km, that the driver has to cover. Thus a ~160 km trip from Venice to Trieste is a ~320km +/- drive for the driver.
3 people with luggage for a cruise probably is best done in a mini van so the 400+ you mention is not surprising, especially when you have to add on for tolls.

It may be difficult to find a car service that will beat the cruise bus price.

An alternative bus service is Flixbus... https://www.flixbus.com/ --

What is involved to get to/from their pick up & drop off points at each end of your trip is an "I don't know".
Picking random weekday dates the fare is ~$10. per person.

I will let you do the cost/benefit analysis to determine what works for you.

happy travels

“I'd prefer to avoid the train since there are accounts (referenced from another Rick Steves forum) of pickpockets and thieves stealing luggage.”

If you’re looking to not pay more than $350 the train is really the only way. Trains in Italy are very safe. I’ve been taking them, regionale and others, for more than 25 years in my travels to Italy and also lived in Italy for a while and NEVER had any issues being pickpocketed or having luggage stolen. One or two incidents shouldn’t make you not take a train. You run a higher risk of being pickpocketed in Venice just walking around or taking a vaporetto and these are facts.

I'd prefer to avoid the train since there are accounts (referenced
from another Rick Steves forum) of pickpockets and thieves stealing
luggage.

I don't know what other forum you've read it in, but you really should not worry about that. Yes, it can happen, but you're making a mountain out of a mole hill.

Thanks to all who are vouching for the train from personal experience. We have a large suitcase (airplane checked baggage size) that I hear needs to be put at the rear of the car. This makes being vigilente difficult if the seats that I have are near the front.
Any strategies?

It looks like Go Opti will take you to the Trieste cruise ship port for €49 per person.
https://www.goopti.com/en/transfers/products?date=leave-2025-02-13+11%3A00&from=27&passengers=2&to=679

We enjoyed the train. Bigger seats. Comfortable ride.
2 hours, €20/person

Are there reports of luggage theft or even pickpoketing aboard the flexibus?

I'm not sure how you think this can happen. The flixbus runs non stop from Venice Marco Polo to Trieste so once the luggage is in the hold of the bus it stays there for the duration. You board the bus, go to your seat and stay sat there for the journey. How can pickpocketing happen? The most you can do on the bus is go to the restroom. When/if you do that look after your possessions the same as you would anywhere else, including in your home town.

To find where the stops are click on the little book next to the stop name.

All the trains I can see from Venice are Regional Trains- that means no assigned seating. The train starts at Venice Santa Lucia so get on board as soon as you can, and choose a seat close to a luggage stack.

Are there any statistics of how many of the millions of people who travel by rail in Italy have luggage stolen? Probably not as it is so vanishingly rare.

You say you are travelling with a checked luggage sized case. There is far more chance of a dishonest employee at either airport (when you cannot be vigilant) taking a liking to your luggage.
Yes that is a small chance, but it is a chance. I wouldn't obsess over it, but then I don't even think of someone trying to steal my case from the hold of a bus or the luggage stack of a train. Doing a holistic risk assessment theft by out of sight baggage handlers is surely more of a risk.
Similarly at the cruise port. You will NOT be allowed to board the ship with that sized case. It will have to be checked. When that happens it will then pass through a whole chain of people (and security are authorised to open it if they see fit) before it is delivered to your cabin on board. Who is to say that some security person or baggage handler is not light fingered? Another very small chance, but a possibility.

Go Opti says it leaves at 11 and arrives at 1315 as a shared service for 49 Euro. What happens if one of the other passengers is late, or there is an incident on the road? Chances are that ship check in closes at 1500 or not much later. I would want to be moving on whatever transport far sooner than that, and aim to be at any cruise embarkation port by noon.
That feels very penny wise, pound foolish. If the cruise transfer leaves at 11 and arrives late due to any incident then the ship waits for it. Not so for any form of your own private transport- flixbus, train, taxi, shuttle.

@isn31c - the link in my first post for GoOpti shows 11 am, as I just used that for an example. The OP can request anytime that they want. Here I requested 7am and it shows a drop off by 9:15 https://www.goopti.com/en/transfers/products?date=leave-2025-02-13+07%3A00&from=27&passengers=2&to=679

They will pick you up whenever you want. I’ve used the service before and it was great.

One more note about your bag? I'm hoping it's not a HUGE bag - such as a 30-incher - as you'd find it difficult to manage in Venice or indeed in Italy in general. Lots of hotels don't have elevators, streets can be paved in cobbles or be generally rough, sidewalks can be very narrow, etc. The smaller and lighter you can make it, the better, or do 2 smaller bags instead of one very large one.

Thanks April!
I think GoOpti is a great idea! I wasn't able to find something like it before. You solved the problem!
Hi Kathy: Thanks for the reminder about the small alleys. I'll double check the size.

Save travels to everyone!

Wallace