Flying into Milan or Venice

Since I find better schedules and prices flying into Milan, I fly there and immediately take a train to Venice.

hey donald
when is this dream trip happening? what other cities do you plan to visit, will you rent a car or only trains, your party of 3 will want 2 bedrooms or 1 bedroom with sofabed, price in euros, and are you looking at multi-city (into one city out from another)? what is the difference between flying to milan (cost of hotel and train tickets) over flying to venice? check arrival times and early check in available or luggage storage, any mobility issues?
aloha

It's 2.5 hours by fast train ("freccia" on trenitalia.com) from Milano to Venezia. If you save significant $ by flying into Milan, here's another vote for the plan to go straight to Venice on the morning you arrive. Save your time and energy for your desired destinations!

How much cheaper is a flight to Milan vs Venice? Train fare ranges from $15-$50 depending what time of day you travel and how far ahead you buy the ticket. Also by flying to Milan you start your vacation one day later. Time has value. Be sure to consider ALL the costs associated with the 'cheaper' airfare.

Where are you planning to fly home from?

Where else do you plan to spend time?

Thanks all. It's roughly $100. more to fly into Venice. Less hassle for sure. We are traveling the week after Easter & want to travel mostly by train/bus but will rent a car as needed. Other cities on our list are Bologna, Siena, Florence, Cinque Terre, and Rome. Mostly 3 nights in each place. Prefer not staying in hotels but in neighborhoods, BNBs, etc. Have home sharing points to use too, although we've had more rejections than acceptances.

Flying home from Naples.

Probably not wise to mess with advance discount tickets as they become worthless if you are late arriving. 45 EUR is the Base fare for the Milan-Venice train plus 13 EUR for the train from Malpensa to Milano Centrale. Although you will need to pay about 12 EUR pp to get from Venice airport into Venice proper on the bus+vaporetto or the Alilaguna boat.

That would probably lean the decision toward flying to Venice, as long as you don't change planes at Heathrow or Charles De Gaule.

When flying to Milan remember there are two airports. Linate is much more convenient in access to Milano Centrale. We have also found more flexible times and at time, lower fares, than flying into Malpensa.

Have a great trip!

donalds,

If you're starting your trip in Venice, it makes more sense to fly there first. Aside from wasting time on the train from Milan to Venice, there will also be a financial cost. IMO, it would be better to wake up on your first day in Italy in Venice and start touring straight away.

Check the RS Italy guidebook for information on lodgings not only in Venice but also in the other locations you'll be visiting. It's better to stay right on the island rather than in Mestre or wherever.

As you plan on renting a car, it's important to note that for driving in Italy, each driver listed on the rental form must have the compulsory International Driver's Permit, which is used in conjunction with your home D.L. These are valid for one year, and easily obtained at any CAA/AAA office (two Passport-sized photos required, which may be provided by the issuing office). Failure to produce an IDP if requested can result in fines on the spot!

You may also want to have a look at some of the other posts here concerning the dreaded Zona Traffico Limitato (limited traffic) areas that are becoming increasingly prevalent in many Italian towns & cities especially Florence, which is almost saturated with automated ZTL cameras. EACH PASS through one of the automated Cameras will result in a €100+ ticket, which you won't know about until several months after you return home! This website provides more information - https://www.italybeyondtheobvious.com/dont-mess-with-ztl-zones .

This one's easy. Fly into Venice. On a vacation like this, time is money. Don't use up your time traveling between destinations in order to save a few bucks.

Unless you have a compelling reason to visit for one night the Italian City with the most crime per capita (Milan), $100 savings in airfare is not enough to justify the extra 4hrs travel, the extra €45-60 ($55-70) train fare, and the $150+ in the wasted hotel night in Milan.

The most convenient and probably cheapest way is to fly into Venice and come home from Roma using what is called an Open Jaw ticket or multi-city. Then use the train to move between cities. The extra hundred $ for Venice has to be reduced by the train fare to get into Milan and the fare to Venice plus the time. The hundred bucks will reduced to less than $50. For the convenience spend the $50. And the save for coming home. The schedule out of Rome will be much better than coming from Naples. Many of the flights out of Rome will be direct to the US.

OP already said she's flying INTO Venice or Milan and flying HOME from Naples.

Into Venice / Home from Naples is perfect.

non-hotel lodging? THere are many nice hotels in Venice, but you could also check airbnb.com

Seeing the Duomo all lit up at night, that is an unforgettable sight!! Also dinner of osso bucco and risotto, I’d vote overnight in Milan then the train the Venice the next day. It’s Italy, there are no wrong choices!!!!