flying vs train venice to rome

Like you said, getting to the airport, getting through security and waiting for your flight will eat up the time difference. You'll be going from center city to center city on the train. And, you'd be missing out on a great cultural experience by missing the train. It's a shame you're bypassing Florence and Tuscany.

Cheryl, Travel by air from Venice to Rome will take longer than by train. You'll have to get to the airport at least one-two hours prior to flight time, go through the usual hassles with security and check-in, and possibly face surcharges for your luggage. You'll only be allowed ONE carry-on item. When you arrive in Rome, it will likely take at least half an hour to collect luggage and make your way to the airport station. Then it will be another 35 minutes on the Leonardo Express to Roma Termini and another 10-minutes or so to walk to the front of the station where the Taxi's are located. I really doubt that flying will be faster on that route! OTOH, the trip via EuroStar Italia / Alta Velocita will be ~3H:43M, at a cost as low as €59 if you can get one of the "Mini" fares. There are departures about once an hour, so you have far greater flexibility in when you want to travel. The trip will take you through the beautiful scenery of Tuscany an Umbria on the way to Rome. If you're travelling with someone else, one of you can make a trip to the dining car to get some snacks. If you're by yourself, just wait for the food cart and buy a sandwich and coffee or whatever. Note that all seats on the ES / AV trains require compulsory reservations, which are included with your ticket (but NOT included with Railpasses). You'll be assigned a Car No. (Carrozza) and a Seat No. (Posti). As this is your first trip to Italy you may find it helpful to have a look at the Italy 2012 Guidebook (also available in E-Book format). There's a wealth of information in the book. Buon Viaggio!

thanks for your quick reply! this is the last leg of the trip. we will be riding the train for every other connection.....Paris/Nice/Cinque-Terra/Bologna/Venice and then on to Rome by.......? We will also be doing day trips from Bologna so i think we will get to see quite a bit of the countryside.

Take the train and make sure you get the FRECCIA ROSSA. Quickest way and cheapest too. Don't take other trains, FRECCIAROSSA it's the high speed trains, they should take 3 hours and something Venice-Rome.

Cheryl, As a general rule, when a train trip is less than 6 hours, I just about always choose the train. Keep in mind that the train stations are in the city center and in most cases you don't have to "check in" early. If you fly, you need to get to the airport, check in 2 hours in advance, fly, get off the plane, get to the city. By the time you do this, you've often added 3 to 4 hours to that 1 hour flight. Also, when you are comparing the cost of train vs plane, make sure you add in the extra costs for getting to and from the airport.

I would take the train. It's a pleasant ride, you get to see the countryside and you can have a nice spot in Florence if you like. Make sure you get the high-speed train. The local train can be hell! I'd recommend going to the train station in Venice as soon as you arrive and purchase your tickets. I used the kiosk, never talked to anyone and used my debit card. No problems.

Recently wrote about this at: Traveling from Rome to Venice: The Train is Usually Better Than the Plane! . I've done it both ways and never had "delays" when riding the trains!

General rule of thumb for me is to take the airfare I see and add $40 to cover transportation for one person to & from the airports. Then take the duration of the flight and add four hours to cover lingering in the airports and taking ground transport. If the result is anything close to a tie, I would give preference to the train because it lets me see more scenery, walk around more easily, and is less prone to long delays. Only if the result still strongly favors flying would I consider flying. People often get over-enthusiastic about dirt-cheap airfares and short flight times because they don't take the big picture properly into consideration. **also note that when comparing fares there are often huge discounts to be had on trains, too - and they don't try to weasel their way to higher profits by charging you for other stuff like the airlines do. If you buy early enough, that Venice-Rome train might be had for as little as a 9Euro mini fare. No extra costs.

Can I endorse the various previous comments, especially by Ron and Ken. Just one ting - Ken you said €59. Maybe your finger slipped. My wife and I are doing that train trip next month on a MINI fare of only €9 each.

Nigel, No, my finger didn't "slip". It was late so possibly I wasn't seeing the screen too clearly. When I checked the Trenitalia website, that was the "Mini fare" that was shown. That particular trip is very pleasant. I did the section from Florence to Rome last year, and it was great! Cheers!

I'd personally drive myself on that route (but that is because I dislike any form of public transportation in general for a variety of reasons) if I had time. Realistically, for the average traveler or if I needed to get from Venezia to Roma ASAP, I'd go for a high-speed train. Exception: if I were to take a connecting flight, situation in which I'd go for plane (in the same ticket with the following flight).

thank you everyone! looks like the train wins, hands down!

We had the same dilema two years ago and decided to flying. It was a big mistake. If we had to do it again, we would definitely take the train.