General Strike for Oct 20th Thoughts or Tips? Verona to Venice

No advice there but I am in Varenna on the 19th but leaving to Venice on the 21st! Hopefully someone here can guide you.

Thanks Christi,

Oddly last year when I was in Milan we were going to Varenna and the hotel emailed us about an impending train strike. We had planned to do another half day in Milan and then go to Varenna on the most convenient afternoon train. But instead we got up early and got onto the Varenna train before the strike and made it there without issue.

We'll never know what would have happened had we stayed but we made the safe choice.

Have a great trip, maybe I'll see you on the Venice train on the 21st! ;)
=Tod

I’m going from Varenna to Milan, then on to Venice that day. I’ve already purchased my direct ticket from Milan to Venice and I have an Airbnb waiting for me, so this will really throw off my plans. I think our Italian members are saying the strike can still be resolved, but the closer the day gets, the more nerve wracking it gets.

My primary concerns are 1) how will I get from point A to B to C, and 2) will I receive a refund for the ticket I’ve already purchased.

I have heard that the Italotreno is less likely to be affected by railroad strikes as a private company but in a General strike I don't know if this is still true. Also Italotreno doesn't offer any routes between 13:49 and 18:49 so not only are my options limited there's a 5 hour gap where there will not be any scheduled trains to take.

At this point I'm considering booking the 13:49 Italotreno as well as a really cheap Tranitalia ticket for 15:00 as insurance and just eat that cost as a back-up if the original train goes as scheduled.

It seems like going early and seeing what you can get on would be the best move but I'm not sure when we'll be finished in Verona on that day and was thinking afternoon to be safe.

@KRS There is some information on tickets here: https://www.italiarail.com/train-strikes-italy

The chaos is part of the Italian charm and we'll take it as it comes,
=Tod

Answering my own post with updates from discussions with our BnB owner.

Here is the list of guaranteed Intercity and Frecciarossa fast trains:
https://www.trenitalia.com/content/dam/tcom/allegati/trenitalia_2014/informazioni/TABELLA_A_Treni_garantiti_DPLH.pdf

And here is a list of the Regionale trains for the Veneto that are guaranteed:
https://www.trenitalia.com/content/dam/tcom/allegati/trenitalia_2014/in_regione/treni-garantiti/Regionale%20Veneto_sito.pdf

If I'm reading this right it looks like 9753 Verona 19:30 - Venice 20:42 is guaranteed. It wouldn't be my choice but it would be okay. Or the 9755 at 20:00 is guaranteed as far as Mestre at least (it goes on to Udine).
Earlier it looks like there's only the 9715 Verona 10:30 - Venice 11:42 in the morning.

i'm considering buying a super cheap italotreno ticket for 18:49 > 19:50 into Venice and if it doesn't go just wait for the Trenitalia at 19:30. If I buy a Base price Trenitalia ticket I'll have to wrestle them for a refund but it could technically happen.
Or maybe do the opposite and book the Frecciarossa train at 10:30 and then the italotreno at 10:49 as a back-up option. I know i'm probably throwing some money away to have the insurance of back-up plan but if it works I think it would be worth it for the really cheap tickets.

Keep in mind if this happens as a general strike buses and other transport to and from stations could be affected.

We'll see how it all goes,
=Tod

This is incredibly worrisome. I'm traveling solo, so I don't even have anyone to brainstorm with if the strike is not canceled. I reached out to my Airbnb host in Venice to see if they have any ideas. I appreciate any new information being shared!

There are buses. They don’t necessarily have many departures but I would check that out as an option.

Leave a day earlier or stay a day longer. Flexibility is the key to successful travel