I'm about to book train tickets but am wondering how much time to allow between hotel and train station? In Venice we will be taking a water taxi and in Rome, regular taxi. Staying at the Hotel Le Isole in Venice and the Trevi Beau Boutique in Rome. I want to book tickets for early in the day but not so early that we are getting up before dawn! Knowing about how much time to allow to get to the train station will help.
Thanks!
Laurie Ann,
My wife and I will be returning to Venice this Spring and staying in either the San Marco or Castello district which is where your hotel is located. We too will be travelling by rail and plan on asking the hotel about how much time it will take to travel to the station and then adding a pad for unforeseen circumstances. There are some decent cafes in/near the station for breakfast.
As for Rome, you are but a 10 minute ride to Termini but factor in the time of day/day of the week for traffic. It can be brutal.
Google maps can be helpful. Or www.rome2rio.com. Also allow some extra time for taxi to be late even if you ordered it in advance (so maybe another 15 min) and for you to orient yourself in a large train station before you find your platform and your car on the train (so maybe another 15 to 30 min). It partly depends on your comfort level to cut it close. Large train stations always have places for coffee etc so you can relax if you have extra time.
You will want this app on your phone for Venice https://muoversi.venezia.it/en/content/water-bus-service-timetable-0.
In Rome, I would just use Google Maps to estimate the travel time by automobile.
In Venice, the train station is very close to where the vaporettos stop. A water taxi is lovely but we found getting to the station with the vaporetto pretty easy. The train station was pretty easy to navigate. Personally, I'd take something to eat on the train.
In Rome, I'd have the hotel book your taxi for the amount of lead time they think is appropriate. The train station is easy to get to and find your platform.
I like early but not crack-of-dawn trains. It's much easier to negotiate the traffic in cities. Also, from what I learned last summer, you should factor in the possibility of a rail strike. It's not going to affect the fast trains but might the local. It seems that because the strikers don't want to inconvenience commuters, if you book in the commuting time span, you'd be okay.
from the home page of Hotel Le Isole they give how long a vaporetto will take using 4 different options. Add a few minutes to walk to the vaporetto stop close to the hotel and wait for the next boat, and 5 minutes or so once at the station Ferrovia. If you want the expensive experience of a water taxi add a few minutes to find the one you booked and less time in the Grand Canal.
From the Santa Lucia train station: ACTV water bus (public transport)
stopping at S. Zaccaria, line 1 (40 min), line 2 (32 min), line 4.1
(26 min) or line 5.1 (23 min). From San Zaccaria, take Calle del Vin
near Savoia e Jolanda hotel. Walk toward Hotel Campiello. Turn left at
the canal and you’ll see the door to our hotel.
this will be in reverse but should give you an idea. The hotel will be able advise you after you arrive. You will be in a very convenient area for both taxis and vaporettos. It will all seem second nature once you've tried it.
if you are looking at train tickets remember that in addition to Trenitalia (the big guys) there is also competition on the same tracks from ItaloTreno. I prefer them actually. Maybe a teeny tine bit slower but often cheaper, even more after you join their free to join newsletter.
Thanks everyone. I've figured out a rough estimate and have bought based on that. If we need to get up earlier, it will be fine. But it looks good now.
Now on to the rental car!
Get the app Chebateo (which boat). It links in real time to the vap service. Plug in departure a d arrival stops and the app gives routes and times.
