one day between Rome and Venice

What time does your RS tour need to meet in Venice? The Bologna part sounds fine so far but if your tour starts sometime the next morning, you might not have enough time for the bike ride. It's 30 minutes to Ferrara from Bologna on the early trains (7:20 and 8:20). Trains depating at 8:28 and 8:42 take 20 minutes longer. From Ferrara to Venezia-Santa Lucia, the train journey varies between 1hr on the fast train to 2hrs on the Regionale train.

You are meeting the tour in Venice and want to go to Ferrara for a bike ride (and maybe a Bologna visit).
Ferrara is in the north, very close to Venice, probably less than 120 km (75 miles), so just over one hour from "Venice. Bologna is also in the North, maybe 30 miles south of Ferrara (1/2 hour). Could you elaborate why you are purchasing an air ticket to Rome, way down south of all the above cities, instead of flying to Venice or even Milan? Just curious.

My choices for resting prior to a tour would be Orvieto (1 h from Rome by train) or Ravenna (don't know the time from Rome, but about couple of hours south of Venice by train), but it depends on your interests. Orvieto in particular is wonderful for just wandering.

Elaine,, my idea of resting up and adjusting to a new time zone after flying for 15 hours does not involve immediatly jumping onto a train or taking a bike tour. Both of which sound like fun, but not on as a prelude to the tour. Also , there are a few factors that may make your plan a throw out.. like what if your plane is late or your luggage is delayed,, I personally would stay put for first day, and yes, why not fly into Venice?

Thanks for all the thoughts. I can get to Rome in half the time and at half the cost of going to Venice. 11 hours instead of 26 hours and $1,000 instead of $2,000. Since the tour completes in Rome I thought this would work. Open planning like flying into Venice and out from Rome was even more expensive. After 11 hours on a plane, I don't know about another 3 hours on a train but it is still better than flying into Venice. I started thinking Ferrara may be better and skip balogna since it is another big city when I will be seeing 3 on the tour.

I recommend staying a night in Rome, then taking the train to Venice the next day.

You might double check the fares out of Raleigh-Durham. I found mid May flights into Venice and out of Rome @ $1050 on U.S. Airlines. Going out, change flights in Philly and Rome to Charlotte returning. After such a long flight, it's always best to play it a little conservative on Day #1.

I agree with Pat. We all have marvelous visions of grandeur of what we'll do as soon as we arrive. It seldom works out the way we plan. Chances are you've been up for about 24 hours and that takes its toll on your mind and energy. (I am 26 years old...my first few times in Europe I got away with jumping off the plane and going 100mph, but I can't anymore!) I would advise going straight to Venice, get to your hotel (if they'll allow you to check in). Set your alarm, and wake up in time for dinner. Then explore the city with fresh eyes. This way you've had some rest and are ready for what comes your way.

Elaine, I wonder if you might have mistakenly been pricing two separate one-way airline tickets instead of choosing the Multiple Cities option on most websites that allows you to purchase them the same as a round trip ticket. (The old term for this was "Open Jaws" but I've never seen that used on the airline sites.) Good luck.

Thanks for all the information!! You are absolutely right about trying to get tickets with 2 one way tickets instead of multiple cities. I have found the US air ticket and will fly directly to Venice. This is a huge relief for my time and budget. Thanks everyone for helping me with this. This is also the reason I am taking my first tour over seas with a Rick Steves tour group. Elaine