Open Jaw or Round Trip - So many decisions!!!

Check some more airfares - I don't think I've ever booked flights where there was that much disparity between open jaws and round trip flights. Even if there is some difference in the costs of the two itineraries, my time is always worth something, especially as I don't have unlimited amounts of vacation time. How valuable is the time you'd save (or rather, the time you'd have for more enjoyment in Rome or Venice) in not having to travel back to Rome? And, in terms of taking the train from Rome to Venice, I would probably take the train straight to Venice, but I've been to Italy a number of times, and would feel comfortable getting around while jetlagged. You'll have to get from the airport outside Rome to the railstation in the middle of Rome. Once you're on the train, it's easy.

Chris, the fastest train trip from Venice back to Rome will take 5hrs and cost $117 each. I looked it up. You would first take the high-speed ES-AV train from Venice to Rome and then the Leonardo Express to the airport. You could ride on slower train types that make more stops for less money but the trip will take longer. The $65 just didn't look right. You can easily fly into Rome, take the bus or train to Siena, take the bus to Florence and then the high-speed to Venice. If you R/T out of Rome, you will need to return to Rome for the last night before your flight home. You will never make it from Venice on the day of your flight. If your flight is an overnight from the U.S. you will most likely arrive in the morning some time. If you can sleep a bit on the plane, you won't have any trouble getting on a train to Venice. When, we go there, we're out and about for the remainder of the day. We're seniors and it works just fine.

Chris is correct about the 3.5 hour journey but that is from the central station (not the airport). That is the length of the trip if you take the Eurostar train between Rome and Venice. However, does your plane land at 2:30? And is Rome your first airport in Europe? Make sure to take into account the time that it takes to get through immigration, out of the airport, and to the train station. Also add in the cost of getting from the airport to the train station. If you land at 2:30, I think it is ambitious to continue on to Venice that night and it won't be by 6pm. Also, the Eurostar requires a reservation and I wouldn't want to commit to a specific train so close to the time of landing in case your flight is delayed. Only you can decide if $400 is worth it. If you fly R/T to Rome, I'd probably reorganize the trip to spend the first night in Rome. Go see the Trevi fountain lit up. Have a nice dinner. Get a good night's sleep and then head to Venice. $400 could cover an extra day of travel or some nice extras. One other thing ... have you checked flying into other airports that are close to Venice (e.g. Verona, etc.) just to see if it makes a difference in price?

I am with Lexma -- have never seen that much difference in an open jaw ticket. Even had a couple of times when the open jaw was cheaper. However, extra leg to Venice could be the problem given that the short hops are expensive. Also, it probably a little early for best prices for October. I would watch it for a couple of months.

When you travel you either spend time or money...or both. I agree with the poster that thought these prices for October were high. Check with vayama.com, mobissimo.com, and tripadvisor.com for ticket prices. Also, there is no way you would arrive in Rome, clear customs, retrieve your luggage, take the Leonardo into Termini, and be in Venice by 6. In my humble opinion, I would fly open jaws into Venice and home from Rome to maximize my travel time in country. You do not want to exit from Venice because the plane leaves EARLY in the morning, sometimes before public transportation is operating. This would require you to use expensive private transportation to get you to the airport. Take the less stressful. Buon viaggio,

Chris, I like open jaws and agree with others that you should keep looking for now. A few months ago I was trying to find airfare into Naples and home from Venice for $1,000.00 in May. I got good advice on these boards that you can save money by changing gateways. So, I changed my itinerary and found a fare from Seattle to Milan on 5/13 and home from Rome on 5/29 for $1,007 on American Airlines. Since I didn't originally plan to see Milan, I'm going to only spend about 4 hours there, then catch the train to Venice (about 2 hours). You might save money doing something similar by flying into Milan but still spending your first night in Venice.
Buona Fortuna! Lisa

Another option is to fly round trip to Rome and take a one-way flight (on an Italian airline) from Rome to Venice. Compared to your time and cost of a train ticket, these
flights are a good deal.

what dates are you flying ? are they fixed ?

Just checked open jaw flights to Milan and out of Rome and they are cheaper than R/T to Rome! Do you think we could fly into Milan, arriving there just after 9 am and then make it to Venice the same day? I read that the train takes 4 hours max and only costs 25-30 euro. Our dates are pretty much set. We will be leaving October 16 and returning October 29. We are flying out of New Orleans if anyone wants to do their own research I wont complain :) I'll look into the one way flights and see how that compares. Thanks everyone! Keep the ideas coming! :)

That doesn't surprise me because those little leg add a lot to the ticket. You can fly into Milan and make it to Venice by later afternoon. It is an hour bus ride to the Central Train station from the airport. Should be able to make Venice by 4 to 5 PM. Don't know this for an absolute fact but have read that a new train service to the Central was recently opened. Don't know what that would do to the travel time to Central. What you suggested is a reasonable option especially if the price is right.

Example Iberia Airlines Oct 13th -27th in Venice out Rome $1122.57 per Delta $1187 continental $1143.90

We are getting married on October 15th and we are limited in taking vacation from work so we are locked into 16th-29th.

chris,
in 2008 my wife and i went through the same issue of flying rt to rome or open jaw which was at that time a couple of hundred dollars more. so we decided that our time was worth the open jaw flight and flew into milan took a 3 hr train ride to the cinque terre started our trip there and ended up in rome and flew out of rome . this year we are also flying open jaw into amsterdam and out of paris. again it is a couple of hundred dollars more but in our opinion our time is worth that. hope this helps and have a great trip. good luck !!!!

So far $1201 on United Air

That is $1201 United to Venice and out rome. Delta in milan out Rome 979.50 with the train cost 30 euro or $42 per person. It is Impossible to know if fares are going to go down for October. I did look up March fares which are on sale now and lowest fare is $948 and April $970. So that fare for October looks pretty reasonable. So you are right is it worth it for the inconvenience $222 -$42(train) - couple bucks for the bus. With the train you will arrive on the Grand Canal. With air you have to get from the airport to the Grand Canal. Landing in Milan at 8 45 and getting to Venice b train around 2 00 -2 30 with a 2 hr and 35 train ride

Take the path of least resistance: Open jaw. I would rather spend My last day in Europe enjoying the last city I was in than taking a train back to a city I have already been to.

We'll go with the majority here who suggest open jaw. We've generally found that there's not been a great disparity in price between the round-trip and the open jaw fares and we've always preferrred to travel in-country, as they say, rather than backtracking over the same ground. You may see more that way.

Openjaw - no contest, regardless of the extra cost. A) It's your HONEYMOON! You want to get off the plane in romantic Venice - period. (Unless you fly into Verona and book a romantic night at a great B&B near Juliet's balcony: Domus Nova's "Regina Adelaide" room) that would be the only exception IMO! B) Geesh... you'll be landing not only jetlagged, but exhausted from the wedding. Then having to navigate FCO airport, taking the train to Termini, another train to Venice. And all the while fretting about possible delays and keeping your eyelids propped open with toothpicks. I see frayed nerves and not such a romantic start to your trip. Be smart and keep yourselves happy... go openjaw.

I'd like to also suggest two perfect "honeymoon" hotels that aren't too expensive, but are full of charm and extremely well located: Venice - the Aqua Palace
Florence - the NH Porta Rossa In Rome, the Hotel dei Borgognoni is pretty good too. Congratulations!