Planning trip to Ravenna and Rome: questions on itinerary

Venice and Florence are small airports so you would be changing planes somewhere to connect. I would consider Milan. Milan is about an hour closer than Rome. First thought is that could be a better arrangement. Rome airport is pretty straight forward so little advantage to seeing the airport earlier.

It sounds like you don't have time to visit Venice, but if you did, that's certainly where I'd want to start. Otherwise, the most likely airport would be Bologna. From Bologna city center, cheap regional trains take 1 - 1.5 hours to Ravenna. Fast-train tickets from Rome are more expensive (based on both speed and mileage).

Bologna would be great if you can get a good deal on a flight into that city. Do check fares from your origin into Bologna, Milan, Florence, Pisa, and Rome to see what turns up. From my origin, Milan and Rome always seem to be the cheapest. It may be completely different for you.

I think starting in Ravenna is a great idea. I always assume that I won't do anything my first day except walk around, trying to stay awake, and Ravenna will be a beautiful place to do that. I suspect that your third day in Ravenna will not be a full one, which is fine if you're not pressed for time. If you think you're going to be tight, time-wise, you might consider a mid- to late-afternoon train to Rome on Day 3. I see departures at 3:33, 4:33, and 6 PM.

Otherwise, if you find yourself at loose ends on Day 3, you could take a day-trip to Bologna. It's a regional train so you won't pay extra for buying the ticket at the last minute.

You're describing almost exactly what I did in April/May 2015 but with one important difference: I flew into Bologna instead of Rome. There is a direct train from Bologna's main train station to Ravenna, so you just have to take the bus from Bologna airport to the center. (Buy the ticket when you board the bus. Be prepared for a bumpy ride, as the roads it takes are (or at least were) in terrible shape.)

Do you have lodging in Ravenna yet? I stayed at B&B Al Teatro which was lovely (central location, charming host, great breakfasts with eggs cooked to order) but a lot of other places looked promising as well. One bonus - Ravenna is a lot cheaper to visit than Rome.

Let me know if you want recs on Ravenna. I stayed there four nights.

Ravenna is a great place to start - lovely piazze, several world-class mosaic sights, excellent food and wine. You can safely skip Theodoric's tomb.

Michael's suggestion of Bologna is worth considering. Depending on when you arrive, it may be better to take the shuttle but to Ferrara rather than Bologna. Trains to Ravenna leave from one or the other, so it just depends on which train fits your actual arrival time better.

Thank you everyone, for the suggestions. I will check into these alternate arrival locations and see what the fares are. I can see where a later day departure from Ravenna to head to Rome might be good, so that we can have that "early morning start" in Rome that so many advise for sight seeing.

Christie

I'm back to let you know that I was able to get a good, less expensive flight into Bologna, and we'll be heading to Ravenna from there for the first few days of our stay in Italy. Based on earlier advice, in this thread, we'll plan to take the train from Bologna to Ravenna.

One of you suggested taking a bus from the airport in Bologna to the main train station. I'm assuming this is all marked in the departures section of the airport, but any tips on the length of time from the airport to the train station, or anything else will be greatly appreciated for this first time to Italy traveler! I imagine we'll be quite jet lagged, so even simple things will probably not seem so as we try to make our way to the train station.

thanks yet again,

Christie