Private Driver from VCE to Florence

To get from the Venice airport to Florence without a car, you can take bus or taxi to Venice Mestre station, then a direct train, with intermediate stops but no changes, right from Venice Mestre station to Florence Santa Maria Novella station. So, it's not as complicated as you have laid out.

I'm not saying that for four people, a private driver is a bad idea. It will be very expensive (expect several hundred euros). Remember that not only is it a drive of several hours, but the driver has to return from Florence to Venice with an empty car, so you're essentially being charged for both directions.

Britt, I can't help with a private driver (which I'd guess would be VERY expensive as you'd have to pay the fee for them going both ways) but there are trains which travel from Venezia Mestre to Firenze S.M. Novella with no changes in 2 hours. I just checked a random date on the Trenitalia website. You could take a car service from the airport to Mestre station.

https://www.veneziaairport.it/en/transport/venezia-mestre-station.html

(Oops, was typing as Harold was posting but at least we came up with similar info. Apologies for the redundancy, Harold!)

We took high speed train from Florence to Venice, there were no stops. Reserved tickets online and used the Italo app. If purchased in advance, the ticket prices for reserved 1st class seating were very reasonable.

Why not fly directly into Florence if you're not visiting Venice? They have an airport there. Perhaps you've already booked tickets?

The high speed train (Frecciarossa or Frecciargento) from Venezia Mestre to Florence is the faster and cheaper option.

The train stops along the way at Padua, Ferrara, and Bologna before reaching Florence 2 hours later, but there are no train changes to be made is you select the right trains. Departures from Venezia Mestre with direct trains are at 9:38am, 10:38am, 12:38am, 2:38pm, 3:38pm, 4:38pm, 5:38pm, 6:38pm, 7:38pm. Journey time is 2hrs.
The full price (walk in no advance purchase) for standard class is 57 euro per person one way. To reach the Venezia Mestre station from the airport you can take a taxi. The taxi flat rate from the airport to the Venezia Mestre station is 35 euro (approximately 15 min drive).

A private car for 4 passengers with a limo service takes more time (high speed trains are obviously faster) and more money. The cost of a private transfer for 4 passengers from Venezia airport to Florence with a van is approximately 500 euro. The total driving time is approx. 3.5 hours.

So given the above options, make the choice that is best for your party.

Flying to Florence could be the best option, but at the moment, because of Covid, flights in and out of Florence are down to a minimum, therefore there aren't too many options to explore (and probably would cost more in extra airfare for 4 people than the car from Venice). Of course things could be better in September, but we don't know. Also if you take a Covid-tested flight (so that you can avoid having to quarantine for 10 days upon arrival) the only options are Milan, Rome, or Venice.

I made this exact trip in 2018. The bus picks you up in front of the airport and drops you off at Mestre. There are some steps to go up to get to the train platform, but other than that, there is not much difficult walking involved. We took the Italo train to Florence. It was an easy ride. There were no changes of trains involved.

Any day both competing railway companies run many direct trains from Venezia Mestre to Firenze SM Novella. You'd better use only the official sites to search the schedules: www.trenitalia.com/en.html and www.italotreno.it/en On Trenitalia's site you must enter a day and a time of travel, otherwise the site defaults to the time of your system.

You can go right now to the Trenitalia web site and find that the highest, walk-up price for the train tickets you want is € 57 per person one way. The walk-up price is called Flexi on Italotreno's site: I can't remember that price right right now, but the tickets to Florence will not get any more expensive than that.

On both sites you'll see also discounted tickets called Smart, Economy, SuperEconomy etc. Unfortunately those tickets are cheaper because they can't be changed after the train departure: if your flight is severely delayed, you'll have to pay for 4 new tickets at the counter.

Thanks to everyone for your replies! I'm ditching the car idea and sticking with the train. As you have confirmed, it will be VERY expensive. I'm pleased that there is direct service and thanks for your tips on booking a train ticket and transport from airport to train station as well.

We will be visiting Venice, but at the end of our trip.

Ciao e grazie!