Hello, We are flying this September from Chicago to Venice through Rome. What is the recommended layover time? There is a 1 hr 50 min option or 4+ hr option. Any advice would be appreciated. Is there enough time to make it through customs and get to the connecting Venice flight in 1 hr 50 min (we are hoping to not check bags)? Thanks!
Posted by
Redlands, Ca, USA
358 posts
I would take the shorter option as 1 hr 50 min should be plenty of time to make your flight to Venice. It does not take much time get through passport control and since you are just arriving from the USA you will not have anything to declare. 4 plus hours is a long time to wait especially after the long flight fomr Chicago.
Posted by
Tresana, Highlands Ranch, CO, USA
23340 posts
Agree with Bryon -- Should be adequate with the normal caution that a delayed flight can screw up everything.
Posted by
Gettysburg, PA
1589 posts
Lauren, " (we are hoping to not check bags)?" Do this for sure to make your trip less problematic. Have a great trip!
Posted by
OP
Chicago
6 posts
Thanks for the help! We booked the 1 hr 50 min option last night. Now I need to get reading my rick steves book :)
Posted by
Seattle, WA, USA
7737 posts
Lauren, what airline are you flying? They all have different restrictions for carry-on bags. And remember, your "personal item" bag will have no weight limit, so you can always put your heaviest stuff in there until you make it past any potential bag check.
Posted by
OP
Chicago
6 posts
We are flying Alitalia. I already bought Ricks Steves convertable carryon, so I think that fits the carry-on size. It says on the Alitalia website that 1 bag is allowed (55x35x25cm) and under 8kgs. I am not sure whether this means I will have to stuff my purse/small bag into the backpack. Any experience?
Posted by
Seattle, WA, USA
7737 posts
As I just posted under a different topic, we just got back from traveling to Italy (our third trip) and found that there is no consistently applied rule when it comes to carry on baggage. Alitalia allowed 10 kg, not 8 kg (even though their website says 8 kg). They did weigh our carry on bags at JFK (flight to Rome) at the ticket counter, and they each came in at 12 kg. The woman behind the counter said that was a little over and so we offered to move some things around (meaning into our "personal item" bag which does not have a weight limit, for some bizarre reason). We grabbed the bags to start to shift things, and she just smiled and gave us our boarding passes, meaning we didn't have to repack those bags. Okay, granted, I had been flirting a little bit with her, practicing my Italian, which might have helped. :-) And there was no additional weight check at the actual flight gate.