Hi all - I am planning a trip to Italy in September, first destination there will be Venice. Because of our relatively out of the way location (Montana) I am finding that the only connections available the dates we want to arrive would have us getting to Venice at nearly midnight. Is it difficult to arrive that late at night in Venice? We haven't made a reservation yet for a place to stay there. I am a bit uncomfortable about trying to find our way in Venice in the dark after midnight and on foot! Thanks for any suggestions you may have. Perhaps a hotel that is relatively close to the airport?
Posted by
Green Bay
20254 posts
Can you start your trip somewhere else? Or did you find a great deal you can't pass up? Yes there are many hotels nearby to crash for the night, and hopefully you can move to a hotel on the island the next morning. There is a Courtyard by Marriott right there, as well as some smaller ones like Venice Resort, which I have used. https://www.hotelveniceresort.com/en
Posted by
OP
16 posts
Thanks for the reply and that makes sense. We can't start our trip anywhere but here in Billings....not a lot of choices until we get to the next layover spot. Also we are trying to go through Alaska Airlines so we can use up our accumulated miles. I will check into hotels closer to the airport.
Posted by
Green Bay
20254 posts
Look at my edit.
Posted by
San Francisco Bay Area (USA)
15260 posts
This hotel is near the Venice airport
http://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/vcecy-courtyard-venice-airport/
Or you could take a regular taxi (not a water taxi) to the historical center to Piazzale Roma, the spot closest to the Grand Canal in Venice where cars can drive. Right across the canal from Piazzale Roma is the Hotel Papadopoli. It's one of the closest to Piazzale Roma or the train station and you could stay here for your entire stay in Venice
http://www.accorhotels.com/gb/hotel-1313-hotel-papadopoli-venezia-mgallery-by-sofitel/index.shtml
Neither my suggestions above are what one would call budget hotels, if you want something cheaper use Google Maps and search. Just zoom into the area of interest and enter "hotels" in the search box. Hotels will pop up on the map.
Posted by
Toledo, Ohio, US
11613 posts
How many connections do you have? Would it make sense to spend the first night in one of your European connection cities and then fly to Venezia the next day?
Posted by
Knoxville, TN, USA
7209 posts
Yes, fly into some other European Gateway city and either take the train into Venice or fly one of the European budget airlines into Venice.
Posted by
Tel Aviv
15602 posts
You may find better options (and prices) flying into Milan. If you arrive in the morning or afternoon, you can go straight to Venice - train or bus from the airport to Milano Centrale train station, then a high-speed train to Venice (Venezia S. Lucia station). The price of 2 tickets is €90 (full price), the price of a water taxi from the airport is about €150.
Posted by
OP
16 posts
Thank you for all the great suggestions, and I am now looking at other options such as flying into London first (where I can spend a day visiting friends) and then taking a flight from there into Venice that has a better arrival time...and I appreciate the suggestions for accommodations there also!
Posted by
Northamptonshire, England
32912 posts
what part of London do your friends live in? What time would you arrive in London? Which airport in and out, please?
Posted by
Glostrup, Denmark
1327 posts
I support Milan. Arriving in Venice by train is magic: you step out of the station and the Canale Grande is right in front of you.
Posted by
Santa Monica
6 posts
Train travel in Italy is brilliant so you should plan to fly into the city that has the best airfares (usually Rome). Then train around from there. Alternately, do your 4-5 days in Rome then train up to Florence using that as your base of operations for day trips to Siena, Assisi, Pisa and, yes, even Venice.