Train travel on departure day- too risky?

Are you sure it is a 6:15 pm departure? It is a little unusual for an international to be leaving that late. Also it will take an hour from your arrival at the train station and arrival at the airport so add that to your transit time. It is a 6"15 departure you will need to be in the airport by 3:15 because it can get very crowded by that time of day, Check in and security lines could be long and slow. I would try to arrive in Termini by 2 pm.

IMHO not if your flight departs at 18:15. I would suggest that you need to be at FCO by 15:15 for security and check-in. The journey on the fast train from Venice to Rome and the Leonardo Express from Rome Termini will take 4.5hrs. That means that you must depart Venice no later than 10:00. There are four high-speeds that will get you out of Venice before 10:00. The trains are reliable.

I don't know your itinerary, etc, but are you spending any time in Rome? If so, is there ANY way you can rearrange things so that Rome is your last stop? What is your itinerary? Perhaps we can brainstorm with you and figure something acceptable out that preserves your Venice time. Please give cities and dates - where you'll be, and when.

As Eileen suggests, on arrival at FCO depart for your farthest destination and then work your way back to Rome. Leaving Rome for the last stop.

The itinerary is not very straight forward. Basically, we are working around my husband's work schedule (business trip). We will arrive on a Saturday around 1:30 in Rome and he will need to be in Pescara (Adriatic coast) for Monday morning. I'll be spending a week with him in Pescara, and then travelling on my own for a week (was planning Florence and CT for 3 nights each). The weekend in between these weeks was when I originally thought we'd go to Venice together, but due to my husband's revised work schedule, he won't be able to take a day off, so we would have to go up Saturday morning and then leave again on Sunday...so that's out. So my new thought was for us to meet in Venice on our last Saturday. We would be departing Rome at 18:15 on the following Monday (Air Transat to Toronto). Note, we were in Rome last year, so don't mind missing it this time (although in my original itinerary we would stay in Rome the night before the flight). I could still go to Venice on my own, but I was really hoping that Venice would be the one place that we could visit it together. If the trains are reliable, it seems like there would be plenty of time. Do I need to worry about strikes or anything like that?

So my new thought was for us to meet in Venice on our last Saturday. We would be departing Rome at 18:15 on the following Monday I think that would work, as long as you hightail it out of Venice pretty early on Monday. At least you'd have 2 nights and what, a day-and-a-half, in Venice. Makes for a VERY long travel day on Monday, though. Hope you can sleep on the plane. If the unthinkable happens and there is a train strike, you'd have to fly Venice to Rome. Fortunately, strikes are usually announced in advance and you can make your plans accordingly. Keep an eye on this site: http://www.summerinitaly.com/planning/strike.asp.

Patricia, don't worry about strikes. They do occur but Trenitalia has agreements with the union to keep trains running on a reduced schedule. The entire network will not shut down. I would simply suggest that you take the earliest train out and go for it. Have a nice lunch near Rome Termini and head for the airport.

Patricia, There's a slight risk that you could miss your flight due to "transportation delays", but I'd probably still give it a try. The ES / AV trains are usually fairly reliable, and if you purchase your ticket / reservation a day or two prior to travel, you should have no problems getting to Rome in time for your flight. Be sure to allow for waiting times and the travel time on the Leonardo Express. Happy travels!

Patricia - I didn't see anything mentioned about flying, but both easyJet and Alitalia fly from Venice to Rome. I'm not sure if easyJet has anything but a morning and night flight. We checked for September dates the other day and it was coming up $35. Alitalia has afternoon flights that were coming up $115.

Thanks everyone. I think we're going to go for it. You've given me the confidence I needed.