Where to fly in for Venice to Rome tour.

Use the miles and fly into Rome. from there take the Train to Venice it's easy

https://www.trainline.eu/search/rome/venice?gclid=Cj0KCQjwz7rXBRD9ARIsABfBl803MU1wYruXUIZLSoOk9enHrGgfn4BwFuEIEmVSgRCK1hbfKeQJIIIaAkgREALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds&dclid=CKnMue6W8toCFRDawAodxLMJhQ

The best would be an open jaw multi city to VCE with return from Rome FCO.

Using Kayak or similar search engine do a search.
Select Multi-city
Date of departure:From SEA to VCE
Date of return: from FCO to SEA

Then also try going to Milan Malpensa (MXP) instead of Venice, in case the flights to VCE are not convenient. Milan is a larger airport.

You can travel from MXP to Venice city center by train (change in Milan Centrale).

Train schedules
www.trenitalia.com
Enter from MALPENSA AEROPORTO T.1
To VENEZIA SANTA LUCIA

Which airline do you have miles with?

When we did this tour, we flew into Milan a couple of days before the tour and visited Varenna. Took the train from Milan to Venice for the tour. Return, Rome to home. Easy. There are a lot more direct flights to Milan from North America than to Venice (if currently any).

BUT NO - you dont want to book separate one way tickets! Check first into open jaw tickets (multi-city on some websites) which lets you book Seattle - Milan, Rome - Seattle, for almost the same as a R/T fare. Sometimes you might find it cheaper on one way flights with some of the budget airlines, but if you're flying the majors check open jaw first.

We used miles for one of our tickets. Had to talk to a human to get the flights we wanted.

If your miles won't allow you to fly into Venice, try flying into Milan and out of Rome. It is a pretty easy train ride from Milan, or you could do Lake Como for a couple of days before heading to Venice. If stuck with a r/t with Rome, hit one or two spots on the way to Venice, like Orvieto, Ferrara, Padua.

great replies, so quick, wow! So about 4hrs by train, Rome to Venice. What is the difference in 1st and 2nd class on Italian train? We took trains in France, 2nd class was fine but only about 1-2 hrs trips.

I have Alaska Air Mils. They have many companion airlines but all add on $$ to the miles used, ugg. I thought we had enough miles to fly 1st Class but even with extra $$ no way to fly 1st on all connecting flights.

2nd class is fine on Freccia trains, but for "base" fare (walk-up price) it is about 40% above 2nd class fares.
Ex: Rome to Venice is 87 EUR 2nd class, 119 EUR Business Class.

I'll just add I am SO glad you are going in a few days ahead!

I've been so dismayed at the people doing some of the France tours this spring who had planned to get to the tour departure city the day the tour starts...which is a strike day. You just never know what kind of transport disruptions you might have so it's great to be able to build in time for some delays. The good thing about that is - plan for it and it won't happen!!

we have done some travel and experience every type of delay possible, human error, weather, mechanical, terrorist, cabin crew timed out, grrr! But we are patient and understanding and willing to endure for the sake of new places and new faces. We always give ourselves a day or two of flexible space before we really begin a Vacation.
If we arrive in Milan, should we pre-book train tickets to Venice or wait and buy them on arrival?

Only prebook tickets when you know for sure that your flight is going to arrive in time enough for you to catch the train. Or book them for the day after the plane arrives.

If you fly in to Milan, you could consider spending that first night there so you could prebook the Venice train for the next day.

Good that you have experience with getting thru delays and hiccups! That's the plus about the RS tours....once you meet up it's up to the guide to figure things out, lol!!

Walk up fare is 45 EUR pp 2nd class, Super Economy is around 17 EUR 3 months out. They are nonrefundable, so you lose the ticket and start over if your plane is delayed. Let your risk tolerance be your guide. There are trains every 30 to 45 minutes early afternoon.

Or, I said before, spend a couple of days on Lake Como before heading to Venice for the start of the tour.

Which airline mileage program are you trying to use to book these tickets? Almost all of the US programs have partners that will get you to Venice without having to resort to taking a train unless you really want to.

Deb said they have Alaska Airlines miles. The partners are American Airlines, British Airways, Condor, Iceland Air, and Emirates. The nice thing about booking with Alaska miles is you can book one way at a time, and you can mix airlines.

Unfortunately, it is unrealistic to expect to book a direct flight to Europe from Seattle at this late date, especially in First Class. Only British Airways and Emirates offer First, and those seats get snapped up almost as soon as they are released, 11-12 months in advance. And as you have seen, British Airways charges a hefty surcharge for miles tickets. The days of “free” flights using miles are over . (although we did luck into First Class tickets to Australia on Qantas with our AS miles a few years ago, for $6 each).

Emirates rarely shows up with the online Alaska booking engine; I think you have to call the partner desk. I did see a rash of Condor flights from Seattle to Frankfurt when I was looking for my son and his family last February, but they may be gone now.

I suggest you scale down your expectations of a free flight in First and consider Business Class on British Airways, if you can find it. We fly BA from Seattle to London ( and often beyond) every year and find all the comfort we need, including a true flatbed seat and a nice meal. We arrive rested and ready to hit the ground running. It costs around $525 each way in addition to the miles, but we are getting a business class flight for less than the cost of an economy ticket on that airline.

Do be careful of the dreaded “mixed cabin” when you book online on the Alaska website. A flight may show up in the Business Class or First Class column, but when you look closely ( click on the icon) you will see only the first (domestic) leg is in the premium cabin, and the long-haul flight is in Economy or Economy Plus.

One caveat if you use BA: do not fly into Venice using the evening Seattle flight ( BA 48), as it does not arrive in time to connect with the afternoon flights to Venice from Heathrow. You have to change airports (transfer to Gatwick) and I will never do that again! There is an earlier BA flight, #52, which might work, but it only goes 3x a week and uses a 777 instead of the 747 we like. So instead, we fly somewhere else and make our way to Venice by train. Last time we flew into Zurich and took the very scenic Bernina Pass route, with overnights in Pontresina ( Switzerland) and Varenna ( Lake Como) to reach Venice (via Milan). I highly recommend this if you have the time and the interest in a scenic journey over the Alps.

Coming back from Rome is no problem.

Other possibilities: try calling the partner desk and asking what is available on Emirates. Or price out Condor and Icelandair and pay for the tickets. You can earn Alaska miles instead of spending them. Also look at routes on British Airways through other west coast cities, such as Vancouver (a nice flight on an A380; we did that coming home last time); SFO or San Jose, or even LAX ( which would be my last choice).

So how early in October do you want to go? I looked at the Alaska website, and on Oct. 1 there are seats in First on British Airways flying through San Jose or Houston. They are “mixed cabin” but the Economy leg is the domestic flight on Alaska to San Jose or Houston. The long-haul flight from there to London is in First and the flight from there to Milan is in Business.

There are also some Business Class routes through Houston or O’ Hare.

So it is worth looking and being persistent.

So OP hasn’t come back to say what they did or what they are thinking.

On her other thread she was looking at flying to Milan on a direct flight but there are not any from Seattle. Now she seems to be disappointed that miles tickets cost $$ as well as miles but it does depend on the airline and partner. After our fiasco in 2010 when I took some self-styled expert’s advice (he who shall not be named) and waited for the “sweet spot” to buy our tickets and ended up paying a whole lot more, I got help from Lola on using Alaska miles to fly British Air. We end up paying Econ fares to fly Business Class but we are OK with that. At least we don’t have to play the “waiting game” and get anxious about when to buy, since we book them right away when Alaska Airlines releases the award tickets.

We haven’t tried other partners like Condor or Icelandic, but we might next time.