Barcelona to Venice

How long does the ferry take? An overnight ferry is a great way to save accomodation costs and travel while you sleep. But if it is a very long trip it might be a bit boring, especially if the view is nothing but water.

The train on the other hand will take a while, but if you add a stop along the way, e.g. in Nice, it's not very long anymore.

I thank you for your comments!
Approximate time is 20 hours on the boat which could be time well spent resting after 6-7 days in Spain and maybe even meeting Europeans?

You can take a train from Madrid to Barcelona, but be aware that some trains make many stops and take quite a long time to get there. But there are some non-stop express trains that are reasonably fast.

From Barcelona to Venice is far enough to be worthy of flying--either on RyanAir or Vueling. They're both budget carriers, and the flights will be ridiculously inexpensive.

Many travelers fail to recognize that Spain and France are both very large countries. And to get to Venice, you've got to go all the way across Italy to get there.

Where does the ferry go? Genoa? Livorno? Either way, that's still a long way from Venice, another 4-5 hour train ride.
And I commend your reluctance to avoid air travel, but if your motivations are environmental, a ferry is hardly better (although data is scant).

I would continue to look for reviews (perhaps try TripAdvisor, where you might come across more budget travelers). Since you have time at your disposal, train is probably a safer bet.

20 hours is quite a long boat trip and would be a bit too long for me. But if you don't mind that, why not?

From an environmental point of view, ferries are better than flying, but still a lot worse than train travel.

Thanks to all of you for your insights.
My motivations for not flying are both environmental and also a desire to experience a more traditional mode of mass transit.
Perhaps I am naive, but I even feel like if COVID subsides i might even meet some Europeans and people from other places and learn something. I have sort of bought into the travel as political act position.

I love boat rides and seldom pass up a chance for one, but in this case I'd recommend the train for several reasons:

--The ferry goes to Genoa so you'll need trains to Milan and then Venice anyway.

--Doing it all by train gives you a chance to stop over in Lyon and Milan, both great destinations if your time allows.

--The trains will offer a lot of scenery, and also a chance to meet Europeans.

As for Madrid to Barcelona, definitely the fast train.

Thank you for your insight, Dick!
How many is the ideal number of days for Venice? Do you think two would be sufficient?

I think two full days is short for Venice, but it is massively better than the one day (or, worse, a day trip!) that some people unaccountably think is a good plan.

It's always a trade-off between City A and City B (not to mention Cities C through whatever) when you put together an itinerary. How many full days (not counting arrival day from North America) are you allowing for Madrid? How many for Barcelona? Are you an art nut who wants to spend a lot of time in the major art museums in Madrid? Answers to those questions will help us give informed advice, but ultimately it depends to a great degree on your personal sightseeing preferences.

Thank you, acraven!

My initial thought was:

1. Arrival Day Madrid
2. Madrid - 2-3 days depending on energy level and how much sightseeing we did on arrival
3. HIgh speed train to Barcelona on day 3-4
4. Barcelona - 3 days
5. Unsure about travel to Venice. Still thinking
6. 2-3 days in Venice
7. Travel to Prague. Still not sure about mode, but prefer train
8. Prague 3-4 days
9. Train back west
10. Possible 1-2 day stop in Frankfurt (probably not doable given 21 days)
11. Haarlem 1 day/night
12. Amsterdam and environs with whatever time is left
13. Home

I like art, but will not make it a major trip focus. I want geography, architecture, food, some live events, and engaging locals when possible. However, I will go to the Prado and Picasso Museum. I have been to all the museums in Amsterdam before.
My preference would be to spend the entire 21 days in spain, but my travelling partner really wants to see some of these other places, so I have vowed to come back. :)
Thank you!

So your 21 days isn't just for Madrid, Barcelona, and Venice, but also for other destinations. That rules out my idea to stop in Lyon and Milan between trains. Given your ambitious itinerary, I suggest you bite the bullet and fly a couple of hours from Barcelona to Venice, notwithstanding your reservations about it.

Not sure what you want to see and do in Frankfurt. I've only been through the airport, but it wouldn't seem like a priority for a trip like yours, unless there are family reasons or something.

It appears that when you write "2 days" you mean "2 nights", which isn't the same thing. Two nights somewhere gives you just one full day plus some hours--a number that varies depending on how early a start you get on the day you change cities and how much transportation time is required, which isn't just the time you spend sitting on a train, bus or plane.

Art museums aside, Madrid isn't a huge favorite of mine, but realize that if you give only 2 nights to Madrid at the beginning of the trip, that's probably just one day. You may be too sleep-deprived and jetlagged on your arrival day to function well, and you may not be in great shape even the next day.

The Picasso Museum is often unbelievably crowded. I recommend it only if you are a serious fan. There are other art museums in the cities you are visiting that would be less mobbed. If you do decide to go there, it's quite possible you'll need to buy a ticket (day- and time-specific) ahead of time. The museum sometimes sells out. Even if it doesn't, you might arrive in the morning and be told the first available ticket is for 2:45 PM or something like that. On a short visit, that sort of thing can bring the sightseeing plan crashing down.

There are several other sights in Barcelona for which you have traditionally needed to buy a ticket ahead of time (not necessarily very far ahead of time) if you don't want the joy of an hour-long (or longer) ticket line when you arrive at the sight--which again could leave you with a ticket for several hours in the future. Those sights include La Sagrada Familia, Parc Guell, Casa Mila/La Pedrera, Casa Batllo, and the Palau de la Musica Catalana. Things may be a bit looser these days, if tourist number are down substantially, but I don't know whether the situation is enough better to chance just showing up without a ticket in hand. The (possible/probable) need to buy tickets ahead of time is a challenge. On a short trip, especially, you naturally wnat to be an efficient sightseer, but you have no way of knowing how much of a gap you need to leave between your ticketed entry times at Sight A and Sight B, and so on.

Chris, two full days in Venice wouldn't be enough for me -- I spent almost a week and could have used more. But if it's all you can manage, it's much better than zero or one. Based on what I've read here, it seems like some people love Venice and some not at all, not many fall in between. I'm on the positive side of the scale, hadn't been before my visit but now would love to return. Some of the Venice-negativity is based on how crowded certain tourism-heavy parts of the city are, especially in the middle of the day. That's why some posters here recommend spending days away from the most crowded areas, Rialto and San Marco, and doing as much sightseeing as possible early and late in the day.

I was going to say that it is a long way to go to Venice for just one whole day there, even just 2 whole days there until I saw the madcap whole rushed journey. I find it hard to reconcile with the "I am not in a big hurry" in your point number 3 of your original post.

The problem with such a short visit to Venice is you only have time for a few of the check-box items most tourists want to do so you only see the busiest, most touristy areas and many people who only do that go away with negative feelings. Venice needs to be caressed like a lover, gently swirled like a glass of special wine and then savoured. Wander around, get lost, enjoy getting lost, explore the different neighbourhoods - to a quick visit it seems all the same, but get under the skin and there are worlds to discover. I've stopped counting the number of visits I've made to Venice and even now I don't think any were under 4 nights/3 days on a just-passing-through stop on the way somewhere else.

If your visit won't allow more than a cursory visit it might be better to skip and return some day when you can give the city the time she deserves.

Dick, Nigel, and the others:
Thank you for these words. I will carefully weigh them, as neither my perspective nor my plans are fixed.
I think I should further cultivate promising myself to return to Europe which might lead me to making different choices.
Twenty years ago, I spent nearly an entire month in Amsterdam which gave me time to make several acquaintances. I even attended a dinner party on the outskirts of town. So Nigel's words about giving Venice the time she deserves rings true.