Best options for traveling within Italy/France

Hi, Mukesh.

There are discount flights from several airlines including Ryanair. There's a flight that goes out of Venice to Rome and can be really inexpensive. READ UP first though. The discount airlines can be really extreme on baggage conditions - especially Ryanair. There's a lot of good information on here about. They fly Rome - to outside apris too (it's a bit of a bus trip I understand).

IF you follow their rules, (and ask questions in advance), you can get really cheap flight(s), and my 3 experiences with them have been good.

Train and Car - Train can be pricey - but there is a nice overnight train from Venice to Rome - save a day, and save a night's hotel fair. (It's around $75USD per person for a 4 sleeper car).

Car - You can't drive in Venice, and there are several places to drop off outside of Rome (which you will want to do). So it/s all strait freeway. One way drop off fees are high - but compared to 7 train tickets, not really.

Either train or car, you can stop in Florence. It's along the way, just around the halfway mark (close enough!). It's not a bad day trip from Rome either (2 hrs).

Venice two nights, train to Rome, 4 nights, fly to Paris, 4 nights. Look at Easyjet or Vueling for flights.

Forget Florence,, you don't have much time,, only 10 days really.

Thank you all for your advice. I think given the time constraints, we will skip Florence (this time!), and look for cheap flights. I know these low priced airlines get you on extras, but we will only have backpacks - no checked luggage.

I recommend that you take the train from Venice to Rome. Sit back and relax in comfort and see the Italian countryside from ground level, not 30,000 feet. However, if you decide to fly, easyJet would be a better budget airline choice than Ryanair. For that route easyJet uses Marco Polo and Fiumicino. Ryanair uses Treviso and Ciampino, both of which are outlying airports.

As Pat suggested, consider flying Rome-Paris on either easyJet or Vueling. For that route easyJet flies Ciampino-Orly and Vueling flies Fiumicino-Orly.

Yes, with the 2 additional days, I am considering the Florence leg. The teens have never really been on a long train journey (we live in Florida!) so the train ride will be an experience in itself. I've also heard that he scenery will be well worth it!

Should I plan the train tickets before hand or should I get there and play it by ear for maximum flexibility on my schedule?

Since my first post, I have rearranged our schedule so that we now arrive in Venice on the 18th, giving us 2 extra days. This will allow us to take a train ride and not stress about losing a valuable day.

Mukesh~I am so glad you were able to add a couple of days and therefore take the train! I really think this will make your trip so much more enjoyable.

With two additional days, will you be stopping in Florence after all? If so, if you are willing to travel Venice-Florence and Florence-Rome on regional trains, you can save a fair amount of money; but your travel time will be a lot longer.

Venezia Santa Lucia-Firenze: 4 1/2 hours on regional trains with two connections (Venezia-Bologna-Prato-Firenze) for a total fare of €15.85. If you take a drect hi-speed EuroStar Italia train, the ride will take 2hr3min and the fare is €42.00.

Firenze-Roma: If you take a direct regional train, the ride will take 3hr43min and the fare is €16.10. If you take a direct EuroStar Italia train, the ride will take 1hr35min and the fare is €44.00.

You will have no trouble buying tickets after you get to Italy. There is open seating on regional trains and no reservations are possible so there is no real advantage in buying those tickets in advance.

Seat reservations are required on EuroStar Italia trains and they are included in the price of the ticket. It's a good idea to buy those tickets a day or two in advance, but there are so many of those trains every day on the routes you'll be taking that there isn't much of a chance that you won't get seats on the trains of your choice.