Question: Travel To Venice

If you want to stop at small towns on the way to or from Venice, that the car would be worth taking. But if you will be going direct to Venice and then direct back to Rome, just return the car in Rome and take the train both ways. Far less hassle. Go to www.trenitalia.com/en/index.html to check out train schedules and prices. FYI, quite a few people have had problems ordering tickets online from Trenitalia. But even more people had reported great success purchasing tickets from self-service machines that are within Italian train stations. Point being, just wait until you get to Italy to buy your train tickets.

Yes there is a secured long term parking at the Venice rail station. It can be alittle expensive Rick posts the rates in his guidebks. However some posts have said it is not really 100% safe. Consider a one way rental, drop off you rrental car in Venice then rail back to Rome. There are also Hotels in nearby Mestre with garaged secure parking which I have done before. Hotel Novotel Mestre with shuttles to Venice.

If you need keep your rental car while in Venice, there are two options. Many recommend using parking lots across from the train station in Mestre, just across the lagoon from Venice. We used the large and safe Tronchetto garage in Venice - signs will guide you after you cross the causeway from Mestre. It's E20 a day, though. From there you can take a vaporetto anywhere in Venice. (A tip if you do. Once in the garage, park as far as you can to the opposite side from the entrance. That's where the vaporetto stop is).

If all you're going to be doing is returning to Rome, why not drop your car in Venice when you arrive and take the train back to Rome?

Thanks for the info. It seems that Venice is the best place to turn in my rental car (the savings from no long-term parking might even offset the one-way drop off fee). Plus, nothing wrong with traveling stress-free on the train back to Rome.