We will be taking a train this September Rome - Venice (one-way)and are staying in the main tourist area in Venice. 3 Questions:
1) Which station in Venice to get off? (Venezia Mestre or Venezia S Lucia?)
2) Any luggage restrictions/issues?
3) We plan 1st class. But one train takes 4hrs 16 minutes and the other 5hrs and 39 minutes. Is it just the stop in Bolgna that results in the extra 1.5 hrs?
thanks!
Steve
End of the Line -- S Lucia
No checkin, no security, no limits. Small luggage overhead and large luggage behind the seat or in the luggage bin at the end of the car. Should probably carry a small cable lock to secure luggage regardless of where it is stored.
Dependent on the number of stops made and the class of train. Some trains go faster and make fewer stops.
There is little difference between first and second class. We always use 2nd class.
I don't know if you have considered flying instead of riding the train, but for your information a flight on Ryanair from Rome to Venice is cheaper, and perhaps faster including the wait at the airport and getting into Venice from the airport on the bus. You might want to check it out.
Steve - We did this trip in reverse - Venice to Rome but details still the same. Get off at S Lucia which will put you right in front of the Vaporetto stops from which you will head down the Grand Canal. No security to deal with and no luggage restrictions but less is always easier to manage. We traveled first class as we had a lot of train travel over 3 weeks and on some trains 1st class was much more comfortable. The difference in the two trips are probably one train is express or high speed. Don't fret about the length of time on the train - they are so comfortable and there is always the dining car if you get board. You will go through some lovely countryside so have some lunch and some wine and enjoy the view!
Steve,
We took the same train but picked it up at Florence- check the schedule and you will find similar discrepancies in length of service. We chose shorter trip timewise and all went well. First class is not necessary... second is great (50% of the price for first) and creative passengers will help you find places you hadn't even thought of for luggage. S. Lucia lets you out a few yards from the Vaporettos. We stopped to buy our next set of tickets because the station is often jammed. Also, the long line at the "toilette" is for change to get through the turnstile... for men especially, if you have small change... just walk pass the line and through the turnstile. George
The fast EuroStar trains will provide the shortest travel time between Rome and Venice.
On Susan's Ryanair information, you don't fly from Rome to Venice. On Ryanair, you fly from Ciampino airport which is an hour bus ride from Rome and you fly into Treviso which is an hour bus or train ride from Venice. Considering Ryanair's checkin time rules, you won't save any time over the train.
As Frank explains above, the difference in travel times for this run is due to two circumstances. I see Alto Velocito (A) and Intercity (IC) trains. The A train takes 4hrs. 22min. The IC train takes 5hrs. 52min. The A train makes far fewer stops. The IC train is a lower category train and makes lots more stops. For the run you see with a train change in Bologna, there is a 30min layover between trains and the second train is a slower IC train.
Finally, the A train costs more than the IC train. The A train run costs 56.10Euro. The slower IC train run costs 41.50Euro. Same tracks, more stops.
The only way to go from Rome to Venice is by train.
The flight from Rome to Venice is not cheaper and not faster.
The Amica fare (previous day purchase) from Rome to Venice is €45. By air you have to add to the airfare bus fare from Rome to Ciampino and Treviso to Venice, and taxes and fee alone from Rome to Venice are over €23, not including airfare and bus fares.
The train makes it in less than 4-1/2 hour. The bus from Termini to Ciampino leaves 3 hours before flight time and the bus from Treviso to Venice takes an hour, so it is going to take longer by air.
Sorry, did not mean to mislead you on the RyanAir flight. For my son and his wife, they paid $15 each on RyanAir, and yes the airport is outside of Rome, and is the airport outside of Venice. Merely a suggestion, but perhaps not a good one!
If you can find a regional train solution it will be much cheaper and only a little less comfortable than the Eurostar. In June we took the train from a little town outside Florence on a day trip to Venice. In the morning (5:35) we took 3 regional trains connecting through Prato and Bologna. The second class fare was 13.75 euros for a very comfortable 4 1/2 hour ride. Coming back on the Eurostar through Florence the fare was 35.80 euros for second class. It got us back 30 minutes faster and although the ride was quieter, smoother, and the assigned seats were plush it wasn't worth another 22 euros to save 30 minutes. By the way our 2nd class seats on the Eurostar were superb. I don't know what the difference could possibly have been in first class.
