Train travel from Salzburg to Rome.

You don't have to go via Venice. You can go Salzburg to Innsbruck to Bologna to Rome in 10 hours. The Venice route involves a bus from Villach to Venice Mestre station, train from there. It also takes ten hours.

The Salzburg-Innsbruck-Bologna-Rome route takes 9hr33min. Depart at 09:06 and arrive at 18:39. You also can take a regional train from Salzburg to Rosenheim in time to catch the direct CNL night train to Rome. Leave Salzburg at 20:09 and arrive in Rome at 09:08. See the detailed timetables on the German Rail site.

Thank you for this information! I wanted to stop in Venice for two nights on my way to Rome. And It's confusing somehow because I'm not sure which station to go through. Is there really only this route that involves a bus?

I'm currently looking at Venice to Salzburg , there are two routes. One is all train via Innsbruck and Verona, the other is part train bus.
then look at a venice-rome trip. regards

So you actually want to go Salzburg to Venice? There are two stations called "Venice", one is Mestre which is on th emainland (not on the island of Venice) and the other is Venice Santa Lucia which is on th eisland. If you are staying in Venice that is where you want to go. but you can get there easily from the Mestre staion if that is where you end up. So you still have the two options: Salzburg to Villach, and then by bus to Mestre, transfer to a train or bus to Venice proper; or Salzburg---Insbruck---Verona---to Venice all by train.

Thank you for clearing this up about which station I would want - this helps a lot. I checked with OBB and it's becoming clearer with everyone's input.

Christopher, That's going to be a long travel day, regardless of which route you choose. A budget flight from MUC would probably be a bit faster, but given the usual airport hassles, I'd probably still travel by train. The trains I'd use on that route would be a departure from Salzburg Hbf at 09:06, arriving Roma Termini at 18:50 (time 9H:44M, 2 changes at Innsbruck and Bologna, reservations compulsory). I prefer to stay with trains when possible, rather than travel partially by Bus (although I have done that in the past). The above route travels via the Brenner Pass and Verona, which is a trip I always enjoy. I was through there again last September on my way from Bolzano to Cortona, and it was a pleasant trip. Happy travels!

Thanks Ken, That is the same one I was looking at just now. I don't mind the length of time since it's in the day and there will be a lot to see out the window. Kind regards,
Chris

Chris, Since Ken gave you his recommendation for Salzburg-Rome, it looks like he didn't see your note about wanting to go to Venice before going to Rome. Your fastest route for Salzburg-Venezia Santa Lucia is a train to Villach and a well-appointed bus from there to Venice. If you book well in advance on the Austrian Rail site, you can get a SparSchiene fare as low as €29.00 for the entire route.

Tim, I didn't write about it but now I will be going to Venice after Rome so I can spend more time in Venice. Your information helps all the same! The big concern was about the various train stations and I'm much clearer about that now.Thanks!