Vienna to Venice - fly or train?

Have you considered taking the direct night train? Discount fares are sold for that route, too. Save the cost of a night in a hotel and gain extra daylight hours for sightseeing. You can book your ticket over the phone. Dial 011 (US international access code) + 43 (Austria country code) + (0)5 1717. Drop the intial zero which is only used for calls originating in Austria.

I considered it for about 30 seconds when I was planning everything and decided against it. Night trains are just not for me. I have enough trouble sleeping in my own comfortable bed LOL. I like the idea of arriving in Venice by 1pm and still having time to wander a bit by my hotel, and the reason why I'm leaning towards the train over the flight (despite having to be up and out of my hotel soooooo early) is that i've read that this train ride is particularly beautiful.

Thanks for the phone number though, if I decide on the train, which is what I am leaning towards, I definitely want to book ahead. I guess the reservation issue is my real concern with the train; the flight is appealing because you have the ticket early, but if i wait til I arrive in Vienna to buy a train ticket for a few days later and can't get on this train, then i'd have to take one that makes several stops, takes hours longer; I'm afraid of risking it.

So that's why I asked for advice - thanks!! :)

I think you are correct to prefer the train. That 1 hour flight ends up being over five hours by the time you take the train to VIE, checkin line, sucurity, flight. Once you get to Treviso, there is finding the bus to the train station, then the train trip to Venice. It's a lot of hassle for less than two hour savings.

You are fortunate if SkyEurope and the €19 fare works for you. SkyEurope only flies to Treviso 3 day a week. Of the 13 day in June that they fly, I only found that fare on 3 days. The other 10 days averaged €45. You will also have €9 to VIE and at least €3,20 from Treviso.

I was able to find the online booking for OEBB. The 6:30 train has a fare of €39 possible; there is a €29 fare for the train that leaves about 1300 and gets to Venice at around 2100.

The German language screens don't really have that much German on them. You might be able to get by with a Babelfish (http://babelfish.altavista.com) translation. Or, if you will give me an email address, I will screen capture those German language screens, add translation, and send them to you.

Debra, I would advise you to get these tickets as soon as you can commit. These are promotional tickets, much like those €19 fares to fly. They probably require a three day advance purchase, but might sell out a whole lot earlier.

The standard fare, I think, is around €105. You probably wouldn't have trouble getting tickets at that fare five days in advance, but I think tickets at the promotional fare would already be sold out.

I am not sure about Vienna to Venice, but Munich to Italy is one of the most popular routes in Europe. Eighty million Germans want to go to Italy for holidays, and the best route goes through Munich.