Early Morning Flight from Venice

Old Jan 29th, 2016, 08:33 AM
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Early Morning Flight from Venice

We have an early morning flight next month from VCE to CDG in Paris. Our Air France flight leaves at 6:40AM and since we are connecting to Delta flight back to the USA our bags will probably need to go through customs. What time should we plan to arrive at the airport, and what is the best way to get from Venice (our hotel is very near the train station) to the airport. I imagine the quickest way would be to walk to Piazzale Roma and take a cab to the airport, but never having been there before I could use some advice. I realize this will make for a very short night, but it is what it is. Thank you.
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Old Jan 29th, 2016, 08:57 AM
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I do not understand your comment about your bags. I would think your bags will transfer between these two airlines at CDG since AF and Delta have a luggage agreement. But that has nothing to do with your question about transport to the airport. I agree that a taxi would probably be the fastest option.

I've done the private boat number and those are speedy but not as fast as a cab AND once you get to VCE in a boat you still get to hike over to the terminal building itself.
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Old Jan 29th, 2016, 09:30 AM
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>>our bags will probably need to go through customs.
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Old Jan 29th, 2016, 09:42 AM
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Both ACTV and ATVO buses have early morning buses to Airport, e.g. http://www.atvo.it/allegati/aeroport...3.20161255.pdf. I don't think there is any point in getting to the airport earlier as the counters are not open that early.

There is a taxi stand at the same area as buses at Piazzale Roma, that is ATVO, ACTV, and taxis, so it is possible to postpone the decision until the last minutes. However, taxis could be reserved for other passengers.

Unless you tell AF counter otherwise, your luggage will be tagged VCE-CDG-whatever.is.your.airport.in.USA. You will get reunited with your luggage and go through US customs in the USA, not CDG.
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Old Jan 31st, 2016, 03:30 PM
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Thank you very much. I was not sure whether we would need to pass through customs inspection in Venice (requiring additional time). I have been reading Fodor Forums responses, etc. and apparently the airport opens at 5:00AM. Some people have reported long lines checking in, even at this early hour, but I am wondering if that might have been during times when more tourists are in Italy.
We have a friend who has been in Rome for a few weeks and she emailed us that Rome is not crowded right now so hopefully there will be no long lines. We will also be traveling to Rome and Florence and will be traveling via train between these cities. Thanks again!
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Old Feb 1st, 2016, 04:12 AM
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The front doors of VCE may open at 5 AM, but I would be extremely surprised if any counter agent shows up that early. For a 6:40 AM flight, it wouldn't surprise me if the check-in agent shows up at 6 AM. It's just the Italian way.

The "long lines" at that hour are due to the fact that counter agents show up much later than you could ever imagine. By the time they show up, every passenger is standing in the check-in area waiting for check-in. Then there's this mad rush to get everyone through to the plane, and do it in 45 minutes. So the line seems long, but it actually goes quite quickly.

They make it work, my early morning flight did take off on time, but it's a mess of a process that I now avoid if I can. At that hour, there is no need to arrive 2-3 hours before departure time. You'll just stand there and wait.
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Old Feb 1st, 2016, 06:28 AM
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What NYCFS says. Get the first bus [the ATVO one is better as it stops less and has a dedicated luggage compartment underneath] and relax.
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Old Feb 1st, 2016, 07:07 AM
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I do agree that sometimes getting to Marco Polo too early just means waiting around for kiosk to open or flight info to be posted.

Taking a taxi from Piazzale Roma to Marco Polo would probably be fastest.

We take #5 bus to Marco Polo, but it does make stops along the way.

Enjoy Venice.

Thin
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Old Mar 4th, 2016, 07:11 AM
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Thank you all for your advice. We are back home now and everything went well with our flight at 6:40AM from Marco Polo to CDG. We left our hotel a little before 5AM (we stayed in a place directly across the Grand Canal from the Train Station)and we pulled our bags across a couple small bridges to Piazzale Roma and caught a cab. It would have been less expensive to ride the airport bus, but I am not sure it was running at that hour. Anyway, the cab got us to the airport in about 20 minutes and we printed boarding passes and baggage claim forms at the kiosk and got in line. There was a fairly long line at Air France, even at that early hour, but it was not too bad. We checked in and passed through all the security and even had time to have a little breakfast. Thank you all again for your advice!
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Old Mar 4th, 2016, 10:06 AM
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glad it worked out ok, crossen.

in fact according to the timetable helpfully posted by greg, there was a 4.20 am bus, and a 5am bus, both of which would have got you to the airport in 20 mins.

hope you enjoyed your breakfast!
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