harrowgirl

If you had your choice - would you take an overnight train from Paris to Venice or would you fly (assume the cost was the same)?

Would it make a difference to you if you were flying on September 11th?

tuscanlifeedit

Would it make a difference? Probably in the way I felt, but it wouldn't be a factor in my plans.

I would fly. An overnight train can be noisy, stuffy and uncomfortable. It's a fairly short flight and if prices are the same, I say fly.

adrienne

I've done both (train and plane from Paris to Venice) and I'd recommend flying. The train journey is about 12 hours, overnight.

However, there is that Katherine Hepburn feeling of pulling into Venice on a train! But it was better when you could open the train windows and lean out.

Bailey

I just faced this decision.....then I realized that on the overnight train I wouldn't be seeing much in the dark.....so I opted for the 1 cent airfare on MyAir.
(1 cent...plus 47 euros in taxes...hahahah)

rex

I am a die-hard advocate of plane over train for routes greater than about 4-5 hours.

But the real analysis of this comparison is not A against B. More like A vs B vs C vs D.

The train has very favorable departure and arrival times: 20:28 and 08:43. Normally, I think that one objection to overnight trains is that you can't stay in bed (if you want to) beyond the arrival time of the train (like you can in your hotel). And the price is VERY compelling, if you get it far enough in advance to get the 50 euro PREM (30-59 days).

If Ryanair (which I <i>love</i were the only choice - - we'll call it &quot;B&quot; - - from (Paris) Beauvais to (Venice) Treviso, then the train looks like a fairly comparable choice. You actually eat up about 7 hours for this 1 hr 40 minute flight. For the 10:10 departure, you need to be at Porte Maillot for the bus at 6:55. You get to sleep later on the train! Or if you take the afternoon departure, you give up about 7 hours of prime time that you might normally spend on sightseeing or other activities. Its fare will be a bit under or a bit over the PREM fare, once the taxes are added in.

There is now a new second low-cost carrier - - myair.com (we;ll call it C) - - with <i>extremely</i> low fares, and it flies from Orly to VCE. So the transit time is reduced by about two hours. And the fare might be well under that of the train.

The last choice - - D - - the &quot;legacy&quot; airlines all seem to have dropped out of servicing the route nonstop. They are clearly a last choice, and phenomenally expensive.

So, personally, I would probably choose myair - - but I would not think less of anyone choosing the train. I consider Ryanair slightly inferior to the train, and the legacy airlines WAAYY inferior.

I (almost) never have a 25 words or less answer, do I?

Best wishes,

Rex

Patrick

If I could take a daytime train and had the time that would be my first choice. But of the two you mention, if I scored them between 1 and 100, the flight would get a 90. An overnight train would get a 2.