Day trip from Venice
 

We are a family of 5 taking a cruise out of Venice, which returns to Venice on a Friday morning you get to stay on the boat Friday night. Since we don't fly out until Sunday morning (about 10am), we were thinking of taking a day trip out of Venice that Saturday. Choices are:

1. taking the train to Florence for the day and returning to Venice that night. Problem is, it's a costly endeavor for 5 (about $600).

2. Renting a car and driving someplace around that area of Italy, then staying at a hotel near Marco Polo. (Flight isn't until 10:30, so we could also stay in the city Saturday night.)
Are there any interesting areas of Italy in driving distance from Venice for a day trip?

I'm leaning towards No. 1 and biting the monetary bullett since we may never get back to Italy as a family, but if anyone has any comments on these or other options, we'd love to hear them! Thanks.

I would not go any further than Burano or Padua.

Not only costly, but it's not as if you would be getting to spend a whole lot of time in Florence. Presumably, you'd need to first go to your Venice hotel, store your luggage, then catch the train for Florence. I'm sure you'd have a great time in Florence, but you'd really only get the smallest taste of the city.

I might rent a car and head off to Ravenna for the gorgeous mosaics, or to Bologna or to Padua for the day. Then, as you say, drive to marco Polo for your morning flight. Renting a car eliminates all sorts of logistical issues -- the car rental place is even in the same location as the cruise ship dock.

Don

Will you already have spent time in Venice before the cruise? If not, you could just stay and explore. Or take one of the boat trips to the islands - Murano or Burano.

Florence is about 2 hours each way by train. It's certainly a doable daytrip but that is a lot of time to sit on a train. Depending on when you arrive/depart Florence, you could have a good portion of the day to spend there. But it will be Saturday and busy so you'd for sure want to make museum reservations ahead of time if you plan to see a museum.

I've been looking for ideas of a day trip from Venice during my visit in May and was thinking about Verona, but that might be the same amount of travel time.

Have a fun trip!

For train from Venice to Florence, if you book ahead on www.trenitalia.com site, you might get the mini rate, it's much cheaper.

Padua would be my choice. I'm very sorry that I wasn't able to get there while in Venice.

I love Padua and Verona. You could also rent a car and head East to Ljubljana.

I would also advocate Verona. It's less than 1.5 hours by train and is a lovely spot for a day trip

This depends on whether you are spending several days in Venice before the cruise or not. If not, I would not waste time on day trips, but use the precious time to enjoy Venice. There are numerous sights to see listed in various guidebooks, or simply ride the vaporetto endlessly, or the ultimate in decadence, the private water taxi ride down the Grand Canal.

We loved Verona. The arena and castle were great and there are good city views from the museum above the Roman theater. Buy the Verona card if you are going to visit several attractions.
If you can fit five in one car, that would probably be the most economical way to go. The fast train from Venice to Verona takes only an hour, but it will be pricey for 5 people round-trip.

To get away from the tourists in Venice, try Trieste. It's 2 hours by train and 1 1/2 hrs by car, each way.

You've not said if your will have time in Venice before the trip or have been there before. If not, I would definitely stay in Venice and perhaps take a day trip to one of the islands as has been suggested. If you are tired of Venice, go to Padua. Florence is my favorite city in Italy but a little far for a day trip.

Another vote for staying in Venice. We've so far spent a total of 8 weeks there and haven't seen all of it. Similar to a previous suggestion, if you want to get away from the city itself, what about an early trip to Torcello then a lovely seafood lunch on Burano afterwards ? You could also visit Murano after that if you are still raring to go - get off at Museo and walk to Colonna before getting back on the boat. You could also stop at San Michele after that.

If for some strange reason you really don't want to spend any more time in Venice then I also recommend Padua - not very far on the train, nice small historic city centre with plenty to see.