Drive or train from Naples to Venice?
 

We will be coming from Taormina (Catania) on the train to Naples and then on to Venice. The train ride is an astronomical 12-16 hours. Would we be better off taking the train to Naples and renting a car and driving to Venice? What is the terrain like on that drive as I'm not the bravest driver in mountainous or cliff areas. What about flying from Catania to Venice? I can't seem to find any information on the flight from Catania to Venice but assume the one way flight would be quite expensive. Can any of you well traveled Fodorites our there give us any answers?

Try Volare and Air One airlines -- they both have web sites. I flew from catania to rome last summer and it was $138 roundtrip.

Besides Volare and Air One, another budget airline flying Catania-Venice is Alpi Eagles. Fares are as low as €40 + tax on some dates.

www.flyairone.it
www.alpieagles.com
www.volareweb.com

Hope this helps ...

Steve

Last year we drove from Siena to Amalfi. It was not a difficutl drive, but it seemed to take forever. I cannot image trying to drive from Naples to Venice. The train will still take you a long time. And gasoline is very expensive.
IMHO, I would take Steve's advice and check out the flights.
Another sugggestion, if you are determined to train or drive, would be to break up the trip and stay somewhere along the way. If you can budget the time into your vacation. But that is still a long trip.
Good luck.

I've taken an overnight train from Naples to Venice.
I don't know how long the train is from Taormina to Naples, but maybe you could spend a few afternoon/evening hours in Naples to break up the journey. Go to the museum, have some amazing pizza, pick up a bottle of wine for the train and wake up in Venice.