carl170

Hello, I have a 6am flight from Venice back to the US through Amsterdam. What's the best way to get to the airport at that early hour? I am staying relatively close to the train station. Also, when should I get to the airport. 3am seems unreasonably early, but I don't want to miss my flight. Thanks.

StuDudley

Stay at a hotel near the airport the night before. That's what we did about 20 years ago.


Stu Dudley

janisj

That is the problem with flights to the US out of Venice -- they mostly leave at O'dark-thirty.

Have a nice dinner in Venice and have a final walk around, then head out to a hotel near the airport. You won't lose any usable 'Venice-time' and it will be much easier to make your flight. (another reason it is usually better to fy IN to Venice and home from someplace else)

rmfish

Last year I had an early flight. We were staying near st Marks and the hotel scheduled a water taxi for us. It’s a pain to get up so early but I like the alternative less. You have to check out of your Venice hotel early the morning before and then check into a hotel near the airport and then check out of that hotel and get to the airport. I’d rather bite the bullet and pay for the water taxi and get up early. Besides the ride is fun. Different people make different choices.

StuDudley

Usually, you can avoid early morning hotel check-outs by doing so the night before. If the OP is staying at a B&B/apt - there is usually no check out at all.


I would be nervous waiting for a water taxi at 3 am in the morning. What happens of it does not arrive.??? Who do you call??? We did just that last year, and I was a little nervous with a 10:00 taxi because we had a train departure at noon.


Do what janisj says - check out of your hotel as late as you can, have them hold your bags at the hotel (or store them at the train station if that is possible), enjoy some more of Venice, have dinner, retrieve your bags, take a land taxi to the airport, check in & out that night. Next morning walk or take a shuttle to the airport.


Stu Dudley

DonTopaz

A lot of nonsense in some of the responses here:

OP is close to train station, so close to Piazzale Roma. From Piazzale Roma, either take the airport express bus to the airport or a taxi -- takes no more than 20 minutes at that hour. The 1st airport express bus leaves at 4:20am, which gets OP to the airport in ample time for an intra-Europe flight departing at 6:00.

Even with bags to check, latest check-in time is 40 minutes before the flight. If OP shows up at 3:00, he'll have the airport to himself -- I doubt the check-in counter for his flight even opens before 4:00. Staying at a hotel saves no more than 10 minutes.

StuDudley

>>takes no more than 20 minutes at that hour. The 1st airport express bus leaves at 4:20am, which gets OP to the airport in ample time for an intra-Europe flight departing at 6:00.<<


So "ample time" is 1 hr 20 mins??? I would be stressed!!!


Stu Dudley

DonTopaz

Yes, getting to Venice airport at 4:40am (or even 5:00am) for a 6:00 flight is ample time.

The 6:00 flight is the only KLM flight anywhere close to that time. So, it's pretty certain that there won't be unusual delays at check-in (even with luggage), and lines for security would also not be a cause for concern at that hour. As it's a Schengen flight, there's no immigration, and there certainly aren't any long walks at the small Venice airport.

1h20m would be dicey if you're flying overseas out of LHR or JFK at 5pm, but it's more than adequate for a 6am Schengen flight out of VCE.

rialtogrl

DonTopaz, when was the last time you flew out early from Marco Polo?

I avoid those flights like the plague so it has been a long time since I have taken one and at that time I would have agreed with you. But nowadays, that airport is a chaotic zoo. Checking in for a Lufthansa flight to Germany recently, I was told by the ticketing agent they were advising arriving THREE HOURS before your flight.

In the past I would never have worried showing up at 5 am for a 6 am flight but now, I am not so sure. If you have recent experience (or if someone else does) perhaps it is an unnecessary worry.

They have grown way too fast in that airport and the left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing. Oh how I long for the good old days of little bitty Marco Polo airport.

Dukey1

It is a LONGER WALK from that water taxi dock than it would be from a wheeled taxi or bus stop in front of the terminal.

StuDudley

Viamichelin.com says it is 37 mins from Piazzale Roma to the airport. So that puts you there at 5:00 for a 6:00 flight. Stress!!! And if checking in bags takes longer than planned or there is some hiccup - the OP might miss his/her flight home.


Stu Dudley

StCirq

And Viamichelin is often optimistic.

rmfish

Op should do whatever she is most comfortable with. Mine is simply one experience. However it is a recent experience. I’m not making it up. It was the height of the tourist season last year. BA told me their desk did not open until 4 or 4:30 and that was plenty of time for a 6:00 flight. The water taxi showed up promptly. It was easy.
I visit Venice every year and I hoped to offer an alternative suggestion. When I ask for advice, different opinions are a help to me.

DonTopaz

Stu Dudley, I think you have made a mistake. I just checked Viamichelin, and they offer 3 routes: 1 takes 19 minutes, the other 2 take 20 minutes. Google maps right now (6:00pm Venice time) offers 2 routes (15 mins and 20 mins). The operator of the airport express (ATVO) says it's a 20-minute ride from Piazzale Roma to the airport.

Look, if any of you want to lose an evening in Venice (stay at airport hotel) or an extra 90 minute's sleep (get to airport at 3am) and then wait an extra 2 hours in the Venice airport, good for you. But at least get your facts straight and understand your options before you make a decision.

janisj

DonTopaz: >>A lot of nonsense in some of the responses here:<<

Others have different advice . . . just different, not 'nonsense'

If one's final destination is the States, while it is an intra-Schengen flight, there is extra scrutiny/document review/security. Not a lot more but I certainly would not be happy being there 1 hour in advance. And with lots of flights leaving in the early morning hours the airport can be a total mess.

Both options are 'doable' - and the OP should decide, but don't say the other responses are nonsense.

StuDudley

https://www.viamichelin.com/web/Rout...elConsumption=


Stu Dudley

rialtogrl

The airport bus takes 20 to 25 minutes with stops.

Cowboy1968

I flew out of Marco Polo yesterday so I guess my memory is still quite fresh.

First, OP needs to calculate the distance from his/her hotel to Piazzale Roma to see if walking there in the early morning is an option.

At Piazzale Roma, you can take the nonstop ATVO Express Bus to VCE.
There are other buses which make stops but not the Express.
The travel time is 20 minutes. And it has been 20 minutes also in regular daytime traffic the last three times I used it.
At 4.20am in the morning the traffic will be zero.
Another option at Piazzale Roma is a regular taxi (no experience with this - but while it may be expensive I think it will still be much less than a water taxi).

Secondly, OP needs to find out when KLM opens the desks.
The usual time would be 90 minutes before departure. But this needs to be checked.
While there is only one KLM flight at 6:00, there is one AF flight at 6:55. Probably at the same desks as KLM/AF usually share facilities outside their own major airports.
The only extra scrutiny could be another glance into OP's passport and asking a few questions when checking bags.
Otherwise, he/she will use the regular security checkpoint for all flights - and not the other one for direct flights to the US.
The real extra security will happen in Amsterdam.

The rest is more or less depending on OP's preferences.

tuscanlifeedit

I would take a taxi from Ple. Roma, but that's me.

lilly2018

Hi. so we are in the same situation this coming April 2019. early KLM flight at 6:00 out of Venice to Amsterdam. what did you ended up doing? we are staying at an Airbnb near Rialto bridge.