Hi,

I see roundtrip air from NY to Rome for $700. However, my first city is Venice.

Does it make sense to either do:
A) fly NY to Paris to Venice which is $900-1000 or
B) fly to Rome, and take the train to Venice?

I'm trying to consider layovers in Paris, versus a train which can be quicker I'd imagine.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Natalie

Have you tried looking for open jaw flights (multi-city)? They can sometimes be a good deal. Then you could fly into Venice and out of wherever your last city is (Rome?). Have you looked into how long the train ride from Rome to Venice will take? I don't know exactly, but I'm guessing 5-6 hours? You can probably find out at the trenitalia website. Think, are you going to want to get off in Rome and train for ___ hours? I guess if it were me, I'd rather pay more for the flight and have to stop off in Paris on the way to Venice. But then, I wouldn't want to have to trek back to Venice to fly home, if this is roundtrip! So back to that open jaw idea...

Thanks, I see your logic Sara! The train is 4 1/2 hours. The layover for paris is 2 hours, flight another 2, so its about the same. I guess a flight is more comfy than the train. I just saw that amazing rate and wanted to BOOK.

If you can't do open jaw, then consider making Rome your 1st stop, at least for a few days. Not sure where you're going but it's far easier to backtrack to Rome from Tuscany or even Naples than it is to Venice.

Hi nat,

Train from Rome FCO to Venice is about 5:30 hr and costs 61E/84E.

This includes the train from FCO to Rome.

See www.trenitalia.com.

I would definitely pay more for the flight from the US. We live on the west coast, but flew to NYC/Kennedy and then non-stop to Venice. It was summer, and two years ago and about 1100$. Then back from Rome (the open jaw idea). Flying into Venice was the best advice I got! Instead of the layovers and connections you would have to deal with in Paris/Rome after an overnight flight, you would be able to approach Venice by water! Also, the airport is very small and easy to navigate, a plus when jetlagged. Then we took the train to Rome three days later. I remember it taking about 4-5 hours, and that was the "fast" train. When looking at the airfare deal remember that you have to factor in the train fares, too- as well as the fact that Italian trains do not always go when they are supposed to! We lost quite a few hours waiting for trains!

Thank you all for your feedback. I'm going to focus on an open jaw flight.