Fly out Venice or Rome
Jun 25th, 2017, 08:59 AM
#21
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If you have an early a.m. flight out of Venice, consider staying the last night at a hotel near the airport, for several reasons:
Even if you use a water taxi -- which is the fastest, most expensive (about 100 euros) way -- it's still a long ride to the airport.
An airport-hotel shuttle will get you to the airport in 5 minutes or less, if you stay at a hotel that has its own express shuttle bus. (Some hotels use a contractor that stops at several hotels on the way.) I can recommend the Best Western Titian. Nice staff. Spacious, clean rooms. Quick shuttle that you can book to suit the time you need. There's nothing fancy about the place, but it more than serves the purpose.
You can get to a lot of the airport-area hotels via bus for a couple of euros, or take a taxi, late at night so you can have a full day in Venice if you want.
Even if you use a water taxi -- which is the fastest, most expensive (about 100 euros) way -- it's still a long ride to the airport.
An airport-hotel shuttle will get you to the airport in 5 minutes or less, if you stay at a hotel that has its own express shuttle bus. (Some hotels use a contractor that stops at several hotels on the way.) I can recommend the Best Western Titian. Nice staff. Spacious, clean rooms. Quick shuttle that you can book to suit the time you need. There's nothing fancy about the place, but it more than serves the purpose.
You can get to a lot of the airport-area hotels via bus for a couple of euros, or take a taxi, late at night so you can have a full day in Venice if you want.
Jun 25th, 2017, 12:07 PM
#23
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Ravenna is not exactly on the way to Rome! You can get from Venice to Rome in 3 hours and 45 minutes by train. It takes about 3 hours to get to Ravenna from Venice, and another 4 or more hours to get from Ravenna to Rome.
Jun 25th, 2017, 08:27 PM
#24
Much as I LOVE Ravenna, it is a bit out of the way. IMO worth it, but depends on your interests. It's about a 40 min regional train ride out of Bologna; Bologna IS on a main but as others have been pointing out, these connections take time.
Actually it's a fair point to distinguish between arriving to and departing from Venice; my arrival was quick and easy; the departure was horrid. Season and time of day factor in as well.
Actually it's a fair point to distinguish between arriving to and departing from Venice; my arrival was quick and easy; the departure was horrid. Season and time of day factor in as well.
Jun 26th, 2017, 09:57 AM
#26
Several thousand people jammed in the departures level.
Authorities closing off one entrance to departures level and directing people to turn around.
Other authorities where the turned-around people were sent directing people back to denied entrance, where those authorities directed people right back to where they came from, and so on.
Lines snaking around so much that people were trying to sort out which line went to which airline, let alone within each airline area.
Staff who were sweating, looking exasperated, trying to cope with the hoards of people trying to get to the correct airline area. We aren't even talking about the security lines yet.
So, maybe that's "just me," but I thought it was an "unpleasant experience." My very early morning departures from Venice were "not horrid," but this one and the previous two were.
Authorities closing off one entrance to departures level and directing people to turn around.
Other authorities where the turned-around people were sent directing people back to denied entrance, where those authorities directed people right back to where they came from, and so on.
Lines snaking around so much that people were trying to sort out which line went to which airline, let alone within each airline area.
Staff who were sweating, looking exasperated, trying to cope with the hoards of people trying to get to the correct airline area. We aren't even talking about the security lines yet.
So, maybe that's "just me," but I thought it was an "unpleasant experience." My very early morning departures from Venice were "not horrid," but this one and the previous two were.
Jun 26th, 2017, 02:24 PM
#27
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annw,
I had the same experience in March. Most of the assembly area leading up to the check-in counters was cordoned off for people checking in for the posted flights. If your flight wasn't posted yet, you had to wait in a much smaller area outside the cordoned off section that was also the main passageway to walk from one end of the terminal to the other--it was difficult to walk through because of all the waiting people with luggage, difficult to find the few check-in kiosks since the hordes of people waiting were blocking the way. Mixed messages from harried staff.
But I would still opt to fly out of Venice.
I had the same experience in March. Most of the assembly area leading up to the check-in counters was cordoned off for people checking in for the posted flights. If your flight wasn't posted yet, you had to wait in a much smaller area outside the cordoned off section that was also the main passageway to walk from one end of the terminal to the other--it was difficult to walk through because of all the waiting people with luggage, difficult to find the few check-in kiosks since the hordes of people waiting were blocking the way. Mixed messages from harried staff.
But I would still opt to fly out of Venice.
Jun 27th, 2017, 05:55 AM
#28
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I flew out of Venice last month, it was total chaos.. terrible signage at the check in area, and more people (and luggage) than can fit in those areas. Also in the gate area, way more people than room (or chairs) for them all. The guy who checked me in did not seem to know what he was doing, and gave me a boarding pass for a later connection than I had booked, without even telling me (I only discovered I had a later connection when I realized I would never make my connection and looked at the boarding pass.)
The gate staff loaded the passengers on my flight into the bus that takes everyone out to the tarmac, then the plane was not ready, so they left us all crammed inside the bus on the tarmac for thirty minutes, in the heat. Not only uncomfortable but also IMO unsafe. I thought some people were going to pass out.
They are definitely having some growing pains but the construction there does seem to be almost done (fingers crossed) so hopefully by next spring a lot of the issues will be resolved. Until then I will just allow a lot more time to check in and go through security than I use to. I have flown into and out of Venice many times and boy do I miss the days of sleepy little Marco Polo of the past.. the new airport is a Test of One's Patience.
The gate staff loaded the passengers on my flight into the bus that takes everyone out to the tarmac, then the plane was not ready, so they left us all crammed inside the bus on the tarmac for thirty minutes, in the heat. Not only uncomfortable but also IMO unsafe. I thought some people were going to pass out.
They are definitely having some growing pains but the construction there does seem to be almost done (fingers crossed) so hopefully by next spring a lot of the issues will be resolved. Until then I will just allow a lot more time to check in and go through security than I use to. I have flown into and out of Venice many times and boy do I miss the days of sleepy little Marco Polo of the past.. the new airport is a Test of One's Patience.
