My husband and I are considering taking the overnight train from Naples to Venice with our 4 teens. I gather that flying would be no more expensive but I thought the kids might like spending the night on the train. On the other hand, maybe it would just be a long, boring trip for them. Opinions?

Well, the train departs at 7:57pm and arrives 5:24am. There's nothing to see outside as it's dark, and I don't think there's TV in the cabin. So, you get on, perhaps go eat, and then you go to sleep. If the teens need entertainment before going to bed, they can provide their own.

With four teenagers I would prefer to spend the evening eating dinner at a normal hour (normal for Italy, like 8PM) and reserve couchettes (bunks) on train nr. 830 leaving Napoli at 21:42. You'd have a better chance at everybody being reasonably tired and shutting up and letting others try to sleep - you can have a compartment for six to yourselves and take care of your own needs among yourselves...

This train gets into Bologna at 05:57, just in time for a leg stretch and breakfast or some semblance thereof (it's a big train hub, there's bound to be something open at 6AM).

Then you pick any of the many trains to carry on to Venice, like the 06:02 (arr 08:10) if you're in a hurry, or the much slower 06:11 (arr 09:23) or 06:13 (change in Verona, needs reservations, arr 09:38), or - much better and faster - the 07:53 (arr 09:58) or - if you want to have a look around Bologna for a bit, the 08:53 (arr 10:58) or the 09:42 (requries rservations, arr 11:28).

WK

The plane is looking better to me.

The big advantage of an overnight train is that it will save time. If you fly to Venezia, you'll waste half a day. I've no idea what times the planes go, but an evening flight will mean you have to get to a hotel in Venezia late at night; a morning flight will mean you get to Venezia much later than if you'd travelled on an overnight train.