Hope for some suggestions.

We will be arriving into Venice airport around 2 pm the day after Easter, having left the US the evening before. Not sure if we should recover by staying in Venice a day or so ( we will be back in Venice for a few days at the end of the trip) or just try to move right on to Florence.

How easy is it to get to the train station from the airport? Since it is the day after Easter will we have problems getting a train without already having tickets/reservations? I have looked at past posts about passes vs buying there and being a holiday makes me nervous.

I have looked at the web sites and it looks like the cost of a ticket is 52 or 47euros each one way. That does not sound like the cheap Italian train tickets I have always heard about. And with luggage is 1st class a better choice?

Thanks in advance for any help on this.
Barb

Very easy.

Take the ATVO blue bus for €3.00/20min ride from Venice Airport to the Venice Mestre train station.

http://www.atvo.it/images_doc/linee/...03.2010%29.pdf

http://www.atvo.it/images_doc/linee/flybus.pdf

From there you take the train to Florence.

Trains depart every 1-2 hours at XX:39 all day long, and take less than 2hrs. I see the price on trenitalia.com at 53€ for a flexible ticket, 42€ for a base ticket price (one reservation change allowed until 1h after departure).

I also see 15% (36€) and 30% (29€) discounted advance purchase fares for sale, with more restrictions.

Limited seats, one reservation change and partial refund allowed until 24hours before departure.

There are also slower (3hr vs 2), less frequent IC trains that will cost you 22.50€.

So yes, there are cheaper seats available, but they come with the penalty of slower travel (IC train) or restrictions (high speed trains).

"How easy is it to get to the train station from the airport?"
You can take a taxi or bus to the Venezia MESTRE train station and catch a train from there. Mestre is the train station on the mainland closest to the airport. (No need to travel all the way to the island of Venice--train station = Venezia Santa Lucia.)

"Since it is the day after Easter will we have problems getting a train without already having tickets/reservations?"
This may or may not be an issue. If you are from the U.S. you may not be able to buy online anyway and will just have to take a chance.

"I have looked at the web sites and it looks like the cost of a ticket is 52 or 47euros each one way. That does not sound like the cheap Italian train tickets I have always heard about."
Italian train tickets have risen in price over the years, but for high speed service (I assume from these prices), this is still relatively inexpensive compared to other parts of Europe.

"And with luggage is 1st class a better choice?"
Not if you are carrying the average number of bags. However, first class may be more available because of the holiday.

If you are really concerned about the ability to get a train that afternoon, you might just grab a hotel in Mestre and book tickets for the next day. Others report some reasonable options right near the train station. You could take a short train ride from into Venice proper for dinner if you like. In the morning, just cross the street to the station and you're on your way.

I presume you are changing planes after arriving in Europe, hence your comparatively late arrival hour in Venice.By 2 pm I might be too tired to do anything more than head into Venice. But if you do want to get to Florence:

I assume there is a taxi option to get to Venice-Mestre train station. If you want a public transit option, here is advice from europeforvisitors.com:

Various ATVO buses go to Venice Piazzale Roma, Mestre train station and other locations:


For Venice:
"This coach costs €3,00 and is the most convenient option, since it has a luggage compartment underneath where the driver will stow your bags. The stop is located between the Arrivals terminal and the Departures area. (Caution: ATVO also runs buses to other locations, so look for the "Venezia" sign before boarding.)

"You can buy tickets at the ATVO counter in the arrivals hall (open 8 a.m. to midnight), from the ticket machines in the baggage-claim area, or from a ticket machine in the bus departure area."

"Travel time to the Piazzale Roma is 20 minutes. For more information, including timetables, see the ATVO Web site's Airport Service page"

Respecting buses to Venice-Mestre Railroad Station:

"Both ATVO and Actv [municipal bus] run frequent buses [from Marco Polo airport] to the railway station in Venice's suburb of Mestre, on the mainland, where express trains connect with cities in Northern and Southern Italy. Buy tickets for the "Fly Bus" at the ATVO booth or for the #15 city bus at the Actv counter.
---------
The train from Venice/ Mestre to Florence takes about 2 hours. In mid-afternoon, trains leave every hour at 40 minutes after the hour.

It is, in principle, possible to collect bags and get to the train station in time to catch the 3:40 or 4:40 pm train. You would get to Florence around 530 or 630 pm.
----------

Respecting train fares: If you get a discount fare you will likely have some restrictions on ticket changes. If you miss your train, you may lose your ticket.

With the 42 E rate, you get a "base" rather than a "flessibile" ticket. This still allows you to catch a later train, if you miss your connection:

From trenitalia.com:
"Reference ticket, one reservation change until 1h after departure. Partial refund allowed until 1 h after departure"

I have taken a train from Mestre station immediately after arriving in Venice airport.

I was originally looking at taking an ATVO bus to Mestre. But after realizing that the length of the waiting line meant I had to wait at least 3 buses, I took a taxi to Mestre. I was so tired and did not want to miss the next train.

Going to the canal part of Venice is quite time consuming. So unless you are staying near Pz Roma or the landside (not interesting) of Venice, you won't save much time.

If you are flying out from somewhere else, by all means stay in Venice first.

The day after Easter was a holiday when we were there so do watch for holiday schedules.

The prices on Trenitalia are discounted 5% (online purchase discount)so you will pay a bit more walk-up. Trenitalia will not process American credit cards so I doubt you will be able to buy in advance although a few Fodorite's have found some ways to work around it. Since you don't know if your flight will be late, I would just buy the tickets at the station.

>>>With the 42 E rate, you get a "base" rather than a "flessibile" ticket. This still allows you to catch a later train, if you miss your connection:<<<

Doesn't apply for this trip. You would not be missing a "connection". You would be missing your train entirely. A connection means you have a ticket that requires a train change from one train to another. If you miss your train, you have three hour window to change your ticket. You can't just hop the next train.
http://www.trenitalia.com/cms/v/inde...003f16f90aRCRD

Thanks to all for the great suggestions and info.

I have looked at point to point tickets on raileurope and am able to get good prices for 2 people traveling together for the routes and days I plan to go. Since I can use US credit cards on that site I think that is what I will do.

I will also try to spend that first night in Venice and give us a chance to recover and have more trains to pick from the next day. We are spending more time in Venice at the end of the trip since we fly out of there also.

Can always count on Fodorites to help with those big decisions!
Barb

RailEurope inflates the prices and charges a hefty mailing fee (about $18). If you are spending the first night in
Venice and no longer traveling on the busy Easter holiday, I would buy the tickets once there. The price will be 44€ ($62)for the fast train 2nd cl or 58€ ($82) 1st cl from Trenitalia in Italy.

I am just curious... it is usually not a straight forward thing to fly from the US to Venice...why are you flying there if your intended destination was Florence?

kybourbon: Yes I thought RailEurope was usually inflated also but I can get 2 second class tickets (senior rate) for $70 on the slow train or $130 on the fast train. That includes the reserved seat. I was not sure if buying the ticket at the station would be more than that if there is an extra charge for the reserved seat.

Are the rates for buying at the station more than on the Trenitalia web site? I understand it is not possible to buy on that site with US credit cards.

Thanks for your help on this!

cruiseluv: I realize it sounds strange. We are actually going to Venice because my DH has a meeting in Padua. So we want to visit Florence as well as Venice while fairly close. it is more difficult because we have to connect in Frankfurt. Also hope to visit Ravenna in there sometime!

Actually Padua is pretty nice, hope you get to sightesee there as well.

I think cruiseluv is wondering why you didn't fly in to Florence and then home from Venice.

good question, ellenem! DH does the flight arrangements - I do the rest. Enough said.