I agree with the Padua idea. I don't like to stay too far away from the airport (in case there is an accident on the autostrada) and Padua is very close to Marco Polo. Marco Polo is a mess, I would allow two hours for domestic flights and three for any that involve passport control. I guess you could drop your car off at Piazzale Roma but I was just there last weekend and there was a massive line of cars just waiting to get into the garage. Like, engine off, just sitting there, waiting. Easter weekend, so super busy but I would not want to be sitting in a hot car trying to drop off a car in the middle of July.

It is not that awful to stay at an airport hotel and go to Venice on the bus though, if you have the energy. You do not have to take the expensive water taxi, just take the bus. But it sounds like a long day.

Padua is beautiful and has great restaurants, it would be a really nice place to spend your last afternoon and evening in the Veneto,

I tend to agree with Stu on this one. I haven't told you about my family! I have a husband and one daughter who tend to become really anxious if plans don't go according to schedule. It would not be a fun last day in Italy for any of us if we missed our flight because part of our best laid plans fell through. If we were to visit Venice, I would want to thoroughly enjoy it, take it all in, and not be looking at my watch the entire time. I haven't researched Padua, but I did read about Verona last night. I found an apartment/hotel that is very close to the arena, but not in the ZTL, and can provide a parking space for an additional small fee. I will research Padua as well, based on your recommendations, but I think we will save Venice for another time. PS - I wholeheartedly agree - Getting 5 people moving in the right direction is a lot more difficult than 1 or 2!

None of the plans are perfect, but, Two good things to consider about Padua.
The drive to the airport the morning of your flight is much shorter from Padua than from Verona.
You could make a last minute decision about Venice after you get to Padua, so no pressure about that, and less stressful, I think.
I do not know about zones in Padua.
I would definitely check the bus/shuttle to see if the car could be dropped in Padua. If you could all fit into a taxi, it would probably be around $60.00, (check for current prices) but might save a day of car rental and be a door to door drop at the airport, a real convenience to not have to drop a car that morning. At the end of a trip, a few bucks to make life less stressful or tiring is really worth it when you consider total costs of trip.

While I truly like the idea of dropping the car in Venice, and staying the night there, I would avoid driving into Venice in July. It could, and likely would, eat up a lot of time.

I do not know if this is a good idea or not, depends on where you could drop the car in Padua or perhaps Mestre, and take the train into Venice for the night to save dropping off in Venice. Just throwing it out there for thought.
Me, I am familiar with Venice, Padua, Verona and Vicenza and would take the easy way with Padua if I found lodging I liked.
Best of luck with your decisions.

Thank you - all very good points. I am going to research Padua tonight and compare it to Verona. Honestly, an hour and a half drive from Verona to the airport doesn't really phase me as we wouldn't have to be in the airport until 11:00-11:30ish. If the drive time were not an issue to the airport, which city would you prefer? Just a little reference on my family: We definitely prefer outdoor activities and sights. The Arena, the vibrant piazzas, the history are all very appealing to me when I look at things to do in Verona.

Thanks Again,

Rose

We've never visited Padua - but Michelin gives Verona a 3 star rating, and Padua a 2 star.

Here is my wife's Shutterfly book from our visit to Verona. We were there in March - and we had some snow.

https://stududley.shutterfly.com/39

Click "full screen"

Due to recent Shutterfly enhancement, captions & titles are often missing or truncated.

Stu Dudley

Stu, thanks for sharing your wife's photo album. Oh my goodness! I'm so excited for our trip after viewing your pics! I wish we had more time for day trips but with work schedules, we are limited. Someday, I hope. I think Verona would be a great spot to visit!

Much Appreciated,

Rose
PS - I also make (Shutterfly) vacation photo books!

My wife has made over 50 Shutterfly books about our various vacations.

This one incliuded Venice.
https://stududley.shutterfly.com/55

Stu Dudley

I agree with the others that more time in Venice is highly desirable.... but if this were my trip, and first chance to visit Venice, I'd jump on the plan that has me staying near Pzle Roma,, turning in the car there, and getting a taxi (or 2) to the airport in the morning. Even just riding the vaporetto down the grand canal can be magical.

aside from all of the rational reasons listed above, I ask myself "why not?" How many chances do we all have to live life?

Neal623, I have nothing to add to this but hope you will come back and let us know what you decided to do and how it worked out!

Just to add my 2 cents…I did an overnight in Verona. It is beautiful. I hired a guide (let me know if you would like her name). She took me around to all the Romeo and Juliet sites (my choice) and explained the history of Verona. She is a certified guide.
Enjoy your trip.

We have started and finished several trips in Venice in addition to staying for more than three nights about four times, so we are used to all the ways to dash in and dash out. You are correct in assuming that should one thing go wrong, the experience would be a logistical disaster.

The airport alone for returning to the US can often defy reason, as my youngest and I first discovered in line(s) there in 2009. And that was without a car return. We made it "Lesson 1" for all our return trips: Allow much more time than you would assume to get back to and to get through VCE.

Therefore I second the recs for a pitstop in Padua or Verona. On our way back from our Piedmonte/Milan trip, heading back to VCE, we stayed a night in Padua and toured the Scrovegni Chapel. If I recall I had to jump through a lot of hoops to get the chapel tickets, but it was worth it to me. The town was cute, and we had a superb meal at the Belle Parti Restaurant.

Have fun planning this.
AZ

Would you please share the name of your guide in Verona? We will be in Verona for three nights in May and always appreciate a local expert giving us an overview of a city. Thank you!

I'm with the others who vote on venice. I would absolutely return the car the day before the flight and take the advice others have offered. The best part of venice is after 4 any way when the tourist boats have gone. Even if all you do is walk around for a few hours and grab dinner, it will have been worth it. Make the most of the afternoon before your flight and then take a taxi to the airport the next morning. You won't be in any different situation than had you stayed a week and had a 1:30 flight. IMO venice shouldnt be missed if possible.

Neal623... you want your family to discover Venice.?.. I agree with Ellen and emcash. If you can splurge I'd take a water taxi to the airport. But be sure to pick it up in a spot where you'lll have a tour of the Grand Canal on your way out.
Also, if you like to eat my favorite restaurant in Venice is Corte Sconta. (Splurge again.). But just finding the restaurant should be an adventure. (reservations needed.)
Anyhow, no matter what, I hope you have a great trip.

Why not leave CT one day earlier, and spend two overnights in Venice? Instead of arriving in Venice at 6 PM you will wake up that morning and have the full day.

I see this advice often and I'm skeptical. I find Google maps to be very close to the actual driving time on most trips in Italy. I just checked the estimated driving time to several places we visit often, and I consider them accurate. One was perhaps a little underestimated, but the recommended route was not the one we take, so I don't know.

The last long trip we took was to Val Gardena, and on that trip Google greatly overestimated the driving time. It was on a weekend, with heavy traffic part of the way, and maybe it really was even worse at the time we left home.

Since Google bought Waze their estimates take traffic into consideration. If you plan your route at 8 PM in New York, which is 2 AM in Italy, you may get very optimistic driving times for a planned rush hour trip. You can set departure day and time on Google maps. It may be on the menu if you're using the app. That should give you a realistic estimate.

I realize that we live in Italy, which may mean we drive faster, but we're also old, which means we drive slower.

Google travel times in the UK are way off, but in Italy pretty much ok.