Venice train, airport, and luggage questions

[sandinmyshoes]

We will be going to Venice from Rome via the rail but will be flying out of the Venice airport back to the States. Does anyone have prior experience with this situation?

We are planning on travelling to Venice in the evening and staying at a hotel around St. Marks Square. Is there an easy place to store our luggage close to the train terminal so we don't have to lug but one bag to the hotel?

Also, how long does it take to get to the airport from hotels in the St. Marks area?

We are thinking we may change to a hotel closer to the airport for our last night because our flight out is at 5am. Any suggestions on the most efficient way to accomplish this? How do most people get to the airport and how long should we plan on it taking? Is there a place at the airport we could store our luggage for the three days we are in town?

A million thanks for all who have done this and can help!

[crazy4cruzin]

Sandinmyshoes - We will be doing the same thing as you, except we decided to drive from Rome stopping enrounte a few days. We also have a hotel in the St. Mark's Square vicinity and after the research we decided the easiest way to get to the airport from there will be by Alilaguna which is a separate ferry from the vaporetti used for regular transportation around Venice. It cost about 16.00 Euros pp but worth it for the convenience. To get from the train station to St. Mark's Square you will have to take the vaporetto. You just roll your luggage onto it. Depending on the size of your luggage you may get charged an extra fee, and it may get crowded, but it is do-able. We have done this in the past also.

 

I just realized you wrote that your flight is at 5:00am, you might want to consider staying at an airport hotel the night before in order to make it easier on yourselves. Alilaguna takes about an hour from the St. Mark's Square stop and I don't know how early it begins. But in order to make a 5:00am flight you would need to be at the airport by 2:30 or 3:00am to check-in. I don't think the Alilaguna runs at that time.

[VonChap]

You may want to try the Coutyard Marriott by the airport. They offer a free shuttle to the airport that does start early. I am not sure if it runs all night though; so, you should call them.

 

You can take a taxi to this hotel when you arrive at the train station from Rome. The taxi can help with your luggage because I dont advise taking that many bags on the local bus to the hotel. (Or I dont think the bus driver will let you) If you want to explore Venice after checking into the hotel, you can take the bus into Venice for a few Euros.

 

Luggage: There is a "luggage drop" at the train station BUT I do not think that you are allowed to leave your luggage overnight. Plus, it will not be open during the night to pick up your bags as you head to the airport.

[euro cruiser]

There is a "left luggage" office at Venezia S. Lucia (this is the station you want, Venezia Mestre is on the mainland). It's called the Deposito Bagagli. It's open every day from 6 AM to midnight.

 

The fee per bag is:

 

4,00 € for the first 5 hours, then

0,60 € for each hour between 6 - 12 hours

0,20 € for every hour after 12

 

Therefore, the first 24 hours will cost 10 € (4 + 3.6 + 2.4), every 24 hours after that will be 4,50 €.

 

There is a web site where you can check these things for the main rail stations in Italy: http://www.grandistazioni.it/cms/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=4a4172ceeae7b110VgnVCM1000003f16f90aRCRD

 

Regarding travel to the airport in the morning, only pre-arranged private transportation would get you there that early, staying nearby the night before makes the most sense. One note: unlike the US, you don't need to be there 2 - 3 hours before the flight. If you are, you'll be alone. The airport staff won't be there that early for a 5 AM flight. 90 minutes prior will be fine.

[sandinmyshoes]

Thank you all for your helpful suggestions. I took another look at my air schedule and I got the time mixed up. We will be departing Venice at 6:55am not 5am...not sure where my head was at on that one. It's still early though, so we have decided to book an airport hotel for the one night before. Any suggestions for hotels at the airport that are cheaper than the Marriott?

 

The other 3 nights we want to stay on the main island of Venice. Has anyone used the luggage lockers eurocruiser mentioned? They sound perfect for what we are wanting to do.

 

Also, has anyone taken the train from Rome to Venice? Is it a pleasant experience or a royal pain? We've travelled extensively but never by train. What should we expect? I went to the rail's website, but our Dec. dates aren't available for booking yet. Any train travel advice for this route would be most appreciated. Thanks a bundle!

[patrickmoran]

Not sure of the Marriott's price, but we are staying at the Titan Hotel near the airport.

After our cruise, we are spending 3 night in Venice and decided to stay near the train station at the Hotel Abbazia which got excellent reviews on TripAdvisor. Much less expensive than staying near St Mark's yet convenient to transportation.

[AmoMondo]

Also, has anyone taken the train from Rome to Venice? Is it a pleasant experience or a royal pain? We've travelled extensively but never by train. What should we expect? I went to the rail's website, but our Dec. dates aren't available for booking yet. Any train travel advice for this route would be most appreciated. Thanks a bundle!

 

Whilst I haven't done that route by trainm what I can tell you is that Italian trains are very relaible - they depart exactly at the time ther are meant to and arrive at the time they are meant to 9precisely). Coming from the UK, this is somewhat of a novelty for me. i also think they are reasonably priced.

[M5M]

We've done the train several places in Italy, and enjoyed it thoroughly. They do tend to be on time! The trains are clean and efficient. The schedules are posted in many places, figure out your itinerary before you step up to the ticket counter, the cashiers are just there to dispense tickets, not information. You can get tickets from an agent or self serve at the train station in Rome. It is a HUGE affair with many different windows, constant traffic, just like our immense airports. It's important to know there are different classes of tickets, the faster train costs more and if you get on the fast train with a 2nd class ticket, a conductor is likely to come through and charge you the higher price, no matter what your excuse is. For a ride that lengthy, take your food or beverage with you. You can easily purchase in the train station in Rome. The country side from Rome to Venice should be fascinating.

[euro cruiser]

I haven't used the left luggage office at Venice but I have at Termini in Rome. It's not lockers, it's a storage room accessed only by the staff. You leave your luggage with them and they stow it away. There is a lot of security at the Rome location and I would expect the same in Venice.

 

The train from Rome to Venice is a high speed train, usually a EuroStar. When we made the trip it stopped for a few minutes in Florence and the total travel time was about six hours I think.

 

On these trains, second class is quite fine, I don't see the need to pay for first class. The first class cabin has one fewer seats across, so they are marginally larger. Also, in first class you get free coffee and cookies.

 

Be aware that the train travels at high speeds through several tunnels so don't be surprised to find your ears popping, as if you were on a plane.

 

If you will be in Rome for a few days before going to Venice, you'll have no problem buying your ticket then, you don't need to do it on line months in advance. You can go to Termini to buy the tickets (use the self service machines, it's much faster than waiting on line, there are agents there to help you, and the machines are in English) or from travel agents all over town that display the italian train symbol in their window.

[CruisenLexie]

The only info I have is you can't get into the airline terminal until pretty close to your departure time. I do not remember the amount of time but I do remember checking in with the airline and checking our bags in a VERY long line. Then we had to STAND around for at least 1 hour and wait to be let through airport security to enter the terminal. There were a lot of people standing with us. I don't remember stores where you could kill time. Maybe some terminals are different. I know our terminal was for more than one airline; we were on NWA. It made no sense to me. So beware you could be standing around for quite awhile. This is not to say you should show up at the last minute. We were there in 04 I think.

 

Other than that Venice was wonderful and I would love to go back one day. Have an excellent trip!

[euro cruiser]

We had a similar experience with an early morning flight from Venice in January 2008. We took the bus from Piazzale Roma and got to the airport two and a half hours before our flight. The desks weren't open yet for our flight, so we stood around for quite awhile before we could check in. The good news is that by the time we got checked in, the coffee shops had opened.