Getting from Rome to Venice and back

We are scheduled to depart and return to Rome, but would like to take a side trip after our cruise to Venice for a few days and then back to Rome to in turn fly back to the US

Wondering if I should rent a car or look into taking the train?

Looking for advise on both means of transportation and ease of doing either one after arriving back into port,

Does anyone know the train schedule and how difficult it is to get to the station from the port as well as from Venice to take the train to the airport in Rome?

Thank you :)

The high speed train between Rome and Venice is very nice and takes a little over 3 hours if I remember correctly. A car is a nuisance if you are only planning to use it for the drive itself. It would be different if you wanted to spend time poking around some of the countryside between....

The difficulty is that you have to get to Rome from Civitavecchia to take the fast train, and on the other end, you'll need to get to the airport from Rome at the other end.

The easiest route (what I would plan if doing it myself and not wanting to schlep luggage more than necessary) would be the following:

1. See if you can join a group on your roll call that's getting a private transfer to Rome. You can ask to be dropped off at Termini station. If you get a group together, the cost per person is much less.

2. Take the Frecciargento (fast train) from Rome to Venice.

3. If possible, book a hotel in Venice near Piazzale Roma -- this is close to the train station and you don't want to cart luggage too far by foot.

On your return, take the Frecciargento back to Rome, then you can take the Leonardo express train from Termini directly to FCO airport. Or more cheaply, you can pick up an express bus from Termini to FCO just outside the station. (These run less frequently and take longer; do your research on where to get this bus if you plan to do it....)

Are you not planning on spending a night in Rome either side of your Venice time?

If you look at the Trenitalia website you will see that trains run between Roma Termini and Venezia Santa Lucia very frequently (1 or 2 every hour). The trip is 3 hours, 45 minutes and is very pleasant.

Not sure how much time you have, but we flew……. only an hour one way….. and cost was pretty reasonable.

Have you already booked your airfare? Frequently a multi-city ticket (fly into Rome and then home from Venice or vice versa) is roughly the same as a round trip in and out of the same city.

If you can't change your flights I would suggest two things:

1) Choose a hotel near Rome Termini for your last night so it will be easy to reach from the train from Venice as well as easy to get to the airport in the morning.

2) As you pack to leave the ship pack a small bag for Venice and check the rest of your bags at the left luggage office in Termini so you don't need to schlep everything to Venice and back. Take only what you need for those couple of days.

(2a - one variation on that would be to see if the hotel you book for the last night would be willing to let you leave your large bag/bags there for a couple of days while you go to Venice.)

Do Rome - Venice by train .

In Venezia recommend Hotel Locanda Salieri near Piazzale de Roma and Venezia St Lucia . Book via Hotel website.

Train times here but pre-book :

http://www.eurail.com/plan-your-trip/eurail-timetable

With Rome Hotel UNO is close to Termini station and excellent , or stay at Airport at Leonardo De Vinci Hotel , again book direct via Hotel website.

Roma Termini to FCO Airport Leonardo Express runs ever 30 minutes.

Train times here but pre-book :

http://www.eurail.com/plan-your-trip/eurail-timetable

Absolutely not, purchase directly from the train operators themselves. Resellers tack on an additional fee and have been known to "sell" seats that don't exist, only to cancel the transaction later.

The two primary operators in Italy are:

the state railroad: http://www.trenitalia.com/

Italotreno (newer private competitor): http://www.italotreno.it/

If it were me, and granted it's not, I would join others on my roll call and take shared transport into Rome from the port and go right to Termini. Then I'd catch the Venice bound train. Unless you travel very lightly, the rigors of getting to the Civitavecchia train station would make me avoid that method if at all possible.

If you look at the Trenitalia website you will see that trains run between Roma Termini and Venezia Santa Lucia very frequently (1 or 2 every hour). The trip is 3 hours, 45 minutes and is very pleasant.

thank you for giving the name of the stations for both Rome and Venice. I am an early planner, and I was on the train website trying to figure out what stations I would leave Rome and arrive in Venice at, and also wondered how I would know which stations were the the ones I needed to plan around.

We are planning on flying into Rome and spending a couple days before we take the train to Venice to board the cruise ship. Want to stay within walking distance of most sites in Rome. Also want to make sure we arrive in Venice with plenty of time to get to the cruise ship and board.

again thanks