Venice to Civitavecchia- advice needed

[turquoisestarchild]

Hi everyone,

 

I have 2-3 days in Venice pre-cruise and 3 days in Rome post-cruise. We are sailing in and out of Civitavecchia.

 

To get from Venice to Civitavecchia, I am considering two options:

 

1. Take train to Rome the day before the cruise (still gives 2 days in Venice); stay in a hotel for one night pre-cruise in Rome near Termini...next day train to Civitavecchia

Pros: allows more buffer time with trains, may be more well rested

Cons: cost of extra night in Rome

 

 

2. Spend 3 nights in Venice and eliminate the one night stay near Rome Termini. Take the overnight train from Venice to Rome. Departs at 11:30 p.m. and arrives at 7 a.m. in Rome. Then, take train to Civitavecchia.

 

Pros: Cost savings of 1 night hotel in Rome; more time in Venice

Cons: Arriving in Rome morning of cruise and still need to get to port; may not be as well rested

 

Any thoughts??

[-Lew-]

Personally, I wouldn't want to cut short my stay in Venice. Although I love train travel, the thought of an overnight train doesn't do much for me. I know I wouldn't get much quality sleep.

 

A couple of thoughts:

 

Is it too late to do Rome prior to your cruise and Venice after you disembark? That would be my choice if I were sailing out of Civitavecchia.

 

Have you considered flying from Venice to Rome on the day of embarkation? Not cheap, but Alitalia has a number of flights. There are some low cost airlines also, but I didn't check their web sites. It's a short flight and you would arrive feeling much better than you would on the overnight train.

 

Lew

[euro cruiser]

I'd go for the overnight train personally, but then I'm from the Warren Zevon "I'll sleep when I'm dead" school of thought.

 

If you do take this route, bring along a lightweight, flexible bicycle lock so you can secure your luggage to the rack and relax rather than worrying about it every time the train stops. Keep your cash, credit cards and passports out of sight in under-the-clothing security pouches so you're not an easy target.

 

What are you going to do between the time you arrive in Rome and the time you can check in for your cruise? You'll only need about an hour and a half to get to Civitavecchia by train, so you'll have several hours to fill in Rome. Breakfast is not a big meal in Italy so you're not going to find a place to sit and have a meal at that hour (coffee, a panini, a roll, etc. almost anywhere, but little sit down service).

[4774Papa]

We did a cruise out of Venice last July and took the Eurostar to Florence (on the same rail line to Rome). It was a two hour trip and very nice train.

If you take an overnight train, you must consider if you take a first class sleeper, second class sleeper or regular first or second class.

Having traveled in Italy quite a bit, I recommend the first class sleeper, which sleeps two and you can lock the cabin. Second class is composed of six (three on each side) mats (thin mattresses) that work fine, but there is no security in the cabin.

You may not be able to sleep if you don't get a sleeper.

If just the two of you are traveling, consider the first class sleeper. You will pay a fair amount for this service, perhaps as much as a hotel.

 

As for how many days you visit Venice or Rome, both cities are wonderful, but Venice can be done in two days. Rome takes a week to do it justice. Rome is the big kahuna in Italian travel. That doesn't diminish the other great cities like Florence, Venice, Milan, Bologna, Verona, Pisa, Ravenna, Perugia, Sienna, Naples area, etc.

[mygreyhound66]

Hi, we are doing the same thing, flying into Venice and departing out of Civitavecchia. In order to maximize our time in Venice we have 3 nights and 3 full days. We are going to take the early train from Venice to Rome, then transfer to the regional train to Civitavecchia which should get us there around 1pm, which would be about right for checking into the ship. There is another train aftwards getting in at 2pm (which would be my buffer choice in case of delays etc). We thought that this would be the best way to get all the most of our time in Venice, otherwise staying a night in Rome or even Civitavecchia would seriously impact our time. Can anyone tell me any problems they would foresee with this schedule? many thanks....

[4774Papa]

Hi, we are doing the same thing, flying into Venice and departing out of Civitavecchia. In order to maximize our time in Venice we have 3 nights and 3 full days. We are going to take the early train from Venice to Rome, then transfer to the regional train to Civitavecchia which should get us there around 1pm, which would be about right for checking into the ship. There is another train aftwards getting in at 2pm (which would be my buffer choice in case of delays etc). We thought that this would be the best way to get all the most of our time in Venice, otherwise staying a night in Rome or even Civitavecchia would seriously impact our time. Can anyone tell me any problems they would foresee with this schedule? many thanks....

Only problem that I can see with that plan is a wildcat strike by the Italian Rail Workers.

[mygreyhound66]

Hi 4774 papa - yes I did think about a train strike, so i also looked up car rental from Venice to Civitavecchia, which can be done. I think i will use that as a last resort since it is quite a long drive and actually quite expensive. But lets just hope that we don't need to do it. We enjoy train travel in Europe!!

[turquoisestarchild]

mygreyhound66- Very interesting that you are doing the same thing. Can you give me the times of the trains that you are planning to take that day? Our cruise begins on July 18th. Any chance yours is the same date?

 

Have you taken trains in Italy before? This is our first time there and I was nervous about taking the train on the same day for fear something would go wrong. Do you think I am being overly cautious?

[mtnmusic]

Make sure you get first class seating to be guaranteed a decent seat and a place to store your luggage on the train. All the second class ticket holders typically race onboard to grab the best seats and you're left high and dry until the conductor checks tickets down the track and moves the interlopers to the back.

 

Get to the station early and make sure you know which end of the train (and which track) matches your ticket. Otherwise, Venice to Florence to Rome is a walk in the park and the trains hit their marks within 90 seconds of their scheduled times.. unlike Amtrac.

[gilsan]

Have you thought about flying from Venice to Rome the plane tickets can be both cheaper and faster than the train. We checked and it was 24.99Euros per person one way including all fees with easyjet. We are not traveling with much luggage so it will be more expensive if you have a lot.

[iancal]

I would not bother spending the night in Rome since you are doing that on your return. I would do one of two things.

 

1, Plan to travel from Venice to Civitavecchia and stay in a hotel in Civ. prior to bording the ships. But, I would take an early train. If you have never been in Florence, get off the train for four hours, check you bags, and walk around Florence. The station is very close to the main attractions-well within walking distance. Alternatively you could leave Venice in the afternoon prior and spend a night and a moring in Florence. It is on the way, it is very special-especially if you have not seen it before. Two years ago, we stayed in a hotel within walking distance of the train station-Hotel Sempione. It was perfect for our purposes-close to the rail station and close to our rental car pickup depot.

 

2. Take the night train. We have done this before-only we went further-to Naples. I am used to trains so there was no issue. My son and I got what we would call a roomette, it is your own private cabin with bunk beds. As I recall, the train stops in Bologna for a little while. It is a slow train on purpose so that you arrive at a decent hour in the AM.

[iancal]

...I forgot to add that you could-especially if you ship did not leave until the evening, actually travel from Florence to Civitavecchia on the day of the cruise. It is only a 3 hour trip from Florence so you could leave in the AM and be in Civit. before noon. Check out trenitalia.it for the train schedule-press the top right hand union jack button for english. Even more time for Florence! As others have said, be careful on the train and watch your bags. Absolutely no reason to go first class on these short hops, 2nd class is just fine. It is always easier if you try to cut back on your luggage.

[turquoisestarchild]

Thanks everyone for your responses. I'm really confused here. Here are the options:

 

1. Iancal- I am interested in learning more about your idea of Florence. If we had took the train from Venice to Civitavecchia, is Florence on the way of this route? Where and how would we check our bags in Florence? Would we be purchasing one ticket from Venice to Florence and another from Florence to Civitavecchia?

 

 

2. If I took the overnight train from Venice, I would arrive in Roma Tiburtina at 7 a.m. For this train, I saw a 1st class and 2nd class option. But, how do I get the roomette? If I did this, I would definitely want a sleeper car. Also, from Roma Tiburtina, most trains require a transfer to get to the port and they are showing up as N/A where the price would be. The overnight train would be my preference, if I could figure all these things out.

 

 

3. I could take the train from Venice to Civitavecchia on the day of the cruise...giving me the extra day in Venice.

 

4. Original plan- train to Rome night before...giving the extra day in Rome

 

 

I checked into the flight idea. The cheapest flight would be 45E and then we would have to pay for private transport to get to the port. Plus, I'd be nervous about the luggage thing...so I'm thinking that this might not be the best option.

 

Please help!

[iancal]

Yes, Florence is on the way (search out a map on the web that shows the rail system or log on to trenitalia.it). You could actually leave Venice by train the morning of the day before your cruise. You will be in Florence by noonish-it is about a 2 hour trip. Book into a hotel close to the station, ditch your bags, and then spend the rest of the day, and especially the night, in Florence. The next morning (ie the day of your cruise), take the early train from Florence to Civitavecchia (connection in Rome Termini) 8:20 or 8:40 and you will be in Civitavecchia by noon (3 hour trip). This is what we would do. But we are biased, we really like Florence and have been there a number of times.

 

No need to take an overnight train and you get an afternoon and evening in Florence. We actually booked our sleeper at a travel agent. There are still a few travel agents who will book rail tickets for you-very slight surcharge.

 

If instead, you just want to stop in Florence for a few hours and move on , I believe that there is still a luggage storage servcie at the Florence train station. You would need to double check this here or on tripadvisor to be sure. Someone knowlegeable should be able to confirm this.

 

Good luck whatever you decide.

[mygreyhound66]

Hi, in searching very diligently through Trenitalia, I found that I could take the early train out of Venice into Rome (i changed my search to do point to point tickets) and that provided a mini fare. Then i looked at tickets from Rome (Termini) to Civitavecchia and found that there were many regional trains. This worked out to be best for us, schedule wise. The reason that I point out looking point to point, is by searching Venice to Civitavecchia gave me limited resources with a long layover in Rome, which was really necessary. I plan to book 2nd class and the regional is not bookable, merely purchase a ticket at the kiosk, validate, and get on. The other thing i found out is that where the train arrives from Venice and where the regionals depart for Civitavecchia is a LONG walk, about 10 - 12 mins, apparently there is a moving sidewalk on the lower level of the station, so that may be of value bearing in mind that we will have a rolling bag each. I hope this helps!

[nps001]

We have been researching this for similar reasons. We will be in Venice for 2 days prior to a cruise out of Civitavecchia. We originally considered a train (check costs as it can be even higher than Alitalia). We also looked at Ryanair. Yes, it is very inexpensive but be sure to check prices that include checking suitcases. Note---you have to pay for each suitcase PLUS the weight. In other words, weight is not included in the extra suitcases.

 

In the end, we were able to find one way Alitalia fares for less than $175 per person. Even with the second bag charge, it was less expensive than Ryanair and the train. We know we will have to arrange transportation from Rome to Civitavecchia. We also realize that we are incurring an extra night hotel charge in Venice.

 

If anyone has a different opinion or suggestion, I welcome it.

[4774Papa]

We have been researching this for similar reasons. We will be in Venice for 2 days prior to a cruise out of Civitavecchia. We originally considered a train (check costs as it can be even higher than Alitalia). We also looked at Ryanair. Yes, it is very inexpensive but be sure to check prices that include checking suitcases. Note---you have to pay for each suitcase PLUS the weight. In other words, weight is not included in the extra suitcases.

 

In the end, we were able to find one way Alitalia fares for less than $175 per person. Even with the second bag charge, it was less expensive than Ryanair and the train. We know we will have to arrange transportation from Rome to Civitavecchia. We also realize that we are incurring an extra night hotel charge in Venice.

 

If anyone has a different opinion or suggestion, I welcome it.

Personally, I would not choose to fly from Venice to Rome.

1) The Venice airport is a zoo. It is small and you would need to arrive early.

2) Rail travel is so much easier and probably as quick as air, once you count all the security stuff at the airport and waiting. We took the train from Venice to Florence and loved it. It was two hours on the Eurostar. Florence is more than halfway to Rome.

3) You are right to be concerned about the luggage fees. We would have paid a fortune to fly.

4) Also, you get to see the countryside.

[euro cruiser]

We have been researching this for similar reasons. We will be in Venice for 2 days prior to a cruise out of Civitavecchia. We originally considered a train (check costs as it can be even higher than Alitalia). We also looked at Ryanair. Yes, it is very inexpensive but be sure to check prices that include checking suitcases. Note---you have to pay for each suitcase PLUS the weight. In other words, weight is not included in the extra suitcases.

 

In the end, we were able to find one way Alitalia fares for less than $175 per person. Even with the second bag charge, it was less expensive than Ryanair and the train. We know we will have to arrange transportation from Rome to Civitavecchia. We also realize that we are incurring an extra night hotel charge in Venice.

 

If anyone has a different opinion or suggestion, I welcome it.

This routing will be much more expensive than the train, I'm curious about where you got your prices. If it was from a consolidator, that may be the difference. Second class on the Frecciargento trains is 76 Euro, or about $110, and will get you point-to-point faster than a flight because you don't need to get there more than a few minutes before departure and when you arrive, you are already there. A car transfer from the airport to Civitavecchia will add considerably to the cost as well.

[CathyCruises]

$175 for one way from Venice to Rome? Ouch! We are planning to fly into Venice and spend a few days, then fly to Barcelona for our cruise. I found fares as low as $74, and it's a heck of a lot farther to BCN than to Rome (and yes, I do know that they don't charge only by distance!). As EuroCruiser says, I would recheck those train fares and be sure you are checking trenitalia and not a third party seller.

[nps001]

I found this fare of the alitalia site. Yes, I also found a consolidator that had a lower price, but the reviews were not so kind if you have to cancel, change a ticket, etc.

 

As I said earlier, easyjet or ryanair (can't remember which) was much cheaper until the baggage fees are added--then it's a lot more $. Also, there is only one flight a day and the timing was bad.

 

We are planning on taking the train from FCO to Civitavecchia.

 

I did go back and look at trains. Is it true that one "shares" the sleeper car with others? I believe I saw a website that explains that there are 4 places in each sleeper and unless you purchase all of them, the accommodations are shared.

 

I'm not set on flying but I am leaning that way. I appreciate all of the useful information.