Train or Car from Vienna to Venice
Has anyone tried driving from Vienna to Venice? Would you recommend taking a car or using the train to get there? We're on a rather constricted budget and time frame, but we thought the splurge on a car to get down there might be better from a time-saving perspective.
I can't tell whether an overnight train or a regular train will be worth it. We will be going during Carnivale. Maybe best to go for the rails, or should we stick to the roads?
Heather
Royal Oak, MI USA 11/16/12
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I cannot imagine that driving would be more efficient. There is an overnight train which does not require transfers. There are numerous trains all during the day, ranging in time from 9.5 to 11 hours, requiring 2 to 3 transfers. Go to the German rail site for details.
I checked out Baun.de, but I was unable to find any information for purchasing overnight tickets. It said they were unavailable. Am I too early or too late, I wonder?
Thanks!
You cannot book tickets on bahn.de for routes that are entirely outside Germany. You can book tickets on the Austrian Rail site, usually up to 90 days in advance. And doing so ASAP can get you a discount fare.
If you drive, you will pay a hefty fee for picking up a car in one country and dropping it off in another.
I was thinking that a train trip between the two cities requires a leg on a bus. And the mountain roads can get rough in the winter.
At 360 miles point to point, it might to be best to fly from Vienna to Venice Marco Polo Airport on Austrian Airlines. The fares are quite reasonable.
Austrian Rail is also showing fees of E190 for the train. I'll check out flying.
Venice is definitely a place where you do NOT want/need a car.
Flying on the cheaper airlines has been tricky and I remember now why I was looking at a car (to drive there and park it on the mainland, then return to Vienna): we're going during the tail end of Carnivale. Tickets are probably well sold out on the airlines, and the cheapest I'm finding is ~277/pp.