Rome to Venice Day Trip 2025: The Best Way to Get to Venice

Are you thinking of doing a Rome to Venice day trip or excursion?

No Italian itinerary would be complete without visiting both Rome and Venice.

In the capital, you can spend days exploring the Romain ruins by strolling around its beautiful piazzas and stopping by the landmarks such as the Trevi fountain.

Going further north, the Grand Canal peeks out as it skirts the splendid dome of the St. Mark’s Basilica in a haze of gondolas and pastel-painted palaces.

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Rome to Venice

Are you ready to be in awe of all this Italian beauty? In this travel guide, you’ll learn exactly how to get from Rome to Venice by train, plane, car and bus to help you decide the best way when it comes to getting to the city of canals and bridges.

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Where is Venice, Italy?

Venice is the capital city of the Veneto region and is located in northeast Italy. It’s based in the homonymous lagoon (Venetian lagoon) and it’s formed by more than 100 small islands (near Venice) which are connected by bridges.

At this moment in time, the only way to get to Venice by land is by crossing Liberty Bridge. You can get to Venice by train, tram, bus and car but you can’t move around with normal land buses. The only way to visit the historical city centre is on foot, arriving by water bus (Vaporetto), by water taxis and with gondolas.

If you are thinking of driving to Venice by car, you’ll have to park your car at the Tronchetto car parking site or the council car park. Trains arrive at the Santa Lucia railway station whilst, buses and trams arrive at the Piazzale Roma.

Is Venice worth visiting from Rome?

Absolutely yes! If you’re currently in Rome and have more than a couple of days available to explore the country, be sure to include Venice in your road trip.

Venice is a unique city, there are no other cities in the world built on the water, with only canals and bridges to cross to get from one place to another.

It’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience to walk around its calli (narrow streets), ride gondolas on the Grand Canal and witness the beauty of it’s architectural and artistic masterpieces.

If you’re still not convinced, I invite you to take a closer look at these reasons why Venice is worth visiting to ensure that this trip is worth your time.

Where to stay in Venice?

With such a vast choice of places to stay in Venice to suit all budgets and tastes, I’m here to help you with choosing so you can make a well-informed decision.

To be honest, you’re not the only traveller asking him/herself where to stay, even on my Facebook group I get many people asking for advice on the best places to find accommodation in Venice, based on their specific budget and needs.

Here’s a list of some of my favourite hotels I recommend for your stay.

Palazzo Veneziano: based in the Dorsoduro district, this 4-star hotel is located in one of the most authentic neighbourhoods of the city. It features parquet floors and marble bathrooms and some rooms have canal view.
Ca’ Angeli: a small B&B, not far from the Rialto Bridge and Santa Lucia railway station. It features double rooms and a triple room as well as a junior suite with Grand Canal view. It’s a great medium budget accommodation from where to explore Venice’s main tourist attractions.
Ca’ dei Fuseri: only 200 meters away from St. Mark’s Square, this hostel features single and double rooms ensuite or with shared bathroom. It’s the perfect place to stay on a budget, in the heart of Venice.

If you’re still unsure on where to stay in Venice or not a fan of my suggestions above, see my accommodation guide which I created to help you find a room.

How far is Venice from Rome?

Venice is 526 kilometres away from Rome and it takes 5 hours by car to get from one city to the other. If you decide to hire a car, you should take the A1 motorway, the most important motorway in the country and drive towards the north.

The best way to get to Venice from Rome is by taking the high-speed train. This is because it takes more than one hour and a half less than driving, plus you can rely on the comfort of leaving and arriving directly from the city centre.

On top of that, with this train option, you won’t have to think about parking your car in Venice or Mestre which can incur further costs depending on how long you stay.

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How to get from Rome to Venice

Now that you know why it’s worth visiting Venice from Rome and the best overall way to get there, let’s analyse each option you have to get there more in detail.

Train from Rome to Venice

There is no doubt that the most comfortable option for getting from Rome to Venice is with the Frecciarossa or Italo high-speed trains.

They leave from Rome’s main railway station called Roma Termini multiple times daily and arrive at the station Santa Lucia in Venice.

It takes around 3 hours 50 minutes to get from one station to the other. These trains normally stop in other Italian cities such as Florence, Bologna, Padua, and Mestre with the last stop: being Venice.

There are 4 travel classes you can choose from:

Executive
Business
Premium
Standard

The high-speed trains are accessible for wheelchairs, have toilettes, bars and minibar service on board. Will you need to charge your phone? Don’t worry!

You’ll find sockets next to your seat too. An alternative to the high-speed trains is the regional or Intercity trains, but I don’t recommend them as they take twice the amount of time (if not more), and the ticket price isn’t that much cheaper. Book your ticket as soon as possible as prices can increase closer to the departure date.

If you want to visit Venice in one day without worrying about how to get there, then this day trip from Rome to Venice by high-speed train accompanied by a tour leader is what you were looking for! Included in the price of the day trip you’ll get: a tour leader, roundtrip train tickets, headsets, water bus tickets and Venetian aperitivo.

💡 Local Tip: Trenitalia and Italo run promotional campaigns all year long with discounted prices. In the past, I’ve found cheaper tickets with the Super Economy or the ME&YOU offer (perfect if you’re travelling as a couple or with a friend).

Just make sure you check their websites and go through the promo codes (and their Terms and Conditions) at the time of booking your trip.

Plane from Rome to Venice

If you’re not a big fan of trains, hopping on a flight is another valid option to reach Venice. It’s less convenient as you’d have to get to the airport in Rome and once in Venice get a land or water bus to then arrive in the city centre.

It’s easy to get to Rome’s airports, in order to get to the Leonardo da Vinci International Airport (FCO) in Rome you can book this shuttle bus transfer in advance, and once you land at Venice Marco Polo airport you can get the Alilaguna water bus, which is the most popular option, or a normal bus.

There are more options for getting Venice, but for those I invite you to read my guide on how to get to Venice from Marco Polo airport for more details. The travel time is 4-5 hours in total (yes, the train is unbeatable for getting from Rome to Venice!).

As always, check the flight prices as soon as you can as prices can increase at any time. You’ll find many start skyrocketing closer to the departure date.

The airline connecting the two airports is Ita Airways, which is Italy’s state-owned flag carrier airline and the total flight time is 1 hour and 10 minutes.

Driving from Rome to Venice

Are you here for an adventure? You can leave the Italian capital city by getting behind the wheel and driving from Rome to Venice. All you need to do is to hire a car, unless you already have your own car, and you’ll be ready to hit the highway.

Ideally, get a car with sat-nav included. The roads are in excellent condition, and on the motorway, you can drive at a maximum speed of 130 km/h. This means that to cover the 526 kilometres of highway that separates the two cities, it can take more or less 5 hours.

When you’ll arrive in Mestre, cross the Liberty Bridge, which connects the mainland to Venice, and park either at the city parking or Tronchetto car park.

The main highway you’ll need to get to is called A1, which connects north to south of Italy and it’s the fastest way to get to your destination. See the Autostrade.it website to know exactly how much you’ll need to pay in tolls for this trip.

Bus from Rome to Venice

If budget concerns you, or just like to be on the road, then the bus is worth considering. If you book these long-distance buses in advance, you’ll find prices below 15 euros one way. It takes 8 hours to get by bus from Rome to Venice.

The best bus service is Flixbus with 4 buses from Rome leaving daily from either Largo Guido Mazzoni, 00162 or from Via Vincenzo Giudice, 00173 all arriving at the Venice Tronchetto car park. If you prefer, you can also stop in Mestre at the train station before getting to Venice.

There are both direct buses and buses with a stop and transfer in Florence. All buses provide outlets and Wi-Fi on board so you can stay connected.

As an alternative, you can get the Itabus service, they are generally more expensive than Flixbus but with an extra bus service during the day and a slightly shorter journey. These buses leave from Tiburtina terminal and arrive either in Mestre train station or Venice Tronchetto car park. It all depends on your schedule.

Rome to Venice Day Trip (with Guide)

Your last option to travel from Rome to Venice is to join an organised tour. If you don’t want to get public transportation in Italy on your own or simply want to be accompanied by an expert tour leader, this is the ideal solution for you.

During this Rome to Venice day trip you’ll hop on a high-speed train in Roma Termini with your tour leader and arrive in Venice Santa Lucia the very same morning. You’ll get the vaporetto and head over to St. Mark’s Square.

You have plenty of free time to explore the area, have a coffee or go shopping. On the way back to the train station, you’ll stop at some bacari to eat cicchetti and drink Spritz like locals love doing around here!

The day trip cost doesn’t include transportation in Rome and Venice (apart from the vaporetto one way ticket in Venice) and the guide in Venice if you wish to hire one.

Rome to Venice FAQs

Here are some questions my readers have asked when visiting Venice from Rome.

Is it better to fly or train from Rome to Venice?

The best way to get from Rome to Venice is by high-speed train Frecciarossa or Italo. Travelling by train is more comfortable and faster because you’ll only have to reach the main railway station of Rome, Roma Termini, and from there get the high-speed train that will take you in 4 hours to Venice Santa Lucia station. Even if the plane journey is shorter, always take into account that you need to get to the airport hours before from Rome city centre and once reached Marco Polo airport in Venice, the time you need to reach Venice city centre from Marco Polo airport.

Is Rome as expensive as Venice?

No, generally speaking Rome is cheaper than Venice. Accommodation is more affordable and you can eat out in Rome spending less than you would do in Venice. Rome is a much bigger city than Venice which means that you can find a lot more hotels and B&Bs and for tight budgets too. You can also save more money moving around Rome by bus or by taxi rather than getting the water bus (vaporetto) or water taxi in Venice.

Can you walk around Venice in a day?

Yes, you can walk all around Venice in a day. You can get from Piazzale Roma/Santa Lucia station to the furthest point Sant’Elena in 1 hour. However, if you want to visit its main attractions along the way, I don’t recommend doing it in one day, unless you don’t have a choice. It can be very tiring to fit in your itinerary everything worth visiting in less than 24 hours. I have created a one day Venice itinerary for you to refer to that’s not overloaded with things to do and see but covering the main ones, so you can actually enjoy to the fullest your time in Venice.

What is the best month to go to Venice?

The best month to visit Venice is May. Late spring is a great time to walk around Venice’s streets and navigate by vaporetto or gondola, its romantic canals. You can also have a meal from the restaurant terrace or sample some street foods on the go without having to worry about rain or acqua alta. Even if tourist flow starts to increase, tourist attractions are still not too overcrowded yet. Find out what time of the year is perfect to visit Venice, from my guide, best time to visit Venice.

Getting from Rome to Venice

With this guide, you should now have a much better idea of how to get from Rome to Venice by train, plane, car and bus.

You have many options and depending on your allocated travel budget and preferred travel style you can easily get from the Eternal City to the Lagoon city.

In my opinion, it’s worth visiting Venice from Rome, because they’re well-connected by public transport and you can get from one to the other in less than 4 hours!

If you’ll be making this trip soon and have a limited time in Venice, why not check out my 1 day Venice itinerary that covers all the main attractions that you can visit?

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Rome to Venice day trip