After a few beautiful days in the Eternal City, aka Rome, it was time to venture out and visit the beautiful city of Venice! This is completely doable from Rome and not much of a hassle, trust me! I’ll explain how this family of 4 made it happen.
As I began planning our Roman holiday I knew that I wanted to spend a few days out of Rome. After much thought, I decided it would be best for us to go North and visit Venice. To make this happen as a family of 4, which includes an 8 year old and 11 month old, I knew it would take some additional planning. For instance, I scheduled a 10 day stay at our hotel in Rome with the understanding that 3 days out of those 10 we would be in Venice. Now WHY would I do such a thing? Let me explain…as a family of 4 with little ones I needed a home base where I could store and keep additional luggage, necessities and baby things safe while we were out. Lugging 4 large suitcases, 3 carryons, stroller, carseat and diaper bag was enough from the airport. I was fully aware that we were spending a little more money but for the convenience and my sanity I decided this would be our best option. The night before our departure, we packed up 1 luggage and 1 carryon to take on the train with us and it worked out great! FYI, Venetian cobblestone is not kind to luggage or heels.
The morning of our departure, we took an Uber to Roma Termini to take our train to Venice. There are a few options to get to Venice either by train, bus, flight or car. We chose the train because it would be the easiest and fastest for us. We chose the fastest train that Rome has to offer called the Trenitalia line. I booked them myself through ItaliaRail which I highly recommend! They were easy and very efficient to use with no issues of concern. The train ride would only take us 3hrs and 45min to get from Venice to Rome. As with any reservation, make sure to always arrive early in case of high traffic when going through security. I’m an over achiever and like to arrive at least 1 hour early, LOL! Yes, my family is not the most fond of this!! Once we got settled on the train we were given snacks, beautiful views of the Tuscany region, nap time and finally arriving in Venice!
We made it to Venice very relaxed and excited to visit the city that floats. For this special occasion, I decided (months in advance) to book a private water taxi, Venice Dream Water Taxi, to take us to our hotel from the train station. You do have a few options on how to get to your hotel from the Santa Lucia Train Station into Venice. A public water taxi, a private transfer or walking. Be sure to use google maps to find out how far your hotel is from the train station. If you want to have a private water transfer be sure to book in advance! We came across several couples trying to find a private water taxi when they arrived but they were all booked. It’s also an amazing way to view Venice for the first time!
Day 1. After a 20 minute water taxi ride of seeing Venice in all of its canal glory, it was time to get settled into our beautiful Venetian hotel, Maison Venezia! It is located in the historical Cannaregio district which is only minutes away from the most important tourist sites. It is 100% Venetian style with views of the canals and old world charm. Once we settled in we were surprised with a bottle of local white wine! who doesn’t love free wine, LOL!! After unpacking our luggage we were were ready for lunch and ready to explore the city. So a few months prior to arriving in Venice, I booked an experience through Viator for my husband and daughter. This experience was a Mask making course taught from an actual master artisan who taught a little about the history of this ancient tradition and then helped recreate their own face mask masterpieces with his help. These masks are beautiful and I proudly displayed them in our home. After a memorable art class we took a stroll through St. Mark square and decided to have dinner near the Rialto Bridge. We made it back to the hotel right before nightfall and decided to call it a night for the next morning.
Day 2 of Venice we had beautiful weather and a family photo shoot! If you follow me, you know how important family photo shoots are to me. We had a wonderful morning visiting various sites and having a private gondola ride showcasing the best of what Venice has to offer. After a lovely photo shoot and tour of the city we got changed and were ready to visit one of the beautiful theater’s in Venice, Teatro La Fenice. This theater was magnificent with so much gold and charm you know it was built with lots of love. After the Teatro La Fenice it was time for lunch! The kids demanded pizza which we happily obliged! After more site seeing we realized the tide was really high and the canal water had come over all walking areas. It was concerning at first but then took it in as a wonderful/unique experience…something we will never forget! As the evening approached it was time to get ready for dinner. We made reservations at Hotel Danieli and although the food was not the best the views were spectacular! We made the best of it and still had a lovely time. As the night scene settled upon us we strolled through St. Mark square, grabbed gelato and candy for the kids. A wonderful way to end the night.
Day 3 we had a late checkout so decided to get up early and take another stroll though town and admire the beauty of Venice. We had a great breakfast at the hotel, wandered into a bookstore Liberia Acqua Alta, had lunch, ate gelato and now it was time to get back to Rome. Our private water taxi was a round trip affair and were ready to pick us up from the hotel. As we approached the Santa Lucia train station I took as many pictures possible to capture these last moments in Venice. Needless to say, we will be back to catch a show and visit more museums as the children get older.
I hope this brief 3 day and 2 night stay in Venice helps you and your family get from Rome to Venice. It was an amazing experience and we would do it all over again!
