Hi-
We're getting off a flight in Venice (Marco Polo) and need to make a very tight train connection to Florence (Firenze) out of the Mestre train station. We land at 3:20 and the train leaves at 4:40- so it will literally be a run and pray sort of situation. There's only one later train and it's much slower and won't get us in until 11pm, so we'd really like to make the earlier train. Can someone please give some specific advice such as:
There appear to be 2 buses from the airport to the train, a "local" and an "shuttle"- which is faster? Paying the extra 2 euros is not a factor.
Where is the ticketing area at Mestre in relation to where the bus drops you off? Are there automated ticket machines? Which is faster the automated ticket machines or a teller? Is it possible to purchase tickets on the train? Is there a website that will show me ahead of time what track the train will be on?
Thanks for all your help! Matt
I hate to be the bearer of bad news but your chance of making it, even if you took a taxi at breakneck speeds are fairly slim. If you need to wait for your luggage, then you are positively doomed.
The train station in Mestre is quite small and the ticket booth is right at the entrance. The ticket booth is the fastest because the automatics are poorly written (if in English at all). There are 8 sidings for trains and you need to go under the tracks to get to them. I have never heard of buying tickets on the train although if you don't have your ticket stamped, (you must get it stamped by a machine before you get on the train), you will be fined big time.
Luckily we should not have to wait for luggage!
So if you buy your ticket from the booth, you still need to get it stamped prior to boarding the train? Where are these machines located?
It looks like there is an "ATVO" bus the departs the airport at 3:51 and should arrive 17 minutes later at 4:08. Next bus leaves 4:21 and gets in 4:38.
The train leaves Mestre at 4:50. So it will be tight, no doubt!
There is another train that leave Mestre station at 5:35. It's not the end of the world if you wish your train, there are more departing later that day. I doubt you'll make the 4:50 train but good luck!
You cannot buy tickets on the train. There should be machines to validate your ticket dotted around, including on the platform itself.
You may want to consider taking the risk of buying your ticket online in advance, if you can, making sure that the ticket can be used on the next train should you miss it.
Here's something interesting- When I went to raileurope.com, the only trains it showed was the 4:50 and a much later train at 8:10 that connects through Bologna. I see that on the "official" Italian railways website http://www.trenitalia.com/en/index.html there are more trains that depart almost hourly for Florence.
So I guess it will not be as big a deal if we miss the earlier train. And the moral is that raileurope.com should be viewed with suspicion.
Thanks for all the help.
Yes, you need to get your ticket "punched" by the machine within 30 minutes of boarding. This prevents you from using it again.
Just an update for any others interested in the info- We made the connections without issue and actually had to twiddle our thumbs a bit as we waited for the bus and the train. Immigration at Marco Polo was super fast (no forms, no questions) and there was no customs. We traveled without checked luggage so we were out at the bus stop, tickets in hand, within 20 minutes of landing. The ATVO bus was quick and there was no traffic on the road. We purchased our train tickets without issue and actually had to wait for about 15 minutes for the train to arrive.
Thanks for all the help. We had a great time in Florence.
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