More travel info within Europe

I just wanted to take this post to tell you - what might appear as the most economical itinerary always isn't.  Make sure you explore all options if you plan to travel within Europe as part of this trip.  It might cost a couple hundred more to fly into Dublin and out of another city - but you could easily spend that couple hundred trying to get back to Dublin from your final destination and lose travel time in the process.  This comes into play especially if you are leaving Dublin on an morning flight (before noon).  You would have to be back in Dublin the night before to make your flight.   I highly recommend that everyone use the 2 hour rule when flying overseas.  Even if you are flying Ryan Air between two European countries or within the same country.  I have seen some of the budget airlines turn people away that show up late or even within an hour of the flight.  It is better to be early and make the flight.  I always use a 4 -5 hour rule in between flights when booking independent flights.  It is better to make your next flight than be stranded.  As we all know - the airlines are great at being late.

If you are traveling within Italy then a train might be a good option.  If you want to go from Venice to Rome you can take a train that departs at 12:21am and arrives in Rome at 6:35am.  You can always sleep on the train and buy yourself more time.  However if you are not good at sleeping in that type of situation then don't do it.  You will end up super tired and not enjoy your next day.  The great thing about this idea is the train is very convenient in Venice and Rome.  So you do not have to pay for transportation to and from the airports.  You can take the water taxi to the train station in Venice and it will drop you off I the heart of Rome.  
 

Always keep in mind - if I take a certain type of transportation will I have to add additional fees to get to my final destination.  Take flying into Rome for instance - the budget airlines use Ciampino Airport.  A taxi can be quite expensive.  However this article gives some good options. 

Need to get from Ciampino airport to Rome? Yeah, you could take a taxi. But unless some serious stress and/or getting ripped off immediately on landing in Italy is your thing, you probably won't want to.
Luckily, there are lots of other ways to get from Ciampino to Rome. They're easy, fast, and much cheaper than taking a taxi or transfer. All of these options get you into the Termini train station; from there, you can jump on Rome's metro (either the A or B lines), take a bus, or grab a cab (from Termini, it shouldn't be more than €15 at the most to get to another part of the city center).
(Not sure if you're flying into Ciampino? If you're coming directly from far-afield, like the U.S., you're probably flying into Fiumicino-Leonardo da Vinci instead, and here's info for how to get from Fiumicino to Rome. But if you're flying from somewhere else within Europe, especially on a budget airline like Ryanair, you might just be landing at Ciampino).
Options for getting from Ciampino to Rome include...
Train
The good news: There is a train station at Ciampino. The not-as-good news: It's not right at the airport. To get there, you have to take one of the COTRAL/SCHIAFFINI buses from the airport. They depart every 30 minutes and cost €1; the drive to the train station takes 5 minutes. From there, the train to Rome’s Termini train station takes 15 minutes and costs just €1.50.
If you time it right, this can be the fastest way to get to Rome's center, as well as the cheapest. But if you have a lot of luggage, or just want to have as few transport legs as possible, I'd go with the next option—a direct bus—instead.
Bus
Several buses run directly from the Ciampino airport into Rome. These include buses run by ATRAL (atral-lazio.com), COTRAL (cotralspa.it), SIT (sitbusshuttle.com), and Terravision (terravision.eu). Prices are usually about €5 each way, and the ride takes about a half an hour, depending on traffic. 
Figuring these buses out couldn't really be much easier: When you exit the baggage claim at Ciampino, you'll see the kiosks advertising them right in front of you. Just walk up and ask when the next one is leaving (I recommend asking at both, so you can buy your ticket for the one leaving first!). You can buy your ticket right there—no need to reserve in advance—and they'll direct you to where exactly the bus is.
Cab
I'm including this because, yes, it is an option. And, technically, there is a flat rate set by the city to go from the Ciampino airport to the center of Rome. This price is €30, including all luggage and any extra charges. It's illegal for drivers to charge you more than this.
But, of course, they do. Or try to. Which is why, at least until the taxi drivers at Ciampino clean up their act, I don't recommend that anyone risks taking a cab from there. 

Tomorrow we will do the same with Paris.  And I will pick a couple more destinations after that.