Train help

You can take the regionale train right to Assisi. Ck the schedule on trenitalia.com.

Connie,

The trip to Assisi is actually very easy. It would help to know whether you've used public transit in Italy before, as there are some potentially expensive "caveats" to be aware of (post another note if you need more information). Your route is a bit convoluted, but as you've got accommodations booked, we'll have to work with that.

It's not clear whether you're travelling to Assisi directly after arriving at Rome / FCO? In any case, the trip is very straightforward, and it doesn't require a Bus from Perugia. There are numerous trains from Roma Termini to Assisi, a few direct and many others with one change in Foligno. It would be easier to provide more specific suggestions if you could provide more information.

The station in Assisi is at the bottom of the hill from the town, so you'll have to take a Bus or Taxi up to your hotel (I'd suggest a Taxi when hauling luggage).

If you think getting to Assisi is difficult, getting to Positano will also present some challenges.

I have never been to Italy or anywhere in Europe. I've only experienced NYC and Chicago trains. We arrive in Rome at 10:15 am May 6th and will go straight to Assisi. I do see we can take a train to Assisi and thanks for recommending taking a taxi up the hill to Assisi. With our flight arriving at 10:15 am , how much time between landing and reaching the train in Rome should we allow ? Is 3 hours good or should we allow more time? From Assisi we go to Venice .

Pretty much from Venice to Florence , then Florence to Naples and Naples to Rome , just wasn't sure if we book them this far out with specific times of travel or best way to book them or wait to book when there. I thought booking this far out saved money . We will have someone picking us up at the Naples train station for 125 euros to take us to Positano.

Thanks Ken and jkc

You may want to consider waiting to buy your tickets to Assisi in case your flight is late. Three hours seems adequate, but if your flight to Roma is very late (or cancelled), you may miss your train.

The train station in Assisi has a taxi stand but there is also a bus that will take you up to Assisi. Taxi is a good option if you have more than one bag each (although I take the bus with a rolling carryon and a daybag). There are several interesting places to visit near Assisi (connected to Saint Francis) which you may want to consider hiring a taxi to see. The driver will pick you up, let you off, show up at an appointed time, drop you at the next site, and pick you up again. They do this all the time and in my experience have never been late or no-shows (they transport others while you are at the site of your choice).

Thanks Zoe!!! We will wait till on the ground then for Rome / Assisi train . Gonna check out early booking for high speed trains for other legs of trip ( Venice to Florence , Florence to Naples and Naples to Rome ). Thanks again!

Connie,

As this is your first trip to Europe, I'd recommend having a look at Europe Through The Back Door as it provides a lot of good information on "how" to travel well in Europe. The RS Italy book also has lots of good information that will help plan sightseeing, transportation, etc.

A few thoughts about your trip to Assisi after arrival.....

You'll first have to take the Leonardo Express from FCO to Roma Termini. There's a rail station right at the airport and you can buy your tickets there for that, as well as the trip to Assisi. One important point to note is that there are two trains serving the airport, the L.E. and the FM/FL1, so you'll need to be sure to board the correct train as they go to different destinations. You may find it helpful to have a look at the excellent Ron In Rome website.

When you arrive at Roma Termini, you may find the atmosphere somewhat "busy". When you disembark from the L.E., you'll need to find the track no. (Binario) for your train to Assisi. Although it doesn't specifically cover your situation, you may find if helpful to watch THIS short video as some of the points are common to all trains. You'll have to give some thought on the aspect of changing trains, as you will have to deal with that.

There are some potentially expensive "caveats" to be aware of when using trains and other public transit in Italy. I'll send you a PM with my usual "boilerplate" on that subject, so that you're aware of those.

Have you planned all of your transportation segments? The trip from Florence to Positano will likely be the most challenging trip.

Thank you Ken. The video helped!! I am just now looking at booking our train travel. I do have specific dates for travel. I know we have about 3 hours of travel from Assisi to Florence and figured to allow an extra hour or so before high speed train to Venice . I guess we will do a round trip one since we will be coming back to Florence after Venice. Then Florence to Naples where we are having a driver get us and take us to apartment in Positano. Probably use the same driver to get us back to Naples to catch the train to Rome . I'm sure I need to allow a few hours (like 3 or 4)to get from Positano to Naples . It's tricky to book specific times on the trains being if you miss the time you are out the train trip/ cash for that ticket. Thank you so much for your help.