Dilemma: To train or fly from Naples (Amalfi) to Venice?

Take the 7:50 am Italo train direct; it is only 5 hours and terminates right at Venice.
The plane entails going to airport, going through the security rigmarole, and then getting off the plane and catching transport from the airport to Venice.

If it were me, I would train. There are direct trains from Napoli Centrale to Venezia Sta Lucia in a little over 5 hours, every 15-90 minutes depending on time of day. Once you add up the time to: get to Naples airport, get through checkin, baggage and security, wait in security, the flight time, get through Venice airport, get your bags, and get a boat to the island, I doubt you will save enough time to account for the cost and stress of flying.

May only be a one hour flight BUT how many hours on either side of that one hour flight. Our bench mark is generally 5 to 6 hours. Anything more we will fly but less than that and it is the train. And all of that assumes that the plane sticks to its schedule. Take the train.

I agree with the previous responses. The train is pretty much a stress free ride; beats the hassle of flying by a mile. And with airport hassles, potential flight delays, the time is pretty much a wash. Get a good map with the vaporetto stops. Once you are at the train station (Santa Lucia) you have choices in getting to your lodging: 1) if it’s close, walk. 2) take a vaporetto (water bus) or 3) water taxi. The last is expensive but they can pretty much get you right to where you are staying.

A friend and I did a 3-week trip through Italy in 2015. We had a a travel day that was Venice to Nocelle, so we were going in the opposite direction you are going. We did it via a morning Easy Jet flight from Venice to Naples, and then private transfer to Nocelle by car (owned by a friend of our B&B owner) for a fairly reasonable price (we bought the Easy Jet tickets the first day they were available).

We arranged for a water taxi to pick us up near our hotel in Venice at 7 am for our 9:10 departure. We arrived in Naples at around 10:25, and we were at the B&B in Nocelle at around noon. It was actually pretty efficient (less likely to be so on Alitalia, I think!). In 5 hours, we went from check out at our Venice hotel to check in at our B&B in Nocelle.

In the interest of full disclosure, I should also say that I'm one of those people who still finds flying magical and special, despite the inconveniences of modern air travel and despite flying over 100,000 miles per year the last few years (though trains are really special, too!). So... I was pretty hyped to see 2 new airports I would not have otherwise seen (Venice, Naples) and to ride on Easy Jet for the first time.

If you fly it is probably 5-5.5 hours door to door. The flight time is less than 1.5 hours only, the rest is everything else.
If you take the train it’s probably 7 hours door to door.
The train journey is about 5 hours, the rest is everything else.
I am assuming you take a private car from Naples to Nocelle in either case.
Train travel is of course more comfortable and relaxing than flying, but it’s a bit longer in this case.

Compare the prices of taking the train vs the cost of flying, everything included (the water taxi to the airport is at least 100€), add it all up, then decide.

marty,

I'd also recommend taking either the Freccia or Italo high speed trains from Napoli Centrale. The travel time will probably be close either way, but the train will be a much more pleasant travel experience. You also won't have to worry about restrictive baggage limits, extra charges for baggage and the usual "dog & pony show" at the airports. If you buy advance, discounted tickets, train will also be cheaper.

I've done both the train and flight.
I prefer flying. You'll save 1 1/2-2 hours by doing

Arrive at NAP an hour before your flight boards. Both airports are small.

VCE-Venice. Bus €6,00. Then the vaporetto €7,50 to the dock closest to your lodging.

Depending on the # of days in the city, you may want to buy a Vaporetto Pass. Which can be purchased at the airport.

I did not remember the water taxi being that expensive, so I went back and looked in my old records. Sure enough... it was 110 euro.

So cost was: €110 for the water taxi + €46/ticket for Easy Jet flight + €90 for transfer by car to Nocelle.

So... perhaps not as "reasonably priced" as I remember, but still fairly efficient. And... I loved that water taxi ride at 7 am.

One specific issue to consider is that, while it is fast and easy to get from the center of Naples to Naples airport, this is not true for Venice. If you take a water taxi, it's not too slow, but it is VERY expensive (over €100, although this is split among all the passengers). If you go by bus and then vaporetto, it takes at least an hour, and you change from the bus to the vaporetto, but it's cheap. And if you take the Alilaguna, it's easy but slow (can be 90 minutes, depending on which route you're on and where you're headed in Venice).

Thx for all the great feedback everyone!

Does anyone know how many direct trains go from Naples to Venice in September and typically how far ahead you can book them? Assuming booking ahead is best?

You can check the train timetables yourself on one of the two companies operating high speed trains on that route (Trenitalia or Italo). There are numerous trains a day, even more than one per hour, some travel solutions may require a train change in Bologna or Rome.
The websites are:
www.trenitalia.com
www.italotreno.it
Choose the English option (unless you understand Italian) and enter:
From NAPOLI CENTRALE
To: VENEZIA SANTA LUCIA
Use any date in the next week since the Summer timetable is not loaded yet. The schedule does not change much, if at all. Choose also the hour of departure (enter a low number like 01 or 02 to see early trains) otherwise the website defaults to the current time when you enter the info.

You don’t need to purchase tickets ahead of time, you can buy them at the station when you go and seats virtually never sell out as there are 1 to 3 trains per hour on that route and each train holds 400 to 800 passengers (some are double length). However purchasing ahead (tickets go on sale 120 days prior to travel date) gives a chance to snatch discounted Economy or Supereconomy fares. Just be aware that those discounted tickets are non refundable and non changeable. Once you book a train at a discounted fare, you are locked to that specific train and no changes or refunds are possible.

Thanks again. So whats the difference between the standard, Premium and Business service? Is it worth it?

Or w Italo, the difference between Smart, Prima or Club service?? Thx again

I’ve found that paying for premium services are unnecessary and the 1st class and saver fares arrive at the same station at the same time.

Read this.
https://www.seat61.com/Italy-trains.htm
From the same site above a description of the Frecciarossa trains:
https://www.seat61.com/frecciarossa.htm

I generally don’t bother with the higher level classes (business, premium) as I think that the Standard (2nd class) is perfectly fine. I’ve taken the business class only occasionally because the standard was sold out and didn’t want to wait a half hour for the following train. The business class is generally emptier, and most of the people there are business travelers in a suit working on their laptops and talking to clients on their cell phones. So forget about making conversation with them. They are busy working. The business class is like a traveling office. Therefore boring. It reminds me of work. I find the standard class to be more fun. It’s not as empty. Travelers are mostly tourists or local students or also locals traveling for pleasure, in any case not stuffy business people in a suit working on a laptop, so you get to know talk to someone and make some conversation and maybe making new friends. It depends on what you want. If you plan to sleep, the business class is probably quieter, unless you sit near some lawyer talking to his secretary or clients on the phone every second. Although there is a class called Business Silenzio (business silence) where cell phone use is not permitted.

I vote for train. More convenient and more comfortable. The difference between economy class and first class on plane is enormous. On train - not so. Certainly not worth difference in price.

Thx again to all for the feedback. Weve decided to go by high speed train from Naples to Venice. Any recommendations on whether I should book Trenitalia or Italo? Both seem to have the 4 seat bays w table which would be perfect for 2 couples. Thx again!

Little difference in trains. The Italo equipment could be new but overall service will be about the same. I would go with schedule on price. 2nd class or economy on the train is about equal to business class on an airplane. The seating is 2x2 and first class is 1x2 so the seating a little wider but I don't find the leg room between seats to be significantly greater. Probably is a bit but not super noticeable. At 6-3 I notice those things a lot. We almost never opt for first class.

PS -- I am not a big fan of the table as it takes up a lot of room. It is useful if using a lap top, or playing cards, or eating a picnic lunch but for a five hour trip I would not opt for the table. And it really pins the window seat person in their seat.

Thanks everyone for the info and how to get quotes and timetables.
I’m in the pre planning stage and will need the info next year so I bookmarked the thread.