Did you ACTUALLY rode the FAST train from Florence to Naples, how long did it take? Online it says only 3 hours; but that seems too fast to be true. How close to accurate is 3 hours? If you ate pizza in Naples, tell me about it. If you took Rick Steve's city walk, tell me about it.
Posted by
Basel, Switzerland
8889 posts
The online timetable says 2 hours 51 minutes "Firenze Santa Maria Novella" to "Napoli Centrale", one train per hour. For example:
Depart Firenze S.M.N. 11:04
Depart Roma Tiburtina 12:26
Depart Roma Termini 12:45
Arrive Napoli Centrale 13:55
Approximately 480 Km, which makes average speed 160 Km/hr (100 MPH) including stops. Perfectly normal speed for a High Speed Train, most of which can reach 300 Km/Hr (190 MPH).
Italian trains may be 10-20 minutes late occasionally, but are usually on time. if the timetable says 2h51, believe it. Trains are not like planes, which are regularly 1-2 hours late. Trains are timed to the minute and usually keep to the timetable.
Posted by
OP
Atlanta, GA, USA
57 posts
Dear Chris,
That's great. I'll be 2 days in Florence. I plan to take the RR from Florence about 8am and get to Naples about 11am.... eat pizza near the train station....do the Rick Steves city walk to the Naples Archeological Museum and hire a guide there... then get to Sorrento at a reasonable time, stroll and relax. If you did this, I'd like your input.
Thanks for taking your time
Howard
Posted by
Toledo, Ohio, US
11613 posts
I did that route last May, but spent a couple of nights in Naples. Is Sorrento your final destination for the day? You can take a bus or a ferry from Naples, or the extremely crowded and thief-stuffed Circumvesuviana.
Posted by
San Francisco Bay Area (USA)
16243 posts
Yes.It takes less than 3 hours actually to cover the 300+ miles that separate the two cities. Some trains (the ones that don't go to Termini) take just 2.5 hours. It would be possible to get there much faster, but there is Rome in between and the train slows down and makes a stop in Rome.
The reason why it's seem too fast to be true, it's because you will not be riding the MARTA train but a train that travels at 320km/h (200 mph) in some sections.
I'm not commenting on the pizza in Naples, since I haven't eaten one there in a while. Never taken RS' city walk.
Posted by
OP
Atlanta, GA, USA
57 posts
If anyone had pizza near the Naples RR as recommended by RS, tell me about it?
Posted by
Northamptonshire, England
34350 posts
That drive from Naples to Piazza Navona (what will you do with your car in the ZTL?) will take a lot longer than the train.
I found the service area on the A1 just north of Naples particularly unpleasant and we, although we needed to, did not stop.
FYI.