getting from Roma Termini to Sorrento in July

OK. You take a train to Naples, get off, walk the length of the Naples train station to catch the local "Circumveneusia(sp) to sorrento: trust me, here-you will experience a "slice of life" with your GD she will never forget and be impressed by the "moxie" of her GP's!

Dear jkgaliger ,
Love your response!
We have done the Trenitalia - Circumvesuviana combo on previous trips with other family members, and with friends. It just seems that there are more choices to consider now and we've been exploring those.
The Circumvesuviana is certainly cheaper than the Campania Express ($17.70pp) and faster (though less fancy) than the ITA bus which departs Napoli Garibaldi 12:10, arrives Sorrento 13:55! The Citcumvesuviana takes about 30 minutes!
I think the Circumvesuviana is more in keeping with Rick's philosophy of getting closer to the locals. I'm Italian born, and some of those locals are actually my relatives! Its funny, but on a Circumvesuviana trip back in 2005 I got to chatting with a lovely young woman who shared that she was studying music and voice in Naples. We've stayed in touch through facebook, and now she is an acclaimed opera singer performing in some great theaters in Italy and various European cities. How cool is that?!

The Circumvesuviana is certainly cheaper than the Campania Express
($17.70pp) and faster (though less fancy) than the ITA bus which
departs Napoli Garibaldi 12:10, arrives Sorrento 13:55! The
Citcumvesuviana takes about 30 minutes!

Sonia, 30 minutes would sure be nice but the Circumvesuviana takes closer to 1 hr. and 10 minutes from Napoli Garibaldi to Sorrento. It's about 30 minutes from Naples to Pompeii, or Sorrento to Pompeii.

https://www.sorrentoinsider.com/en/naples-to-sorrento-train-schedule

Expect the trains from Naples to Sorrento to run on their own crazy schedules, and for the journey to take longer than posted. And warn your granddaughter about pickpockets . If you haven't been back since 2005, things may have deteriorated a bit .
Have a great family vacation!

Thank you Kathy and Pat for your thoughtful responses, good wishes, and tips regarding pickpockets.
Actually, we've been to Italy multiple times since 2005, most recently in September 2023, though not in Naples area in several years. We are always very wary of pickpockets, especially since my husband had an attempt on the Rome subway on our first trip there. He was quick and thwarted it.

Thanks, Kathy for pointing out my journey time error for the Napoli-Sorrento Circumvesuviana run, and for adding the sorrentoinsider link. That was the exact site from which I got the timetable. Somehow, I mixed up the Sorrento-Pompei travel time with the Napoli-Sorrento time. I think I must have spent too much time looking at too many options and fried my brain some.
We are definitely doing our best to prepare our granddaughter for potential dangers of travel, including pickpockets. Her safety and enjoyment is priority. Thanks again to both of you.
Sonia

In May 2023, we used Aldo Limos to get around. Sometimes it's just nice to splurge and relax. Especially if you're heading to the airport the night before the trip home, it's one less source of stress. Aldo Limos were dependable and very professional. Christina , in the front office, is a Brit, so email communication was easy. They gave us a package deal.
Enjoy making great memories!

Thanks Pat for the additional helpful info and good wishes. I just looked up Aldo Limos. Looks good. thanks

Month of travel? Very relevant for this trip.

Sonia, for some reason, the existence of a bus from Naples-Downtown to Sorrento is rarely discussed here (as distinguished from Naples Airport to Sorrento, which comes up all the time. I imagine one problem may be frequency of departures. I personally suggest (especially since you say your are experienced travelers ... ) to not worry so much about transfers. One plus for the Circumvesuviana is that you simply take the escalator downstairs in Naples, in the same building.

We took the Circumvesuviana to Sorrento because we wanted to experience it. We barely squeezed on, and could not keep hold of our suitcase handles (although we somehow got seats.) We didn't worry so much about the storied pickpockets and accordion-playing bands, because they also could not move around within the sweltering, packed cars. (Why do Americans fear pickpockets so much, and not mass shootings or street-robberies, both vanishingly rare in Europe?) But when we had to pay 15 Euros for an unmetered taxi to our hotel in Sorrento, it was easy to pay the hotel 90 Euros for a transfer BACK to Naples rail from our hotel door.

I'm sure that's more like 120 Euros today, but you said "I ... want to make this as pleasant as possible." My point is that the taxi line at the Sorrento Circumvesuviana station is another "transfer", and not one without stress! Have you looked for your hotel on Google Maps, just so you know where you are going, and how far it is?

Isn't Cartafreccia simply a Loyalty Program, that does not provide discounts? It's always cheaper to buy the Rome-Naples Frecciarossa ticket about two months before travel, but then you may have a ticket that is NON-CHANGEABLE, NON-REFUNDABLE, ONE DEPARTURE TIME ONLY. If you are NOT coming from the Rome airport, that's not a big problem - there are many ways to get to Termini from your Rome hotel. But you can't predict an international air ARRIVAL time.

Although I'm grateful you did not use the uninformative terms "not break the bank" or "reasonable cost", please realize that you have named a number of contradictory objectives for your multi-seat journey from Rome to Sorrento. At some point, you have to make a decision about what's most important to you.

In my opinion, you should use Flixbus. You can get a direct bus from FCO airport to Naples Termini. Centrale The bus depot is literally beside Naples Termini (train station). (Walk out main door, hang left, walk a couple hundred yards.) I used them going the opposite way, from Sorrento. with a transfer in Naples.to FCO. No fiddling around with luggage as it goes under the bus. Guaranteed seats, book on line. I found Flixbus far more reliable than the trains. I had an evening flight from FCO to Canada and the day I left Sorrento, found out there was a train strike! Bus were running tho and more economical if the times can work for you. Same when I was going from Rome to Bari in Puglia. Started on a train, it broke down. They put me on bus - what should have been a 4 hour train ride ended up being 8.5 hours. Oodles of train strikes in Italy. FYI, during strikes, all trains run during rush hour for ppl to get to work. Here's a link. You may have more choices to book FCO to Naples & then separately from Naples to Sorrento. I much preferred the bus over the Circumvesuviana train. That train is so crowded, you may might have to stand all the way. Filled with professional gangs of pickpocketers, and the aisles are impassable due to huge pieces of luggage. https://global.flixbus.com/bus/italy
Andiamo!