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Naples or Salerno - which train station?

I’ve booked all but one piece of transportation for my upcoming trip, and the remaining leg involves going from Amalfi to Rome. My airbnb host has offered to arrange transportation to the train station, but I am trying to decide between Salerno and Naples.

Scenarios:

Naples to Rome —
Airbnb Check-out: 10am
1hr 30m drive to Naples (according to google)
11:30am arrival station
12:30 train departs Napoli Centrale (1h 10m ride)
1:40 arrive Roma Termini

Salerno to Rome —
Airbnb Check-out: 10am
1hr 15m drive to Salerno (according to google)
11:15am arrival at station
12:50 depart Salerno (2hr 5m ride)
2:55 arrive Roma Termini

The train is cheaper in Naples, but the car is more. So the cost is no deciding factor. For context, we are arriving to Amalfi from Salerno. I’m wondering if there’s any benefit to choosing Naples over Salerno on the departure day?

I may have too much time to spend at the train stations (especially Salerno), but due to check-out, travel times and train options I would rather have too much time than not enough. Plus it gives us time to grab a bite to eat.

Another potential influencer is that the Naples scenario puts us in Rome an hour earlier.

I guess I’m ultimately asking…
- I believe Naples is much larger. As someone who has limited train experience, should this influence my decision? We’ll be in Roma Termini 3 times on this trip, so I guess avoiding large stations is already impossible making this a pointless question. :)
- are there decent food options at either? I’ll probably need a snack to hold me over.
- is it worth riding to Naples simply to have a different view in the car since we will have already ridden from Salerno?
- are there any other reasons to choose one station over the other that I may not be aware of?

Thanks!

Posted by
7228 posts

What time of year?

Why not just take the ferry from Amalfi to Salerno?
The views from the water are fantastic

Posted by
12 posts

We chose Naples to Rome coming from Positano because the pier in Positano is a nightmare. The ride from Positano wasn’t bad and there were more train departures than Salerno in case there were any delays on the roads.

I had no issues with the size of the train stations and Naples has lots of good food options if you arrive early.

Posted by
8 posts

We are there late September. Our airbnb is about 1 mile from the Amalfi ferry, so not ideal with luggage. We are just outside of Amalfi town proper. So I don’t mind paying for a driver. I definitely plan to use the ferry during our time there, just not with luggage when I have a train to catch.

Posted by
11948 posts

Naples to Rome —
Airbnb Check-out: 10am
1hr 30m drive to Naples (according to google)
11:30am arrival station

When I plug in a 10AM weekday departure, google gives a 1.5-2.0 hr trip time.

You may not have as much extra time at the station to kill as you think.

Posted by
8 posts

When I plug in a 10AM weekday departure, google gives a 1.5-2.0 hr trip time.
You may not have as much extra time at the station to kill as you think

Thank you, that’s a great point. I completely forgot to consider the time of day when looking at google.

Posted by
16133 posts

Salerno is closer to Amalfi than Naples (about one hour drive closer). So less money to the driver, albeit more money to the train company.

The fastest way to Naples is not through the coast but through Angri. I’m sure during your stay in Amalfi you will have already traveled the coast between Amalfi and Sorrento, and maybe all the way to Pompeii and Naples, so there is nothing new to see. Both routes are curvy.

Naples has more train departures to Rome.

Food is available at both stations.

Maybe it’s a matter to be decided by the availability of trains at the time you wish.

Posted by
7939 posts

This is a bit of over- thinking, especially since day of the week ( road congestion) has not been taken into account. Since Frecciarossa seats are reserved, getting on earlier has less value, but luggage rack might be emptier. Note that discounted Frecciarossa tickets are not changeable or refundable. You chose this destination for its remoteness. I see value in avoiding Naples. Wait for a pizza lunch seat is one hour.