Naples-Rome Travel

hmmm, let's go down the list:
1. not sure why you need to rent a car. Naples is not driver friendly. Sorrento is primarily a walking town. If you're thinking of driving the Amalfi Coast can I talk you out of it? How about the boat from Sorrento and then the bus back? Best of both views. My personal prejudice: I stay in Sorrento every year for at least 4 or 5 nights.
2. still want a car? then yes, get busy looking for one.
3. the Freccia trains run at least every hour, sometimes a few times per hour. you can see a 'probable' schedule now on trenitalia.it but the June schedule won't be up for another month or two.
4. early reservations on the Freccia means you can take advantage of very good discounts - the most if you can commit to a specific schedule.
5. the train goes right into Roma Termini. From there I'd take a taxi directly to your apartment. The driver will have GPS to get you right to the address.
Happy planning!

Tastes vary, but having a car in Sorrento sounds like my idea of hell on earth (and I like driving and usually rent a car on most European trips). You really sure you want to do that?

From Naples to Sorrento, and getting around the Amalfi Coast, is best done by train/bus/ferry IMHO. Easy, cheap, no-stress. Having a car there would be the opposite. Something to think about.

I always hate to contradict peoples plans, but with 2 nights and planning Pompeii on your full day, a car is not very practical. The area in general (Naples and the Amalfi Peninsula) is not very conducive to driving. The train station is very accessible from the Airport, and the Circumvesuvia train goes directly to Sorrento, and the same line can drop you off at the doorstep to Pompeii, and then back to the train station. At the most, maybe consider a private transfer from the Airport to your hotel in Sorrento. There may be circumstances you did not share (disabilities, need to drive someplace specific, etc.) that might justify a car, but most would recommend public transport.

The fast train to Rome operates frequently, at least twice an hour, at times up to four trains per hour. Generally, the earlier you book, the lower the cost. The trade-off is if you book ahead, you need to catch that specific train, so be at the station early. If you wait, cost is more. A "Day of" ticket would be about 50 euro, out a week or so would be about half that, not too much less months out unless you find a special. With that many trains, there should still be plenty of options the Day of. Roma Termini will be the station you come into, and that is most convenient for the Colloseum area. The Metro goes in that direction, as do buses, maybe the easiest, with bags and all would be a Taxi, only take official taxis from the queue and ask your hotel about what the fare will be, verify with the driver before leaving.

Sorry, but I can't see why anyone would rent a car down there in summer. Forget about driving in/close to Naples or along the coast. You have only 2 days, not enough time to waste hours stuck in traffic. Take a bus from The airport to Sorrento and then trains from Sorrento to Pompeii (where there is a luggage deposit) and from Pompeii to Naples. Use ferries to visit the Amalfi Coast villages.

How often is the fast speed train to Rome?

Check on www.trenitalia.com/en.html and www.italotreno.it/en entering a day of travel before June 14 to see on-day and discounted fares. The summer schedules and prices will be similar. Direct high speed trains to Rome depart also from Salerno.

what is the best way from the station to the Colloseum?

Define "best", fastest? A cab from the official line outside Roma Termini station to your place. Cheapest? The metro.
Note that the Colosseum area is perfect only to visit the Colosseum and the Domus Aurea, from that area you won't be able to walk to any other attraction.

the June schedule won't be up for another month or two.

To tell the truth, Trenitalia has already started uploading the summer schedules of high speed trains.

" trains from Sorrento to Pompeii "

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

https://www.sorrentoinsider.com/en/campania-express-train-schedule [less uncomfortable, mid-March to mid-Oct]

I'm going to agree with everyone else. The Circumvesuviana is your friend. Naples to Sorrento, either of those to Pompeii, it's quick, cheap, and easy.

We've also enjoyed the ferry. On our most recent trip to that area, we took the train from Naples to Sorrento, the ferry from Sorrento to Naples, and the train for our day trip to Pompeii.

There's also a bus that goes directly to and from Sorrento from the Naples airport. Lots of choices.

In the last week of May, every night, we saw cars lined up for 20 minutes or more to enter the underground parking lot near our Sorrento hotel, the Ambasciatori-which isn't even that close to restaurants and shopping. Since central downtown Sorrento is closed for the Passeggiata every evening (ZTLs aside), you will be sorry if you rent a car for this visit.

It may matter less at the airport, but I wouldn't drive near the Naples train station. Auto driving is like the Wild West in Naples. Don't remember if there are car rental companies at the train station. But that is very easy research for you to do, either with your preferred rental company, or with an aggregator like Expedia that will check all companies.

The Frecciarossa train service is extremely fast and comfortable. Note that the dramatically cheaper advance purchase tickets are non-changeable, non-refundable, for a single scheduled train only. They won't even consider letting you on the previous train if it has seats available. I'm pretty sure it only stops at Termini. But the Coliseum has a Metro stop on the same line as Termini.

Three trips to Sorrento, zero rental cars. Bus from Naples airport once, Circumvesuviana from Naples Centrale train station twice. Bus along the coast to/from Amalfi. Circumvesuviana Sorrento to/from Pompeii Scavi. Circumvesuviana to Naples on the way out on the last trip, left bags at train station, saw Naples museum as long as we wanted and then got same-day tickets for the next regional train to Rome. (Not that much longer than the fast train, but much cheaper for day-of tickets.) Metro from Termini to Colosseum station (but be aware that Colosseum station has NO elevator or escalator, just stairs.)

Off hand the only place that would be a worse place to have a rental car is in Florence or Venice.

For where you plan, a car is no help.

Wow. Thank you all for the information. I just got off work and could not respond earlier. Definitely a rental car is off my list. I will look at the train to and from Sorrento. The trip(Naples/Sorrento) was a quick side trip for us on our way to Rome. The trip through this area of Italy is on the last leg of our trip visiting family in another country. My wife heard about Sorrento and we got a great B&B right on the water. But I do have a couple of more questions. How long(a trip) is the ferry from Naples to Sorrento? Thinking about that as an option to Sorrento, then take the train back to Pompeii, and then on to Rome. Also you stated you can leave the luggage at the train station in Pompeii while touring? Is this something you do while there or you have to reserve ahead of time? Also, about how much time to have for visiting Pompeii? Out of our 2 weeks in Europe, this part will be the most "hectic".

You all have given me great insight. Appreciate it!

I just found the information on the Ferry. Sounds like a great alternative to get to Sorrento. Thanks for the heads on on this option.

We plan to fly into Naples from Vienna(on a Sunday this summer) and
take a rental car to Sorrento for a 2 night stay. Return Tuesday,
visit Pompeii, then return the car to a rental agency at the Naples
Train station and take a train to Rome.

George, if you're flying into Naples, your most efficient mode of transport to Sorrento is probably the Curreri Viaggi coach bus: it departs multiple times daily from the airport to Sorrento. You may need to take a cab from the Sorrento bus stop to your hotel depending on where it is and how much luggage you're moving.

Traveling from Sorrento to Rome, I'd take the cheap Circumvesuviana commuter train to Naples and then a "fast" train from there to Roma Termini. Those trains run regularly every day, and you only need to make advance reservations if you want to try and land a nice price break. That does pretty much commit you to THAT train, on THAT day, and on THAT hour, though. As well as Trenitalia trains, I'd check prices and timetables for Italo trains as well;

https://www.italotreno.it/en

From Termini, I'd take a cab to your apartment.

Curreri bus info:
https://www.curreriviaggi.it/en/naples-airport-shuttle

It looks like the Ferry is out based on timing. So based on hearing the horrors of the traffic, wouldn't you get caught in the traffic also taking the bus? I do not like to be set on a time schedule for my once-in-a-lifetime to Europe, so I like to not be restricted to purchasing tickets ahead of time, even though it may cost more.

1. Would I still be able to purchase train/bus tickets on the day of, or would that be an issue, or a dumb idea? 2. Flying in from Vienna, how much time should I give after going through customs at Naples and catching the next bus/train?

Sorry for all the questions, but I rather hear it from experts like you all.

The Curreri Viaggi bus Kathy mentioned will go from the airport right out to the autostrada. Traffic on this short 1Hr15m ride should not be a problem.