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Naples/Venice: Reflections on Travel Options

Posted by (Los Angeles) on

Getting from Naples to Venice (or vice-versa) can be a relatively short trip, or can involve the better part of an entire day (or night), depending on the method of travel. Assuming that one wants to travel directly between these two cities, without stopping anywhere en-route, there are essentially two options: the plane or the train. Let's take a look at both.

THE PLANE

There are five daily non-stop flights: two on each of Alitalia and Easyjet, and one on Meridiana. The current lowest fare on Alitalia is 48.39 Euros. Fares on the two low-cost airlines depend on whether you have checked luggage, and its weight. Assuming ONE checked bag weighing 21 kilos, the fare on Meridiana is 48.37 Euros; on Easy Jet, 59.99 Euros. But simply lighten your bag by one kilo, and you'll save 21 Euros on Meridiana and 27 Euros on Easy Jet. And eliminate the checked bag, and you save an additional 7 Euros on Meridiana and 11 Euros on Easy Jet. But add more checked bags, and the fare quickly increases, particularly with more weight. So, it's difficult to easily compare fares because of the luggage factor, and you really need to BE CAREFUL about the weight.

While flight time is under 90 minutes, you have to factor in an additional 60 minutes commute time to and from both airports (longer if taking the Alilaguna boat service in Venice), 60-90 minutes for check-in and security clearance, and perhaps another 30 minutes to retrieve checked luggage. That makes the total TRAVEL time by air closer to FOUR HOURS, and even longer when poor weather delays flights.

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THE TRAIN

Here, you've got three basic choices. To travel as fast as possible, you would take the swank AV trains, which however require a CONNECTION at Roma Termini Station (there are no more direct AV trains between Naples and Venice). Total travel time is 5.5 hours, and the one-way "base" fare in second class is a very steep 117 Euros. By purchasing at least 15 days in advance, you MAY be able to reduce the fare to 82 Euros. Still, a rather expensive option.

Now, there's also one direct Intercity (IC) train per day, which takes 8.5 hours but costs only 50 Euros in second class (discountable to 36 Euros with a minimum advance purchase of 15 days). With the promotional discount, the IC train is the cheapest transportation, unless flying on Meridiana or Easy Jet WITHOUT checked luggage, or at most with ONE checked bag weighing no more than 20 kilos. And you must also remember to factor in the additional commute costs to and from the two airports, which narrows the price advantage for the planes.

Finally, there is also one daily direct Intercity Night (ICN) train which takes 10.5 hours. Sleepers, quad couchettes and second class seats are available. The seats cost 43.50 Euros (discountable to 31 Euros with a 15-day advance purchase). The primary advantages of the night train is that you save the hotel cost for one night, and don't waste any daylight hours travelling.

OPINION

If you're in a hurry, you will probably want to fly (but watch the luggage and weight rules on the low-cost airlines). If you're not in a hurry, I would go with the IC train rather than the connecting AV trains. For an increased travel time of three hours, you save MORE THAN HALF the cost of the faster trains, and avoid the hassle of connecting trains in Rome. The IC train has two first class and eight second class railcars, and is air conditioned and non-smoking. There is no restaurant car (so bring your own food and beverages), but there are snacks/beverages on a rolling cart.

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