overnight train from Naples to Venice

Julia, IMO, it would be a good idea to have another look at your travel plans as some revisions may be needed. What are you planning to do with your luggage during the day trip to Capri? Regarding the trains, I found the same information that Larry mentioned, with a train departing Napoli Centrale at 19:57, arriving Venezia Santa Lucia at 05:26 (time 9H:29M). That train is listed as an Intercity Notte and not a Regionale. The next departure after that isn't until 04:07, and it's a Regionale and ES/AV, with a change at Roma Termini. Regarding your question on "paying extra for a Couchette", are you travelling with a Railpass? You will need to pay extra for that, and they need to be reserved. The price shown for the above train is €49 and P-P tickets will include the compulsory reservation, but I don't believe that includes the Couchette (but I'm not sure)? Is there any way you could visit Capri earlier in your trip and use a day train from Naples to Venice? The shortest trip on that route is ~5H:13M via ES/AV trains (no changes), however the fare is €96 PP. If you can get a "Mini" fare on that route, it will be a lot cheaper. There's a departure at 07:20, arriving 12:33. There's also an IC train departing at 08:17 and arriving at 16:49 (time 8H:32M). The fare on that one is only €56.50 which is quite reasonable (but of course a much longer journey). Good luck and happy travels!

i took this route back in 2003 and it was fine. it saved me a travel day and hotel cost which is pretty high in italy. i think night trains are ok in general. just took some in hungary, romania and bulgaria recently, all pretty safe. use common sense and you'll be ok.

I can't answer your question directly since I've never taken the overnight train, but every time I considered taking it (4 trips from Naples to Venice), I found that flights were MUCH less expensive. EasyJet frequently has 25 euro (each way) rates. Like a lot of discount airlines, they'll get their money on luggage and other extras, but if you're traveling relatively light, I found it much more cost effective than taking the train. I also took Alitalia once for roughly the same price. Granted, if you take the train you won't have to get a hotel that night so that will save you money, but I don't know if that offsets the savings from the flight. Just my two cents.

Julia, a couple of things. 1) as far as I know, the Regionale Veloce is not a night train. 2) I know of no Regionale Veloce or Regionale train that goes from Naples to Venice. They certainly will take you as far as Rome where you will need to change trains. The Regionales don't travel that distance - especially since the Regionale tickets expire 6 hours after you validate them. For a 10hr trip, you would be in violation the last 4 hours of your trip. 3) There is a night train from Naples to Venice. It's an ICN train and it departs Naples at 19:57. The journey does take close to 10 hours. Book as early as you can as the night trains do fill up.

Thanks for all your info and suggestions. If we want to get the mini fare by taking the ES/AV train, can we reserve the tickets on line? We are going to travel in early August. Is it too early to buy the tickets now??
Thanks!!

If you are still planning to spend the day in Capri, there's a shop on the waterfront (I don't know if Rick still mentions the shop; I can't find my RS Italy book) that will store your bags for the day. Back in 2007 it was 3 euros a bag, but I'm sure it's more now. About the night train...we considered that option six months ago, but thanks to good advice from this site, opted for Easy Jet from Naples to Venice - painless and inexpensive (we prepaid for our checked carry ons when we bought our tickets from home because of the strict ONE-item rule). We noticed people with several items boarding the plane, and they were just instructed to leave their extra items on a cart by the steps beside the plane. I don't think they had to pay any excess baggage fee, but I wouldn't want to chance it, because I know the fee is higher on the day of departure.