Paris to Naples - HOW??

You’ve just got to bite the bullet and fly. That train ride is way too long.

I’d fly directly from Paris to Naples. There is no way I would get off a 12 hour flight and then take the Thello Sleeper or a bus or anything else that will take 11-15 hours. But then again, I will never take that train again regardless of what I did before the train trip. I’ve gone from Paris to Italy several times and my single experience with the train was bad. The most cost effective way is to fly. I think you should bite the bullet and buy the airplane tickets because anything else is, as you note, two days of travel time, at a minimum, out of your vacation. By the way, if I were you, I’d consider coming back to Paris on June 9th even though the flight home is late at night. Round trip airfare of around US$250 per person for a 2 hour flight is not bad IMO. Good luck.

Considering Houston as a United hub, and having failed to buy open-jaw air tickets in the first place, bargain airlines are your best hope. If everyone has carry- on only, maybe you could get the local flight down lower.

Have you considered a French beach instead? Sorrento is nice enough, but Texas has better beaches and you could see Pompeii (? if that’s the real target) on a later, better-planned trip to Southern Europe, or just Italy.

This is a very short trip. How about D-day beaches? Just Paris and Versailles?

I don’t think this is a trip to Paris and Italy but rather a trip to the Amalfi Coast using Paris as the landing point in Europe (not the best plan, to be sure, but what is done is done) so open jaw tickets would not have been an option. IMO, in agreement with Tim, the OP now has two choices: buy airplane tickets to Italy, preferably directly to Naples to minimize the need for transfers, or change the vacation destination altogether.

Why did you buy tickets to Paris when that’s not where you’re going? I’m baffled by that - however big the discount, it really doesn’t make sense.

That said - if you can’t get a refund, do what Europeans would do and fly between the two cities. Travel light. Take the baggage size requirements seriously as low-cost European airlines WILL enforce them.

Leave enough time between your flights, as you won’t be doing this as a true connection and if you miss your next flight because the first flight is late, you’ll have no protection.

Next time, really don’t get your head turned by cheap flights to “Europe.” It’s a big continent and ongoing flights may cost just as much, making it a false economy.

Alternatively - have a vacation in Paris instead!

We purchased flights through a family member who works for an airline and paid about a quarter of what the Houston to Paris (or Rome or Naples) route would typically cost at full fare. Due to the airline - we were limited to destination, and Paris was the closest we could get to Italy. Adding the cost of the Houston to Paris flight to the Paris to Naples flight and I will still be well under the full fare cost that Houston to Paris (or Rome, or Naples) would typically run....but I would like to find the best deal to make that happen. Not opposed to $250 flight from Paris to Naples, just asking for guidance to see if there was something I wasn't considering.

That being said - vacationing in Paris is not on the agenda, as we did that two summers ago. I believe we can make a Paris to Italy trip happen I would just like some feed back on how to best do that with cost and timing considerations in mind.

Be sure to check skyscanner for flights, maybe there was an airline you missed. I would not want to do the CDG to Orly transfer in one day though--too risky for me.

You should look at skyscanner.com to see what bargain airlines you can find. If switching from CDG to Orly offers the best flights( time, cost) then hire a transfer service for your group. I would never take an overnight train especially with children, a nightmare for sure.

We were posting at the same time, but Suki makes an excellent point--I would feel comfortable changing airports IF someone else was in charge of getting me there, but it's a lot to do with kids in tow.

...the OP now has two choices: buy airplane tickets to Italy,
preferably directly to Naples to minimize the need for transfers, or
change the vacation destination altogether.

I'm afraid that's what it comes down to.

With a group your size, I might look at the taking the Curreri bus from Naples airport - if you fly in and out of there - to Sorrento, or look into a private transport service.
https://www.curreriviaggi.it/en/naples-airport-shuttle

(Edited to remove a suggestion that no longer applies)

As you've found, the cheap price comes at a "cost" in terms of "agony", time and money. What time does your flight arrive at CDG?

Some options you could consider......

• Since you'll be at CDG anyway, you could book a flight from there to Naples. You might have to change terminals. Unfortunately many flights have a stopover somewhere, so that will add to your already long travel time.
• Take the high speed trains from CDG to Napoli Centrale. This is going to be an arduous and brutal journey after a long transatlantic flight, and something I wouldn't wish on anyone!
• Take the RER, Taxi or pre-booked Shuttle from CDG to ORY and use an easyJet flight from there to Naples. They seem to have at least one flight per day and while this would also be a somewhat tiring option, it would be the easiest one (IMO). When you arrive in Naples, take the Curreri Viaggi coach from the airport to Sorrento (10€ PP and about an hour trip as I recall).

In the same situation, I might book a room at one of the hotels that are located in or near CDG, and then take the flight to Sorrento the following day. That would allow everyone to get cleaned up, have a good rest and a fine meal. This will make the next leg much more pleasant.

Good luck!

flight arrived at CDG at 11:55am
departing flight from CDG is at 11PM (23:00)

Thank you for the bus/shuttle suggestion.

I need to do the reverse on June 10 for a flight departing from Paris CDG at 11pm.

If you choose to fly NAP-CDG on the 10th I would get an EARLY flight. If there is a problem, trying to take care of a group of 9 could be a problem. Leave yourself time to have as many options as possible if something goes sideways.

I do not see the train as a reasonable solution.

happy travels!

Hello,

I would suggest flying form CDG into Rome. You can spend the day and get up refreshed and take the train to Naples/Sorrento and start your trip. If not you will have to fly into Naples with 1 to 2 stops. Looks like your best option is on Alitalia for the flight.

We will be flying into London with a small layover and then a direct into Venice. We are only losing three hours of time and saving $800.00...

Based on your last reply, it sounds like you now have flights booked from CDG to NAP? With an 11 hour wait between flights, that's going to be a brutal travel day! You'll have lots of time to clear Passport control and get the Schengen stamps, and also retrieve your checked luggage. As your connecting flights were not booked on the same ticket, you'll have to re-check the luggage for the flight to Naples. If that's the case, be sure to remove the bar code tags from the first flight so that your luggage doesn't get "misdirected"

Given the circumstances, you might have a look at something like this - https://www.yotel.com/en/hotels/yotelair-paris-charles-de-gaulle/cabins .

Ken, The OP is giving us their arrival time on the day they arrive in Paris and the departure time on the day that the group leaves Paris to return home. They have not yet made the plans for getting to Italy from CDG.

@ lanna.barajas, I am seeing roundtrip, non-stop flights from Orly to Naples on EasyJet for US$210 roundtrip (returning on June 9th). There's a flight leaving at 4:45. I'd book it now before the price changes and buy the option to check luggage ahead of time. You'll pay almost twice as much to check luggage if you have to purchase that at CDG as opposed to if you buy it when you buy the ticket. As said before, be sure to check the carry-on luggage dimensions for European carriers. The carry-on that works on the flight from the US will probably exceed the size allowed on an intra-Europe flight.
You are spending at most 10 days on the Amalfi Coast in June -- you will not need a lot of luggage. My family of four frequently spend a month to six weeks traveling through Europe traveling with a carry-on bag and a personal bag/backpack for each of us. We are a tall family with big feet but summer clothes and shoes do not take up a lot of space and we can each fit about 5 or 6 days of clothes in a carry-on bag that meets the European carriers' luggage size restrictions.

Hello,

It sounds like a fun trip. Congrats on getting those cheap tickets to Paris. You can make it work. ( I have paid round trip tickets for Europe before for less than $300 from USA and even thought I was not flying into my destination city, the savings were absolutely worth it.)

This is what I would do:
1) fly Paris-Naples direct. See if most people in your group can do carry-on only. It is liberating and cheaper.

or

2) Thello sleeper train Paris-Milan or Paris-Venice if you have a desire to see those cities (Venice yes for me, Milan not so much). I sleep well on trains and yes children will sleep well too. They are at the age that it might just be the highlight of their vacation (for reference I have a 3 and a 6 years old who adore sleeping on trains).

BTW you can use the train one way and the plane the other way. It is easy to buy one way tickets in Europe (check skyscanner.com), it is just half of the price of the round trip.

Flying CDG to Naples, and then back to CDG is the only reasonable option. The next decision is "how much time do you allow for transfer from TransAtlantic flight to Naples flight" You will need to consider potential for delay, or you risk losing your Naples tickets/paying a change fee. Same with the return. You could mitigate the risk by leaving plenty of time, or overnight, but getting into the time/expense calculation again.

Yeah, going from Paris to Naples, you've got to fly. It's too far to take the train.

I did like the idea someone had about flying into Rome and then taking the train to Naples from there. Might be a bit cheaper and you'd probably have more flight options. Of course then you'd still be getting from FCO to Termini, but at least that's a direct train ride (although another cost).

We did Paris to Naples by train in February 2015. 'Course, we stopped for 2 nights in Lucerne, took the normal route over the Alps--spectacular through snow squalls!--then stopped in Florence for 3 nights. Finally down through Naples, ending in Salerno. Memorable trip, but not advised all at once, especially after a 12-hour overseas ordeal from Houston to Paris.

I do not see many good nonstop flight options from Paris to Naples. Therefore, it would probably be better to fly to Rome, stay overnight, and continue on the next day to Sorrento.

We have a similar situation coming up in April. I was able to buy a very inexpensive Boston-Paris round trip flight. We are taking a separate flight from Paris to Venice later on our arrival day. Folks on this forum suggested a four hour + connection time at CDG when taking a separate flight.

I was able to find an Airfrance flight for about $75 (including 1 checked bag) per person from Paris CDG to Naples on June 2 this morning. There was a fare drop today, because the same flight was about $150 yesterday.

I created price alerts for the return on June 10 from Naples to Paris CDG - so I will wait and see if I can get a good deal for that let too. Right now it's over $200...which may be what we end up spending.

We may end up leaving a day early from Sorrento and going to Rome...will have to weigh the cost of a hotel in Rome for the night along with Naples to Rome and Rome to CDG flights....or Naples to Paris Orly and transfer from Orly to CDG.

Thank you all for your feedback and suggestions - much appreciated!