Rome-AC-CT which train tickets to buy and should I buy in advance- need guidance

As far as I know, I think you will have to take a bus from Sorrento to Furore. The train from Naples to Sorrento is the Circumvesuviana, the last stop is Sorrento. Right outside the station in Sorrento are the buses for the Amalfi Coast.

To get from Furore to CT, you will need to transfer a few times: bus or ferry to Sorrento or Naples, train to La Spezia (maybe a change in Rome, check the Trenitalia website), and then another train to some of the towns of CT.

Perhaps Roberto has better information.

Hi alma. For the longest portion of your trip, Naples (Napoli) to La Spezia, there are significant discounts if you are willing to lock in your exact date and time, and buy in advance. See the schedule and prices at trenitalia.com. (Note: the 'base' fare is what you will pay if you wait and buy at last minute). Enjoy your trip!

I belong to the camp that prefers to drive to the Amalfi Coast, unless your base is Sorrento, in which case you can get by with planes, trains and buses. So if your trip were my trip, especially considering there are at least 3 of you, I would rent a car in Rome, drive to Furore, keep the car while there, then drive from Furore to La Spezia, where I would return the car. Then I would take a train from La Spezia to my Cinque Terre town.
If you insist on public transport these are the choices from Rome to Furore
1. Option via Salerno.
Take train from Rome to Salerno (non stops available, or change in Naples).
Sita bus from Salerno to Amalfi (or boat, in summer)
Sita bus from Amalfi to Furore.
2. Option via Napoli.
Train from Rome to Napoli
Train Napoli Sorrento (or boat)
Bus Sorrento Furore.
Could also take boat Naples to Amalfi then back track to Furore via bus.
For the Furore to Cinque Terre.
Reverse trip above to either Naples or Salerno.
Then from either city take trains to Cinque Terre. Train changes in Rome and La Spezia. If all stars align, from hotel check out in Furore to hotel check in at the Cinque Terre you could make it in 9 to 10 hours.

Thank you all for the feedback. Very useful!

Roberto, you threw me a curve ball! ;-) Our family of four is going to be in Italy for a month (Rome, AC,CT, Tuscany, Dolomites/Lake Garda, Venice. Milan). We decided on this itinerary based on your previous advice(other entries) with rental car coming out of CT and returning it in Venice.

If I rent a car in Amalfi, I might as well keep it up to Venice which means I will have to park it somewhere at CT. We will be in CT 3 nights. Will trains be cheaper or rental car for another week?

Alma,

The problem here is your choice of lodging in Furore. It's literally out in the middle of nowhere.

Sorrento would make a better base. See if you can change your reservations.

Thank, Gerri. I could change my reservations but I hear Furore is less touristy and have more of the italian feel we are looking for. If I rent a car in Amalfi, it really will not matter where I am base, correct?

I checked car fares for another week, and by the time I add train to Rome and train to CT (not counting buses), I might as well rent car in Rome and keep it until Venice. Plus this gives me more mobility freedom w/o having to work around train schedules.

In that case, I may go back to my original schedule and after AC do Tuscany and then CT (instead of reverse) and then from CT to Dolomites,etc. Of course this will depend on whether I can change my lodging dates in CT and Tuscany.... The lodging in AC and CT includes free parking.

Keep Furore, I think you will like it. For all its "convenience", Sorrento is not on the Amalfi Coast. Also visit Vietri sul Mare while you are on the AC.

I think with the 4 of you, a car makes the most sense. We have done only one trip by train, and really like

the freedom of having a car.

If you can change reservations in Tuscany and CT it would split up the trip a little time wise and make your

path a bit more direct. But don't worry about it.

Furore is a beautiful village with a wonderful beach.

The only reason I suggested Sorrento is because of ease of ingress and egress. Also agree w/Zoe,

Vietri sul Mare has beautiful ceramics, great food, very picturesque and a beach where you can look for shards of pottery.

My daughter has lived in the Naples area for the last ten years. We have visited 7 times. It's one of my

favorite areas of Italy.

Use http://www.viamichelin.com/ for route planning. Don't forget to add fuel and tolls to your car rental.

I'm including the bus schedules just in case it's too busy to drive. I've only been there in April/ earlyMay and

Sept./Oct. We have not had any problems driving during those months. Think you will be early enough

to have some traffic, but not too crazy.

http://www.summerinitaly.com/planning/transportation_amalfi_furore_naples.asp#From Amalfi to Napoli (5.30 - 11.30)

http://www.theamalficoast.net/orari_sita_bus_timetables.html

Have a wonderful time

Gerri, thank you so much for the bus schedules, much appreciated!

I will keep in mind the places both you and Zoe mentioned. I was able to change my lodging reservations so we are doing Tuscany before CT and renting the car.

I was thinking of taking the train from Rome to Naples and renting the car in Naples vs. Rome just to avoid having to drive in Rome. Any thoughts on that?

Have you considered choosing between the Amalfi Coast and Cinque Terre--since they're kind of alike? I seldom see anyone going to both.

The time spent in one of these would be possibly better spent in one of the great Italian cities.

Driving from Naples can be done fairly easily. You can pick up a car at the station, and you have less than a 1/2 mile to the A3. Be prepared! Traffic in that 1/2 mile can be busy. In Naples lane separation is only a suggestion!!! Print out a Via Michlin map. Once you're on the A3 it's a breeze, until you turn off, then you have to pay attention. The secondary roads will twist around and sometimes change names. It should take you about an hour to get to Furore.

I guess I would recommend NEVER to drive in Naples. I drove in Rome daily... but Naples was the one place in Italy my wife and I almost got divorced (and she was driving!). I was very experienced driving in Italy and I always hated going into Naples. I suppose I had too many bad experiences in the city, driving and parking!

I like the idea of training to Naples and then using a car service to Furore - Like Roberto, I'd rather drive/ride in the Amalfi area then take the buses, especially with luggage.