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Rome/Florence/Cinque Terre/Amalfi Coast?

My daughter and I will be flying from Sevilla to Rome. We were going to stay a few days there and then take a train to Florence for 3 days and then to Cinque Terre for 3 days and on to the Amalfi coast for 3 days. From the things I've read it's best to take a train from Rome to Florence and back to Rome. Then we were thinking about renting a car? Would that be better then continuing on with trains? Also, people are saying just to buy your train tickets in Italy. We are going in June and that makes me a bit nervous not having tickets ahead of time? Does the break up of days sound reasonable? I've been to Italy before but it was 15 years ago with 4 kids and a car so it's all a blur and now seems confusing.

Posted by
4152 posts

You lose about half a day when you change locations so your three days are really two and a half unless you've set aside another day for travel between each location.

Why not fly from Sevilla to Naples? From there you could go directly to the AC and then head to Rome and so on.

The only parts of this trip you "may" need a car for is if you plan on visiting small towns in Tuscany not easily reached by public transport or going to the AC. For all others a car is a waste of time and money.

As for the trains, if you know your travel date and can keep to a set time there is no reason not to buy some of your tickets now. You can certainly buy the tickets for the high speed trains such as Rome to Naples and Rome to Florence. You can get deep discounts but just keep in mind that these discounted tickets are just like airline tickets, no changes and no refunds, so be at the station on time or you'll lose the money for those tickets. Just buy the tickets for regional trains when you are at the station.

Donna

Posted by
25 posts

Thanks for the recommendations Donna. We were going to fly to Rome first for 2 reasons. One is that it's very inexpensive to fly from Sevilla to Rome and the other is that I want the end of my trip relaxing like the Amalfi Coast rather than running around seeing sites. As far as booking tickets ahead, I went on the site but they say they won't take a CC not issued in Europe? Can you do the Amalfi coast easily without a car? Would you suggest getting to Sorrento and then taking the ferry to Positano, that's where I would like to stay.

Posted by
3940 posts

Just wanted to jump in and say that Cinque Terre is just as relaxing a spot to end your vacation...maybe a little more so as public transportation is much easier than on Amalfi Coast since you have trains that run multiple times an hour between the villages. (But I do understand the cheaper flights - you do have to add in the added time and cost of train tickets tho).

We visited Amalfi for the first time last year (and have been to CT twice). I actually found AC a little less relaxing...you can have a car, but seeing the crazy traffic (early Sept) the buses and the private car tour we took had to deal I wouldn't do the drive unless I was an extremely confident driver...very narrow roads - sometimes only inches between you and the parked cars and the oncoming traffic; parking could be a problem as well. I honestly wouldn't call driving on the AC relaxing (some poor soul on our bus back to Naples got sick - either was hungover or because of the twisty turny roads). And AC is wayyyy more spread out, and with only buses (or a car or taxi) to rely on it makes things harder to get around.

We had 3 nights (really 2 days and an evening by the time we got there); we stayed in Atrani which was a short walk to Amalfi (about 10 min) so we really got to see a lot of Amalfi, and we visited Ravello as well on our own. We had an 8 hour private car tour arranged, and we were able to spend all of 2 hrs in Sorrento and Positano (we also had time in Ravello, but we were going back there the next day so we hurried thru). We barely scratched the surface. But of course, you can just go to AC and see a few spots and spend the rest of the time on the beaches (which are lovely).

I'm sure someone will come on and tell you how to book trains with a non-European cc. There can be a trick to it. I'm in Canada and I booked our Rome-Venice leg 3-4 mos ahead and had no issues with my credit card, but I can't remember now exactly how I did it (used Trenitalia). Lots of savings for booking ahead.

Posted by
11247 posts

Trenitalia takes U.S. cards. I use mine all the time. As mentioned above, you can buy in advance for significant savings as long as you can commit to the schedule. OR you can pay full price and know you can change tickets if you need to as long as you do so prior to scheduled departure.

I would not recommend driving on the A.C., especially during peak season.

When you land in Rome, instead of staying here, you could go right to Firenze (direct highspeed train from FCO), then on to the Cinque Terre, down to Amalfi and finally wrap up in Rome. that way you eliminate at least one change of lodging.

Posted by
11613 posts

Trenitalia takes my US-issued credit card; perhaps you are talking about needing an address for registration purposes? If so, you can use any address (your hotel's for example), Trenitalia will email your tickets and will not contact you via snail mail.

Posted by
4152 posts

No matter which city you decide to end with be sure to be back in Rome the night before your flight home. You don't want to take the chance of a transportation strike, traffic or anything else that could cause you to miss your flight.

donna

Posted by
25 posts

Yes, I was planning on spending the last night in Rome, just in case. Good idea about going direct to Florence, I had not thought of that. Do you know the name of the station at FCO, it's not listed as FCO on the trenitalia site/
Also, is 3 days too much time to spend in Cinque Terre? My daughter said her friends only went for the day.

Posted by
1929 posts

Hi Jane--

You're not saying how many days in Rome you're planning, but if the Seville/Rome flight is not booked yet I would instead take an early flight from Seville to Milan, 1 stop. Shuttle or taxi from Malpensa to Milano Centrale. Train to La Spezia, via Genoa. Now you're at Cinque Terre late afternoon/early evening, and you have everything logistically set up for the rest of your trip.

(Or, as your last post stated you were thinking, if the Cinque Terre is only a daytrip, make it even easier and fly Seville to Florence Peretola (FLR) airport. Still 1 stop, same amount of airtime, a little more money.)

Spend your days at Cinque Terre, then train to Florence. When finished there, train to Naples. Plenty of transport options from Napoli Centrale depending on where you stay on the Amalfi Coast, or better yet (as I did), take the train to the end of the line at Salerno, base there in that charming town (and not nearly as pricey) and be set up nicely for daytrips to Naples, Amalfi Coast, Pompei & Paestum. From there, easy train ride to Roma Termini or Tiburtina station, enjoy your time in the Eternal City, and fly home.

One more thing--by all means, once you decide how to do it, buy your Trenitalia tickets in advance.

Enjoy!

Posted by
4105 posts

The train station at the airport is Aeroporto Fumicino. there may be a few trains direct to
Florence (Firenze SMN). If they haven't started that run yet you have 2 options.
1. Take the Leonardo Express to Roma Termini then train to Florence.
2. Take the FM1 line to RomaTiburtina and get the Florence train there.

Really think you should change your path.
Sevilla-Roma if that's cheapest. Then train to Napoli Centrale.
Napoli Centrale-Firenze SMN
Firenze-CT (La Spezia)
CT-Roma

Edit: Jay makes a good point.

Posted by
25 posts

Thanks everybody for your help. I took many of your suggestions and changed the trip, great ideas. Let me know what you think.
5/22 - Seville to Milan (Bergamo?) and then a train to Milan (Centrale?) from there to La Spezia.
5/25 La Spezia to Firenze (Novella?)
5/29 Firenze to Naples (Centrale?) from Naples take local trains to Sorrento and then a ferry to Positano?
6/2 Naples to Rome
6/5 Rome back to Seville

We are going to order our tickets ahead of time based on your recommendations.

Quite a bit different from when I started!

Posted by
15680 posts

Janet, sorry but I'm confused:
5/22 - Seville to Milan (Bergamo?) and then a train to Milan (Centrale?) from there to La Spezia
You're flying to Milan Malpensa or to Bergamo Orio al Serio? They are two very different airports a long distance apart. Milan also has another airport - Linate - so it's important to know which one you'll be coming into.

5/25 La Spezia to Firenze (Novella?)
Yes, Santa Maria Novella is the central train station in Florence (Firenze, in Italian).

5/29 Firenze to Naples (Centrale?) from Naples take local trains to Sorrento and then a ferry to Positano?
Yes, Napoli Stazione Centrale is Naples central train station. From there, you need to switch stations to Napoli Garibaldi Station to get the local Circumvesuviana train to Sorrento. You do not have to completely LEAVE Centrale - just follow the signs.

To take a ferry to Positano from Sorrento, you will have to get to Marina Piccola where the boats dock. You can either walk it (downhill) or take a local bus.

Ferry schedules can be explored here:
http://www.coopsantandrea.com/en/servizidilinea/servizi.asp

One thing to be aware of is that ferries cannot dock in Positano if the weather is bad enough to cause very rough seas; service can be cancelled in these cases, and you'd need to take a bus or private shuttle.

6/2 Naples to Rome
You'll need to reverse your journey to Positano/Sorrento: bus or ferry to Sorrento; Circumvesuviana train to Naples; train from Naples to Rome Termini (Rome's central train station).

6/5 Rome back to Seville
You'll be flying out of Fiumicino? If so, see these options from Termini to the airport:

https://www.adr.it/web/aeroporti-di-roma-en-/pax-fco-train

https://www.adr.it/web/aeroporti-di-roma-en-/pax-fco-bus

Rome's other airport is Ciampino so again, check which one your flights are from?

Posted by
25 posts

I was flying on Ryan air and it said Milan Bergamo, that's all that was offered. I just assumed I could get a train from there to Milan centrale is that not correct? I don't know anything about Milan Malpensa, should I? I'm confused now.

Posted by
11247 posts

I was flying on Ryan air and it said Milan Bergamo, that's all that was offered. I just assumed I could get a train from there to Milan centrale is that not correct? I don't know anything about Milan Malpensa, should I? I'm confused now.

Milano-Bergamo is an hour by bus from Milano Centrale. Bergamo is where many low cost carriers fly. So add a bus to you plan. €10 and 60 minutes, but they run frequently : every 15 minutes it seems.

You also asked how long to stay in the Cinque Terre. Like anything else, it depends. You can go for a day and say you saw the Mediterranean Sea, but to do anything - hike, take a cruise - you need to stay. Many (most?) first timers spend 3 nights so they have a hiking day and a day to explore the towns and take the boat between them. Or a second day of hiking. We've spent 16 nights there in 4 trips over 4 years, but then we like to repeat what's been fun for us. For our first trip, 3 nights was great.

Posted by
15680 posts

Laurel, would it make sense to just take the bus to the train station in Bergamo (10-15 minutes) to buy tickets to La Spezia? That station is small and less overwhelming than Milano Centrale. They'll need to change trains in Milan but would have tickets all the way through. What do you think?

Back to the Fiumicino/Ciampino question…
Jane, because you're coming from/returning to Sevilla, I had a hunch that you might be flying a budget airline. Ryanair flies out of Ciampino so I'm just guessing you'll be departing from that one and not Fiumicino. Could you confirm?

Posted by
1929 posts

Jane, I think you've really improved your trip overall, and you get to see all four areas you desired!

Yes, buy your Trenitalia tix in advance, hopefully at deep discounts. I was just for the heck of it trying to check the prices on their website, but something in Italian said 'malfunzione", which does not sound promising. Their website can be wonky, so when booking be persistent and when confirmed, print & save everything. Better yet, read on here & other websites on how to navigate Trenitalia and how to score these discounted tickets. This is because if they're cheap enough, and for whatever reason you end up missing the train, you're not out a ton of cash and can always buy full fare when you can travel.

Also, research and become aware of the different transport options for your short journeys--Bergamo/Milan, Napoli Centrale/Positano, Sorrento/Rome. There usually are multiple ways to get from Point A to Point B, and sometimes--again for whatever reason--your first option is not available (as does happen, without warning sometimes), you know what to do with a backup plan.

Posted by
11247 posts

Kathy,
I had not thought about your train suggestion. It is certainly an option depending on schedules. Something for her to research.

Posted by
25 posts

Kathy, I'm confused on your question:
Ryanair flies out of Ciampino so I'm just guessing you'll be departing from that one and not Fiumicino.
Where is Ciampino and Fiumicino?
I feel like an idiot, I'm even more confused.

I'll check on the train ticket to La Spezia out of Milano Bergamo, I didn't see if offered on Trenitalia. Jay had recommended flying into Milan and taking the train from Milano Centrale. Maybe I should just fly into Florence as originally planned and then take a train from Florence to La Spezia.
Wow, I see why people use travel agents.

Posted by
11294 posts

janetthejockeyrep,

No need to panic. Just as there is Chicago Midway Airport and Chicago O'Hare Airport, many cities in Europe have multiple airports. And just as Newark Airport is in New Jersey, but is close to New York City and serves it no differently from JFK or LaGuardia, some European cities are served by airports that are not "theirs." This has become especially prevalent with discount airlines like Ryanair - if they flew in the US, they'd probably call Milwaukee's airport their "Chicago airport."

So, Milan has Milan Linate (the closest), Milan Malpensa (the largest, and the only one that has nonstop flights to the US), and Bergamo al Serio (really Bergamo's airport, but someone realized that it was no farther from the center of Milan than Malpensa was, so now it is deemed to serve Milan too). Rome has Fiumicino (the larger one, with nonstop flights to the US) and Ciampino (smaller, primarily used by Ryanair).

You do need to know which one your flight goes to, not only to make sure you show up at the correct one, but to figure out transportation options. Malpensa and Fiumicino have their own train stations; the others do not, so you have to take a bus or taxi to connect to a train. From Bergamo, you can take a bus either to Bergamo or right to Milan's Stazione Centrale (huge, with connections to anywhere in Italy). I don't remember details about where the buses from Ciampino go, but the airport's website should have details.

That's why you can't find Milan Bergamo station - no such place exists, for two reasons. Bergamo and Milan are different cities, and Bergamo's airport has no train station (under any name).

A great source of information about an airport, and the destinations and airlines at each one, is is the airport's Wikipedia entry.

The next wrinkle is train stations. Each large city has MANY, and even small towns can have more than one. So, there's Roma Termini, Roma Tiburtina, Roma Ostiense, and many more. You usually want the main one, but there are exceptions. Usually if you do a search and just put in the city name in Italian (such as "Roma" with no further specification), it will find the best connection for you.

The main stations:

-Florence - Firenze Santa Maria Novella (SMN)
-Milan - Milano Centrale, although some trains use other stations; all stations are connected by the green MM2 metro line
-Rome - Roma Termini, although more trains are using Roma Tiburtina. From the airport, you can get a train to either Termini or Tiburtina, but these are two different lines, so you must know which one you want before boarding.

Posted by
25 posts

Thanks Harold, I got confused when they started talking Ciampino and Fiumicino. I didn't know we were switching from the talk about Mikan to Rome. Got it now. I actually may fly into Boligna now vs. Milan. Easier to get to La Spezia. Everybody is so helpful. Thank you.

Posted by
627 posts

and I want to jump in about getting to Positano....

no need to get onto the circumvesuviana in Naples and then get on a bus or ferry.......just take the train to Salerno instead, hop on a ferry straight from there.....no need to squish on a bus or commuter train just to get to the Amalfi coast....if there are terribly rough seas, yes, you will need to get on a bus, but its just an easier way to get to Positano....

Posted by
15680 posts

Jane, Harold did an excellent job sorting your confusion: Ciampino is the name for Rome's 'other' airport. Most of us who fly from the United States go to Fiumicino (full name: Leonardo da Vinci - Fiumicino) airport but some of the budget airlines used more often within Europe - like Ryanair and Wizzair - fly into Ciampino. Bergamo is similar in that some low-cost airlines use that one instead of Milan's Malpensa - where most of us Americans end up when we fly across the 'pond'. So no need to panic!

Here's the website for Rome's Ciampino airport:

https://www.adr.it/web/aeroporti-di-roma-en-/pax-cia-ciampino

And yes, you absolutely can take a train from Bergamo to La Spezia: as he said, your problem was probably trying to enter Milan Bergamo as the name of the train station; it's just Bergamo. The bus from the Bergamo airport to the train station in town only takes 10-15 minutes. But it's all moot if you decide to fly into Bologna instead. :O)

And yes, you can take a train to Salerno and a ferry (if weather allows) to Positano: there are often multiple ways to skin a cat in Italy!

Posted by
25 posts

I've got it all worked out thanks to all of you for helping me.
5/21 (we are leaving a day early, yea!) arrive in Rome, Fiumicino airport (Ryan air flies there not the Ciampino). Take the Leanardo express to Roma Termino and then a train to La Spezia. Still can't decide what town to stay in. Either Riomaggiore or Vernazza sound good, opinions welcome here!
5/24 La Spezia to Firenze, take a day trip to Venice. I think we go to from Firenze Novella to Venezia S. Lucia.
5/28 Firenze Novella to Napoli Centrale and then I'll follow your notes on how to get to Amalfi, going to wing it there.
Trying to decide to stay extra in Amalfi Coast or extra in Rome ( my daughter isn't big into museums)
6/2 or 6/1? Napoli Centrale to Roma Termini ( you can see the trains make me nervous so want to be sure I'm not making mistakes)
6/5 very early Rome, Fiumicino to Seville (going to stay by the airport to be sure we don't have traffic issues)
So how does it sound?

Posted by
4105 posts

Janet,

I don't want to confuse you further, but why not fly on Ryanair to Pisa?? 11/2 hrs. $62
Then train Pisa-La Spezia... 55 min. 8 euro. Train-Vernazza 8 min.

From CT-Florence-AC-Rome-Seville

Posted by
11294 posts

Gerri's right, Pisa is much closer to the Cinque Terre than Rome is, so try to fly there instead. Even if the airfare there is higher, the train fare to the CT will be lower, not to mention the time saved.

A small correction: Florence's station is not "Novella"; it's Firenze Santa Maria Novella, or Firenze SMN. It's important to use full correct names, to make sure you find the right place (not all websites are as forgiving of errors as Google, with its handy "didn't you mean?" feature).

As for where to stay in the Cinque Terre, since you're going soon, you will end up staying wherever you can find space (by all accounts here, the towns get booked up early). If they're full, look at nearby towns like Levanto.

Posted by
11613 posts

Be sure to enter dates as day/month/year; 6/ 1 is January 6.

Posted by
15680 posts

Ryanair flies to BOTH of Rome's airports so it was important to know exactly which one your flight was going to.

Absolutely agree with Gerri: Pisa airport is a lot closer to La Spezia so I'd look at flights into that one.

Yes, the Cinque Terre is VERY busy during high season: I'd book anything at all at this point that still has openings which suit your budget/preferences. Do be aware that depending on where you're coming from, not ALL trains change in L.S. for destinations in the Cinque Terre. For instance, we took a train from Pisa Centrale which went directly to Monterosso with no changes but the same isn't true for Vernazza, Riomaggiore, etc. from there.

My point is that if you're not planning on staying in La Spezia, don't use that as your destination point: use the station in the town you'll end up booking your hotel in for the most accurate schedule of trains.

5/24 La Spezia to Firenze, take a day trip to Venice. I think we go to from Firenze Novella to Venezia S. Lucia.
You didn't mean that you were going from L.S. to Florence to Venice and back to Florence on the 24th? You're planning on going to Venice sometime during your 25th-27th stay in Florence?

6/5 very early Rome, Fiumicino to Seville (going to stay by the airport to be sure we don't have traffic issues)
How early is early? If you're taking the Leonardo Express train to the airport from Roma Termini, traffic is not an issue. Also, if your flight really is very early, you might want to consider a cab from central Rome? The set price from central Rome is 48 euro, and traffic shouldn't be terrible in the pre-rush hours.

Yes, it's very important that you use the correct names for the stations: the Trenitalia website will be helpful as it autofills options if you enter most of it right: start typing "F-i-r…." for stations in Firenze (Florence) and a dropdown of towns appear with S. M. Novella -the main train station in Florence - appearing right at the top of the list. Start typing "V-e…." for Venezia (Venice) and Venezia S. Lucia station appears at top of the dropdown list. Make sense?

Posted by
25 posts

Thanks, I tried Pisa early on and it was booked on 5/21 and 5/22 so I guess Rome it is.
I was just going to take a day trip in and out of Florence to Venice. Leave early in the morning and arrive back late at night.
Yes, I'm already having problems finding rooms in Cinque Terre, should have planned this earlier like everybody else.

Posted by
4105 posts

If you're having trouble finding hotels, look @ Venere.com. They still show availability in
Riomaggiore, Manarola, Vernazza and Monterosso for your dates.

Posted by
25 posts

One last question. Right now I have a hotel in Positano getting there on 5/29 (probably would be late coming from La Spezia, then the ferry) and leaving on 6/2, so 2 full days. I'm going from La Spezia to Florence on 5/24 in the morning and then have 2 full days in Florence and one in Venice (doing a day trip). My question is should I stay one more day in Florence or stay one night in Salerno (not sure what there is there to do) and then take the ferry early to Positano?

Posted by
1929 posts

So...if the last ferry is 3:30, does that mean that you will be staying in Salerno on the night of 5/28?

After visiting Paris & Lucerne last month, we spent five nights in Florence, then five more in Salerno. While in Salerno, we stayed at a great B&B, Salerno Centro. A small place up one flight, but the owners treat you like family. While there, we took a few daytrips to rural Campania, Amalfi & Pompei, but would come back each night for dinner in this beautiful town that is totally different than Florence. It's a large village/small port city with not too many tourists & friendly people.

First of all, if opting for a hotel, I would stay somewhere near the Old Town, which is within a half-mile of the Salerno train station, straight down the main promenade, Corso Vittorio Emmanuele. If you get there before sunset, go for a walk on the Lungomare Trieste along the bay, near the port where the ferry will take you to Positano the next morning. Dinner at most restaurants in Salerno don't begin until 8:00, but there is Pizzeria Trianon, true Vera-rated Napolitan pizza (founded in Naples in 1923), that is open continuously. Fantastic stuff. Food is much more seafood-based than you will have seen in Florence--I really thought it was wonderful.

Your trip plans are coming along great! :)