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Sorrento to US via Rome with a group

I'm taking a group to Sorrento in October and our workshop is over October 4th. We do not have transport back to Rome to catch flights to US. What is the best way to get back to Rome for our flights? One travel agent said to take flights from Naples, but all flight would leave super early 6 am (i think) in order to get to Rome in time to catch flight to US. This would mean finding a shuttle from Sorrento to Naples at least 4 am. Another travel agent suggested booking a private transport, but I have no idea who to get or what time to book it in order to arrive in time for flights. Yet another, says take the train. Ay carumba! Please, can anyone help? There will be between 10 and 15 people who would use the transport, with all their baggage. Thanking you in advance!

Posted by
186 posts

We took the train from Sorrento to Rome--Trenitialia and it was clean and easy. If you are worried about getting into Rome with enough time for your flight, you can always leave the day before and enjoy one short day there before your departure . . .

Posted by
4105 posts

If your flight home is before 11:00, you need to spend the last night in Rome.

If it's later in the day, here is the schedule for the Circumvesuvian train that connects Sorrento to Naples.

https://www.sorrentoinsider.com/en/naples-to-sorrento-train-schedule?timetable_route=sorrento_napoli

For the fast trains between Naples-Rome, and Rome and Fiumicino Aeroporto use...
https://www.trenitalia.com/tcom-en

Personally, I'd spend the night before your flight in Rome.

Posted by
597 posts

With all due respect to the other posters, there is no direct train from Sorrento to Rome or Fiumicino Airport. You would need to take the Circumvesuviana from Sorrento to Napoli Centrale, then take a train to Roma Termini and then take the train to Fiumicino Airport. Perhaps you could check with your hotel in Sorrento as they may have suggestions for booking private transportation, or someone on this forum may have completed a similar trip. My guess, since you didn't say when your flights leave Rome, is that you will need to travel to Rome the day/night before your flights regardless of how you choose to get to the airport.

Posted by
7179 posts

RJean's post is very helpful, because it makes clear that there are two changes of train required to get all the way to FCO from Sorrento. Additonally, while advance purchase Frecciarossa tickets are nicely priced, they cannot be changed or cancelled. I guess that by the end of the trip you will be experienced with herding cats, and getting 15 people to be one place at one time! I don't envy you, because you may not have the "authority" of "an official guide" or the tour provider.

You should not be surprised that you get multiple solutions to your request for information. Travel is like that. Issues like cost, flexibility, luggage space, elapsed time, comfort, disability accomodation all come into the mix. Without the time of the flight home from FCO, you can't make an informed decision. It might be wise when you post again to give the average age, travel experience, and the typical amount of luggage when you post again.

You have to think about, when you enter trains three times, you will have 15 people trying to put their bags in a luggage rack that probably does not have room for all the bags. Then they will be dragging their bag to their seat and either taking someone else's reserved space with the bag, or struggling to put a heavy bag over their head, and into a rack that will not take such a large bag. (Many Circumvesuviana cars have only over-seat luggage racks and those are about 9" wide, unsuitable for even carryons. And all Circumvesuviana cars, an unreserved commuter/subway service, are jammed above capacity. It's a nightmare to get more than two 24" bags into each door-door loading area, and it's a problem for people getting off before the last stop.)

Many, many tourist families make this trip every day, almost all year round. But doing it with a big group not used to obeying parents makes it different. Maybe you can add up the rail costs, and thus make a case for chartering a private 49-passenger bus (assuming that smaller busses won't have the space for your luggage, but I'm not an expert on busses.) The reason this is so hard is that it's not a job for amateurs. (I mean that kindly. It's related to the fact that you are going to have to sell the cost of the transfer as an add-on, because it wasn't in the original agreed itinerary, like a Group Inclusive Tour from a big provider that does it all the time.)

You would still have ground transport issues if you could get a Naples flight, but I agree that this is not a good idea. You can't work with a status like "super early 6 am (i think)". You have to buckle down and study the air options (and their costs) to your home city (which we also don't know.)

Posted by
374 posts

With 10 to 15 people, why not hire a driver with a van?

Posted by
1025 posts

Your post seems to imply that your group will be leaving Sorrento on October 4th, and then catching a plane from Rome back to the US later on the same day. Am I misunderstanding this?

If this is your plan, I perceive it to be extremely unwise. Most experienced travelers to Italy would much rather spend the night before an international flight in the city of departure, or in this case, Rome. Murphy's law dictates that whatever can go wrong, will go wrong. Railway strikes, derailments, floods, tornados, the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius, or any number of other events could really spoil your trip. Plus, if you are doing the planning for the group, add another layer of difficulty.

Enjoy Sorrento. Eat, drink, and just enjoy the place. Then, when it is time to leave, take a train or plan from Naples to arrive the evening before departure. You'll be much happier.

Posted by
11027 posts

If your flight out of Rome is before 6PM, you really should spend the night of the 3rd in Rome.

If you miss the flight it would a) expensive to book new flights and b) unlikely you would find 15 open seats to be had.

How are you getting to Sorrento? Can you not just reverse the process to get back to Rome?

Posted by
52 posts

Thank you all so much for your input. Tim I agree with you. I've been taking painting groups (with the help of a guide in the host country) for the past 10 years and getting on and off the train with a lot of luggage would not be a good ending to our trip. The majority of these people are over 60, I'd say. Normally, we do take a bus from Tusdany or whereever else we are, to catch same day flights back to US that same afternoon.
So, I want the smoothest, easiest way to end our trip and get back to Rome. I'm going to check into the private transport option.
Thank you. You brought up all sorts of things for me to think about. One can never have too much experience with this! Herding cats is so correct, Tim. But we do have a great time.

Posted by
15677 posts

We took the train from Sorrento to Rome--Trenitialia and it was clean
and easy.

From Sorrento you can take a train straight to Leonardo Da vinci
International airport in Rome by using Trenitalia.

Just to be crystal clear to anyone using this thread for their own trips, there are NO Trenitalia trains from Sorrento to Rome or Fiumicino. The only trains from Sorrento are the Circumvesuviana (to Naples), or the seasonal Campania Express (also to Naples) and neither are operated by Trenitalia. You can't even buy tickets to/from Sorrento to/from Rome/Fiumicino on the Trenitalia website.

Posted by
5697 posts

There IS, however, a scheduled air-conditioned bus between Sorrento (train station area) and Naples airport in case that helps anyone.

Posted by
1929 posts

There IS, however, a scheduled air-conditioned bus between Sorrento
(train station area) and Naples airport in case that helps anyone.

That would be Curreri Viaggi: http://www.curreriviaggi.it/en/ It was 11 Euro/pp.

We took this from Sorrento to Napoli Capodichino airport in March 2017. We had tried to pre-book with them by having the owner of our Sorrento B&B take care of it, but she said it would be no problem, there would be seats, which there was--the 8:30 AM bus (for a 12:30 flight out of Naples to Munich, then to Chicago) was about half-full. But that was just the two of us, not 15 people. And in October it will be much more crowded on the peninsula than in March, believe me.

Since I can't imagine you've booked your air yet, Kristi, I would look long and hard at the overall logistics. In the end, it may be that Rome is the best option to fly back to the States. Personally, I found Roma Fiumicino to be a real cluster you-know-what of an airport with less-than-helpful staff, shall I say. And I've flown in & out of there 3 times, only out of necessity. By contrast, Naples airport is older but way smaller, and much easier to navigate. Of course, by flying out of there you're probably giving up a direct flight back to the US--such are the trade-offs of life!

Enjoy your planning, and may the force be with you!