We are planning a trip to Southern Italy and Sicily from September 23 - October 8 (9/23 and 10/8 are travel days). We land in Rome. How do we use the bullet train? Should we go from Rome to Napes then to Sorrento? We would like to spend time in Amalfi, not just a day trip. Also want to include day trips to Pompeii and Vesuvius. I found one that included both together from Naples.
Would like any advice regarding cities/sites that "should not be missed".
Thank you for any words of wisdom.
Posted by
Gettysburg PA
9153 posts
If possible fly into Naples if you don’t intend to visit Rome
Fast train from Rome to Naples then local commuter train to Sorrento
( or hire a driver)
There are many many threads here discussing the Sorrento/Amalfi area and transportation issues
Spend some time seaching the forum-filter by date and type
Then come back with specific questions
A good guidebook will also be helpful
Lots of good info here
https://www.sorrentoinsider.com/
And here under individual towns
https://www.ricksteves.com/europe/italy
Posted by
6753 posts
The train schedules can be found on the Trenitalia and Italotren websites.
Be sure to do a day by day plan, like
Land Rome x days
Train to x, x days
Train to X, x days
You may find it gets tight if you need to get back to Rome for outbound flight. You could consider going to one of your other destinations first and working your way back to Rome.
Read up on the differences between Naples and Sorrento to determine which is right for you.
Posted by
🏝️ Hobe Sound, FL⛱️
3491 posts
I would recommend taking the train from Rome to Salerno and either a ferry or bus to Amalfi. Amalfi is a transportation hub and it’s easy to visit coastal towns such as Ravello or Positano. You can the travel to Sorrento by ferry or bus and then to Naples from which you could fly to Catania or Palermo. It’s faster to get to Pompeii and Vesuvius from Naples and the Archeological Museum in Naples is terrific with many artifacts from Pompeii. For a phenomenal view of the Bay of Naples, the city, Isle of Capri and Vesuvius, take a funicular to Castel Sant’Elmo.
Posted by
Washington DC
30528 posts
You'll have 14 full days in Italy. By the time you see all you want in the Naples/Amalfi area, your remaining time is going to be inadequate for a comprehensive look at Sicily. I recommend taking a good look at Rick's guide to Sicily to figure out which sights are most important to you. Sicily is a large island with important sights scattered all over. There are no fast trains, and plenty of places only have bus service (but probably none on Sundays). If you're willing to rent a car for part of your time in Sicily, you will be a more efficient traveler. But you still won't have enough time to see the entire island.