Train from Reggio Calabria to Sorrento in early April, 2016

Hi Mariasmom,

When traveling from Reggio Calabria to Sorrrento, the best train connection would be through Naples. There are direct high-speed Frecciabianca trains taking about 4 hours as well as cheaper, InterCity trains taking about 5 hours. From Naples Centrale, you can take the Circumvesuviana train directly to Sorrento (70 min, trains every 30 min., €5). Another option from Naples would be to take a bus or taxi from the centrale station to the Port, where there are boats to Sorrento, generally every 2 hours, taking about 30 min. Just buy tickets upon arrival at the port.

You can save some money by buying the Freccia trains ahead online through Trenitalia - www.trenitalia.com (can be done up to 60 days out). The Circumvesuviana train is a private train which doesn't show up on the Trenitalia site, but their schedule is pretty regular and rarely changes. There are a few quirks when using this site such as entering towns/cities in the Italian spelling (such as Napoli for Naples). Schedules are only loaded a few months out, so April trains won't show up yet, but you can do a search for hte same day of the week early next month to get an idea of the schedule and price (they rarely change much). Also, others have reported issues buying tickets with American credit cards, but I purchased several tickets ahead online and had no issues. See this webpage for tips on buying tickets through European websites.

Thanks so much for your helpful reply. I appreciate the details . I am wondering if there is any way we could avoid Naples by going to Salerno? Also - is it worthwhile to purchase a first class ticket for more comfortable seats etc.?

You could go to Salerno instead of Naples, it will just mean a longer taxi, bus or boat ride from Salerno to Sorrento. Going to Naples will be faster. 1st class gives you a bit more space, which is nice if you are tall like me. 2nd class is perfectly fine and you will be traveling with the locals. For the high speed Freccia trains, all tickets will include a seat reservation, so there's no issue of being able to find more seats in 1st over 2nd class.

I do like your adventurous idea of getting to Sorrento by bus/ferry from Salerno. I think that you can route through Amalfi/Positano (connection required) to do so.

There's a quirk once you figure out the early booking fare structure for the train: the cheapest seats are Super Economy, available in all classes. Say the SE fare is sold out in 2nd class, but not in 1st - then the 1st class SE fare will be cheaper than 2nd class Economy or Base fare!

You have to be prepared to buy your seats as soon as the dates are loaded in the system. You can get a ticket as low as 9 or 17 Euros on that run! You do have to lock in your train date & departure time though.

As far as comfort, no big difference; a wee bit more legroom & different fabric on the seats. ;-)

Thanks so much, Diane and Rich, for your more than helpful replies for my questions.... am appreciating this interesting forum, which I had not investigated until now. We took our first RS informed trip to Europe with daughters 19 and 15 in 1986- so are long time fans.

You are welcome! I hope you have a great trip

If you don't plan to visit Napoli, I would suggest the train to Salerno, then a bus to Sorrento. If you have to for an overnight stop, Paestum is great.

Thanks, Zoe, for your good input. We have heard that the archeology museum is great in Napoli, so are considering a day trip there- without luggage- from Sorrento. The plan is to stay in Sorrento and then take trips from there to Pompei/Heraculium (sp?) and perhaps Positano, Capri or other towns/villages nearby. I am waiting for my 2016 RS Italy book to arrive, so we can get a better feel for small towns- and I am warming to taking the train to Naples from Reggio and then taking a ferry to Sorrento .