Transport to Sorrento from Rome's international airport FCO

It has been 5 years, so the details are a little fuzzy but we took a train to naples, boat (lovely) to Sorrento. It is magical. See if you can rent a private boat tour - it costs around $300 for our family of 5 for a trip up the coastline. It was the highlight of our 2 weeks in Italy. Seemed extravagant but really well worth the cost. Went to pompeii after sorrento by train - that train was a little sketch or maybe it was the one from pompeii to naples but the real risk is in Naples. We got off the train one stop early(easy to do) and had to schlepp through naples pulling our suitcases - and I was mugged in broad daylight by a motorcyclist - attempted to "bump" one of our kids with his motorcycle which caused me to lunge for him and he grabbed my cross necklace right off my neck. Be aware in Naples. Don't skip Sorrento
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oh dear, that's scary... did you have to drag the luggage from the station to wherever the boat was then?

The easiest way, by far, would be a pre-booked car from the airport to your Sorrento hotel. This will probably cost about €300. Rome Cabs and Rome In Limo are two companies often recommended here (no personal experience). Rome2Rio shows an estimated time of 3 hours for this trip.

Or, you can take a train from the airport to Roma Termini station (about 30 minutes), then a train from Roma Termini to Napoli Centrale Station (about 2 hours), then the Circumvesuviana train from Naples to Sorrento (about 1 hour). Remember, these trains are not coordinated, so you're looking at 4-5 hours door to door. You also have to wrangle your kids and luggage through all these connections. And I haven't looked up the prices, but with four people, the cost of all this may not be so much less than the pre-booked car.

Of course, you can use a taxi for any portion of this. A taxi from FCO to Roma Termini has a fixed rate of €48, and no tipping is required above this. A taxi from Napoli Centrale to Sorrento costs about €80-100. Personally, I'd just go for the car all the way from FCO to Sorrento - but that's easy for me to say, since it's not my money.

LOL, Harold, that is a lot of money! Is there some sort of bus or coach service? Our flight arrives around 1pm

A third way is Marozzi bus from Rome Tiburtina train station to Sorrento. You would take a train from the airport to get to the station; they run frequently (8 euro.) That bus only runs once or twice a day, depending on the day (at 7:00AM and/or 3:00 PM). Takes about 4 hours, and costs 19 euros one way.

http://www.marozzivt.it/home

BUT if your flight doesn't land until 1:00 and you have to collect luggage and get through passport control, I don't think you have a chance of making it.

Sorrento is quite some distance from Rome; that's why private transport is expensive.

(edited)

did you have to drag the luggage from the station to wherever the boat
was then?

Michelle, you have to take some sort of transport (taxi or bus) from the central train station in Naples to the ports where the boats depart. Something to be aware of when traveling in Italy? You're going to be dragging that luggage here and there, and dealing with steps. Pack as lightly as possible if your children aren't old enough to help manage the bags.

You have so many posts it's hard to get the complete picture. I returned to your first post...I think where you say:

my family of 2 adults + 2 children (13yo + 9yo) will be arriving in
Rome on the 28th of June at 6am and would love to visit Pompeii before
joining in a 7-day tour in Rome from the 30th of June in the late
afternoon. Should we head down to Pompeii straight away from the
airport? Any itinerary suggestions? Where should we stay? Thank you...

Look back on a prior post and listen to Chani regarding your time and Naples. Stay in Naples. Travel there by trains. You are just wasting more time and money (and your energy) by going to Sorrento for which you have no time. (Personally, I found Sorrento horribly boring, completely touristy and not real Italy by any means). You or your kids will be exhausted by the end of your arrival day. Get two nights in Naples, but not removed at the Holiday Inn. This gives you one full day, which is just time for taking the Circumvesia to Pompeii (it is not scary like many make it out to be, and you won't have luggage anyway with this plan). After Pompeii, if you don't spend the day, head back to Naples to the Archaeological Museum or just relax, walk around on the old Roman Roads and find Pizza. Enjoy this gritty, alive city. I only spent part of one day in Naples due to my companions disinterest and I've been trying to get back ever since. If all you want is pretty, then stay in a 5 star hotel in Rome and rest up.

Wray, I missed that previous post:

"my family of 2 adults + 2 children (13yo + 9yo) will be arriving in Rome on the 28th of June (from Abu Dhabi) at (1:00 PM) and would love to visit Pompeii before joining in a 7-day tour in Rome from the 30th of June in the late afternoon"

Yes, I'd very definitely go with Chani's advice:

"Going to Sorrento with luggage just adds a lot of travel time and hassle. Take the Leonardo Express from FCO to Roma Termini, then Trenitalia to Napoli Centrale (you need to put in the Italian names on the Trenitalia website, even the English version). Check into a hotel near the train station, settle in, go out for a walk around and dinner, get a good night's sleep."

Then do Pompeii the next day, staying in Naples a 2nd night. She's made made another good suggestion for the archeological museum. Sorrento is just a really time-consuming hassle with 2 kids and the little time that you have. You wouldn't even get there until too late in the day to see very much of it.

I also notice that you'd already booked the Holiday Inn in Naples??

Thanks Kathy and Wray for all the information, and thanks to everybody else as well. Yeah, I'll think about it again. With the limited time we've got, better 'seeing well than seeing more'. One more question, is it usually safe to catch taxi from the station in Naples after we arrive? Or we still need to look out for pickpockets?

Or we still need to look out for pickpockets?

You should take precautions with your valuables just about anywhere you go in Italy or just about any popular tourist location anywhere in the world. Don't keep money, passports, credit cards, iphones, etc. in a purse or pocket and you don't have to worry about pickpockets.

There are many ways of stowing the goodies so light fingers can't get to them, and many of us have our individual favorite methods. A cruise through some past threads will bring up tons of discussions about that.

The Holiday Inn (Centro Direzionale E6, 80143, Naples, Italy) has free shuttle service from Centrale/Garibaldi (those stations are connected) so use that if you don't want to take a cab:

https://www.ihg.com/holidayinn/hotels/us/en/naples/napit/hoteldetail

"Every day, take advantage of the free scheduled 8 seats shuttle bus on a first come first served basis to/from Garibaldi railway station. From here, move around with metro and buses to reach all the main attractions a few stops away.
Complimentary Local Area Shuttle
Hours Of Operation From 8:00 AM-To 8:30 PM"

Contact them for more information about how to schedule a pickup and any other questions you may have.

[email protected]
+39 081 2250111

(edited)

Thanks Kathy, really appreciated all your advice. Was thinking to stay at Rome and day trip to Pompeii, but our kids like to take their own pace, so will keep our Holiday Inn booking at Naples. It's away from most of the tourist attractions, which can be a good thing to some extent, especially for kids. BTW, is cab to Pompeii also capped? If so, how much are we looking at?

I've no idea about the cost of cabs to Pompeii but maybe someone else does. I'd guess its not cheap.

The usual method from Naples is to take the Circumvesuviana commuter train from Garibaldi Station (attached to Centrale, where you will come in from Rome) to Pompei Scavi-Villa dei Misteri station. Tickets are VERY inexpensive - maybe 3-4 euro or so - the journey takes 30-40 minutes, and you get off the train right in front of the main entrance to the scavi. Buy round-trip tickets, and do not forget to validate them before boarding the train (both ways).

To Pompei:
http://www.eavsrl.it/web/sites/default/files/eavferro/Napoli%20-%20Sorrento_1.pdf

From Pompei:
http://www.eavsrl.it/web/sites/default/files/eavferro/Sorrento%20-%20Napoli_0.pdf

The past 2 years there has been an express train with limited runs between Naples - Sorrento, fewer stops, and a few more creature comforts. It cost a little more but some RS posters have said it had been a good choice for them. It's unsure yet if it'll run again this year but here's some info:

http://www.napoliunplugged.com/campania-express-tourist-train-to-herculaneum-pompeii-and-sorrento