Can you get from Orvierto to Sorrento by train? Going to be in the Sorrento area 4 days and looking at hiring a driver to do Almafi coast. Can it be done in a day seeing towns along the way?
With a day trip to Pompeii what is the best way to travel, train, taxi? Lastly a day trip by ferry?? To Isle of Capri, or should we stay the night? Next stop Sicily. Best place to leave from is what? By train or ferry to Palermo?? Thought about renting car in Sicily for 4 days with 2 nights in Palermo and 2 nights in Taormino. To return to Rome is it best by ferry or train? Thx.
Posted by
Portland
3647 posts
In May, we traveled from Sorrento to Sicily. I investigated the options and decided that flying made the most sense. This topic has been discussed quite a lot on this site, and I seem to remember that both the train and ferry are very time-consuming - - seven hours or more. If your four days include the transit day, you'll effectively spend one of them en route. We got the Curreri bus from Sorrento to the Naples Airport, 10 euros/pp; and it stops right at the terminal. BTW, you can't go from Sorrento to Sicily by train, so you have to go to Naples in any event. The flight (on Alitalia) cost around $150/pp. There are cheaper options, but we didn't want to deal with any of the budget lines. Same thinking guided our choice to fly back to Rome. Similar price to go from Catania to FCO and just an hour or so. I'll add one piece of unsolicited advice. With just four days, I'd stay in Palermo and do day trips to one or two other places, e.g., Cefalu or Erice. If you go to Capri, it makes sense to me to stay a night. We didn't and were sorry. The last ferry back to Sorrento leaves pretty early - - 6 (?) so your visit is short. If you stay over, you can have the evening and return any time you want the next day. You can pm me if you have more questions.
Posted by
Seattle, WA, USA
7737 posts
You take the Trenitalia train from Orvieto (not Orvierto) to Naples, then take the Circumvesuvian train from Naples to Sorrento from the same train station you arrived in.
Posted by
Toledo, Ohio, US
11613 posts
I prefer trains but I flew from Napoli to Palermo (three hours including travel to/from airports, security checks, and the flight) v. a whole day of travel. You can save quite a bit of money by using the Alitalia.it site instead of the English language one. There are frequent ferries to Capri, but a few months ago some were turned away at the dock in Capri (protest about fares, I think). Other islands, such as Ischia, did not have this problem. If you hire a driver, the Amalfi Coast will be fun in both directions. If you take a bus to Amalfi, be sure to get a seat on the "view" side and then take a ferry back to Sorrento for a completely different view and a much more comfortable experience. Taormina has several parking garages that are close to the town - your hotel may have a discount arrangement (we saved 30% last June). Parking and driving in Palermo is a nightmare, you may want to consider renting a car when you leave Palermo and driving the north coast to get to Taormina (stop at Cefalu). Palermo's historic center is easy to see on foot. We had a car and had to skip a site in Palermo that we planned to see on our way out of town because there was no parking anywhere. I would suggest flying from Taormina back to Rome.