I understand Trains are the way to go from city to city. Eventually we will end up in Positano and back to Rome to fly out of Italy.
Is there a key to the train system. ...Booking in advance?
Traveling late or early? I've read some past posts on luggage and sleeping. Most of these trips are relatively short, I think. Except for the last leg of Positano back to Rome. Book the last night hotel near the Airport for early flight out? Thank you, Barb
Unless there is a reason to use Rome for both arrival and departure (like only way to use frequent flyer miles), you are bactracking a lot on this itinerary no matter how you travel.
You might be better served to fly into Naples (or Rome, if Naples cannot work) then do
Positano Rome Florence Venice and then FLy out of Venice.
Or arrive Venice then Venice Florence Rome Postano then fly from Naples or back to Rome.
If you book two weeks in advance at least (I think you can book no more than 45 days or so in advance) you may be able to get the Amica fares, which are about 15% less than the normal fares. Book at Trenitalis's website, it's a bit confusing but it does work.
The flight has already been set. Wish I could change it. Looks like I will be backtracking that long last leg back to Rome. How long would that take approximately??? It looks like that train goes out of Naples rather than Positano. Thanx
Barbara, except for major holidays, you don't need to worry about buying advance tickets. The Rome, Florene, Venice train runs are the heaviest travelled in Italy. Buy the tickets over there when you arrive.
55 trains a day run from Rome to Florence each day. Another 55 run the opposite direction. Most all are high-speed non-stop Eurostars. A few less make the Florence to Venice run. You won't be able to buy advance train tickets from Naples to Sorrento as the Circumvesuviana train system does not have reservations. And, you'll have to take a bus from Sorrento to Positano. No train there. Plenty of luggage space in overhead racks on the trains.
If you have an early flight out of Rome (before 8:30am), it is so wise to spend you last evening near the airport if you can. If your flight is after 8:30am, you could stay in Rome but near the train station so that you can take an early Leonardo express out to the airport.
Barbara, the bus from Positano to the Sorrento train station takes 50 minutes. The Circumvesuviana train from Sorrento to Naples takes about 1hr. 10min. Then, you change to the Trenitalia train in Naples for the 2.0hr. trip to Rome Termini (some runs take 30min less time). With waiting for the bus and in train stations, I estimate the overall Positano to Rome journey to be 4.5hrs.-5.0hrs.
Just for fun, CLICK HERE to see the Sorrento/Positano bus schedule. The fun part is that it's in Italian but you should be able to figure it out.
