We are trying to decide if we can travel by train on a Saturday in Sept. from Venice( we are getting off a cruise around 8:00 a.m.) to Naples and arrive before dark. When I check the train schedule, the fast train is only on Sunday and the more local trains would take us about 9 hrs.?? Also, we have toured northern Italy, we now want to spend 2 1/2 days in Rome and don't know what to do the other 2 1/2 days Siena or Amlfia coast, seems like a long trip from Venice to AC, spending most of free time on train. We fly out of Rome on following Thur. thanks for you help...
Posted by
Merritt Island, Florida, USA
122 posts
Even on Saturdays, you can get trains from Venice to Naples that take from about 6 to 6 1/2 hours.
Posted by
WPB, FL & Firenze
3112 posts
Current Saturday schedule shows 09:21 train from Mestre arriving in Naples at 16:12 (change in Bologna) and 10:54 train from Venice Santa Lucia arriving in Naples at 17:36 (change in Rome). The Saturday schedule in September will likely be very similar. If going on to the Amalfi Coast from Naples, it will then be another 70 minute Circumvesuviana ride to Sorrento and even more bus time if going on to Positano or one of the other coastal towns. Note that many Amalfi Coast hotels offer a shuttle service from the Naples train station for around EUR 100, which is about 5 times the cost of train and bus for 2 people.
Posted by
Elk Grove, CA, USA
6898 posts
Mary, actually, you can get to Naples from Venice by 5:30pm on a Saturday. It's a 7.0hr. journey with only a train change in Rome. Getting of a cruise ship at 8:00am, you will need to walk to the nearest vaporetto stop (water bus) (either the Santa Marta or the Piazzale Roma), buy a ticket to the Ferrovia stop (main train station) and jump on the vaporetto. Make sure the vaporetto is heading to the train station and not towards the Giudecca canal as they do go both directions out of these vaporetto stops. This may take you an hour or so to get to a train platform. You may be lucky at get there quicker.
Next, I would suggest looking at the Venice/Naples as Venice/Rome and then Rome/Naples instead of Venice/Naples. www.trenitalia.com will show you better choices that way. Any Venice/Naples run will stop in Rome anyway.
Posted by
Elk Grove, CA, USA
6898 posts
Next, as Frank has noted above, I am looking at a Saturday in April as September is too early to be accurate. Schedules do change but not much.
CLICK HERE to see current Saturday trains from Venezia Santa Lucia to Rome. I would suggest the 10:43 train as there are no train changes and the journey takes 4.25hrs.
Next, CLICK HERE to see the connecting schedule to Naples from Rome. I would suggest the 15:45 train which gives you 37 minutes to change trains. This is a 1:58hr. journey to Naples getting you in at 17:38
Getting to Sorrento will take another 90 minutes (1:10hr for the train, 20 minutes to change trains).
Posted by
OP
st.paul
10 posts
Thank you to all of you that replied, I so appreciate your input. This is the best web site!!
Posted by
Calitri, Avellino, Italy (& US - where I live the majority of the time)
223 posts
I just did the opposite trip (i.e. So. Italy to Venice)...and it's a long way - I'd either enjoy a day wandering around Venice and take the night-train or maybe break it up half-way...we stopped in Florence for an evening and then took an early train out to Venice the next morning.
Posted by
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
241 posts
For a trip of this length, with inevitable train changes, consider flying. Alitalia and AirOne cover the route for sure. We have booked AirOne this spring.
Posted by
Los Angeles, CA, USA
1449 posts
there is one non-stop train that leaves around midnight and arrives about 10am, according to the trenitalia site. Right now the site went down so I can't tell you the price, but a 2-person sleeper might not be that costly compared to the cost of getting there anyway plus a hotel.
Posted by
The Hague, NL (AMS)
2207 posts
I'm with Randy on this one - I would fly!
The flight on AirOne is $99 (add-on's for luggage, etc. not included) and takes about an 1:10 hours. Conversely, the fastest train takes 6:09 hours with a connection in Rome. The train cost 60 euro purchasing an AMICA ticket in advance - almost an even trade-off.
My wife and I have flown AirOne and had NO issues. Here's a website (Europe-by-Air) that will allow you to see ALL the airlines that service certain routes:
http://www.europebyair.com/efp/index.jsp
Discounts Flights in Europe are often once or twice a day to a location so that may have some bearing on your decision. We once flew back to Rome from Madrid on Easyjet and HAD TO LEAVE at 6 AM - Ugh!
Alitalia has flights ALL day from Venice to Naples and they start about $166... which still beats 6 hours on the train at $95!
If you're going to cover that much ground on your limited schedule, you probably should fly if the flight times fit your needs. Good Luck!