Why does Rick recommend the bus between Rome and Sorrento?

Gina, the bus between the Rome Tiburtina train station and Sorrento is very nice and comfortable. The fare at this time is 17.50E according to their website. http://www.curreriviaggi.it/ The journey, again according to the website, takes 3.5 hours. No bus changes. The downside is that there is only one bus per day departing at 14:00. Taking the train will involve not only changing trains, but changing to a separate train system (Trenitalia to Circumvesuviana). This is not difficult. The fastest train from Rome to Naples takes 1hr10min - 1hr45min depending on which fast train you choose (ES or ESAV). The fare varies between 36E and 45E again depending on the type of fast train. There are mini-fares on the www.trenitalia.com website. Then, you change at Napoli Centrale to the Circumvesuviana train to get to Sorrento. Travel time is about 1hr10min. Travel time on the trains will take about 3hrs and cost at least 39Euros each way. Numerous train runs throughout the day. You get to decide.

Thanks for this quick reply, Larry. It's very helpful. I'm glad you explained that there is only one bus per day!

If the schedule works def take the bus.

Indeed, take the bus if it fits your schedule. It's much cheaper than rail, requires no changes, like rail to Sorrento does, and does not take much more time than rail does. It's quite useful especially for those landing in Rome at FCO and heading directly to Sorrento. To the above answers you have to add the 35-minutes, 14-euros Leonardo Express from the airport to Roma Termini, where you catch trains to Naples. A different train, from FCO to Roma Tiburtina, is only 8 euros and is a short hop. You can buy a ticket at the airport Trenitalia office. Beside Curreri, another bus line, Marozzi, leaves Tiburtina later in the afternoon than Curreri.

May I ask why drivind is so bad or not advisable.We drove all over Italy ( in the Northern areas) why do I see so many not even considering driving from Rome thru Naples and down to Sorrento and even beyond? I am really curious about this. Sorry Gina, for butting into your post.
Pat

Margaret That is a frequent question on this board. Can I suggest searching some of the recent threads to see the previous discussions.

I drove all over while stationed in Italy, and now that I like a slower pace of travel, I take the bus before the train whenever possible. Train tracks are often lower than the street so your sightseeing is limited, but in a bus you can see much more.

To Pat's question - there are indeed a lot of posts here about driving on the Amalfi Coast, but I don't recall much discussion about driving between Rome and Sorrento. What I would say is that the area around Naples is highly congested and the driving is much more aggressive than in Northern Italy. It will be difficult to navigate by car into Sorrento and certainly into Naples. I enjoy driving almost anywhere in northern Italy, save the largest cities, but will rely on public transit in Rome, Naples, Sorrento and the Amalfi Coast. Some have the patience and innate sense of direction to accomplish this (I have the sense of direction but lack the patience.)

Along with this topic, and just out of curiosity, isn't there also a daily bus from Sorrento to Rome Tiburtina?

Yes, there are two Sorrento-Roma Tiburtina buses. One from the Curreri line, the other from the Marozzi line. They leave at 6 and 6.30 a.m., arriving around 10 a.m. Useful, depending on which day and month you need them, and where you stay. (Hard to be in Sorrento before 6, if you are staying somewhere else on the Amalfi coast!)