traveling from Rome to Sorrento

I hear lots of horror stories about all kinds of things, most of which usually turn out to be utter nonsense repeated by the uninformed. There's no reason to freak out about transiting through Naples. The train station is fine. Don Corleone is not going to jump out from behind a potted plant and make you sleep with the fishes. It's a train station, modern, efficient, safe, like every other train station you'll encounter on your trip. Enjoy a relaxing train from Rome. Get out, go down a flight of stairs, walk down a corridor to a platform where you catch a commuter train to Sorrento. The commuter train has some grafitti on it - that's it. Otherwise, it's no big deal. Nothing to fear. Keep your wits about you, as you should on any train in any city, and you will be perfectly fine. It's cheap, quick, easy and safe (and at times, actually scenic - I thought it was cool). No way I would take a bus from Rome all the way to Sorrento because of safety concerns with the train station. Hope that helps a little.

There are two bus lines from a large bus station adjacent to the Rome Tiburtina train station that make 3hr runs from Rome to Sorrento. Mazzori and Curreri are the two bus lines. They only make about 2 runs a day. Alternatively, you can take the train to Naples Centrale and then take a local bus to the ferry docks and take the hydrofoil to Sorrento. You'll like that a lot better than the Circumvesuviana train. A lot depends on when you will be doing this as I don't think that the hydrofoil runs all year round. Try Metro del Mare ferries.

Thank you for your reply. We will be in Sorrento the last week of September.

I agree. In fact, I'd worry more about the bus if you're planning on putting your luggage in the cargo hold; when we took the bus from Sorrento to one of the towns about an hour south (I'm having a senior moment on the name right now), one of the other passengers found to his dismay that someone had taken his suitcase.

Bus Cargo holds - yeah, I like to keep my luggage with me. Naples train station is fine - if not a bit strenuous. Allow yourself plenty of time to get from your train arriving to Naples to the downstairs Circumvesuviana tracks. Buy your 'CV' (shorthand) ticket on the main level before you go downstairs; follow the signs (and the other people) through the train station - they're very clear! If I remember correctly, there are escalators (stairs?) down to the CV tracks; there are overhead signs telling you which one goes to Sorrento. You'll have lots of company - it's a commuter train; by the time you get to Sorrento, the crowd will have thinned out considerably! Of course, that scenario works in your favor on the return trip, or trips to Pompeii/Herculaneum; the train starting in Sorrento will be nearly empty ;-) I didn't even think about the 'scary' CV train until after I had returned home! It was perfectly fine, too! Because it's a commuter train, it's typically pretty full, but that's OK. The bus skeds didn't work at all with our travel sked - so even though I looked into that, it was a definite no-go. The horror stories about Naples Centrale are spreading throughout Europe - even the 'nice' countries' train/bus stations are being targeted by theives more openly. Just be alert, watch your stuff as usual, and Wear That Moneybelt. Enjoy Sorrento, however you get there!