mhyde1

We will be traveling from Rome to Palermo in October. We will be going on the train. Is it better to go straight to Palermo and work our way back up the Alamfi Coast or go down the coast first? I found a real good rate at a hostel in Naples--located on the 5th and 6th floor of a building, but I have not been able to find it again. I have been told to get off the train and go down the coast on the bus. Does the train go to Sorrento? Is it possible to get off the train, get on the bus, and get back on the train at the end of the Alamfi Coast? This will be a "first" for us, and I feel that the more information we have before we go, the easier it will be.

Katie_H

This post was moved from another forum. I'm topping for the OP.

zeppole

I'm not sure I understand.

You are traveling by land from Roma to Palermo?

Can you afford to fly?

Can you afford to take the ferry?

Traveling over land -- by train or bus -- is very long and people seldom say it's rewarding, apart from seeing the Amalfi coast between Sorrento and Salerno.

If you want to see the Amalfi coastline, I would do it as a day trip from Napoli/Sorrento.

If you want to travel overland on your return from Sicilia, take the train to Salerno, the bus to Sorrento, where you can catch a train.

But research the costs of ferries to Sicilia. You can often find this information on the Slow Travel website.

thursdaysd

Was this the hostel: www.bellacapri.it? Note that the road in front of the building is very big and noisy - I was in a B&B on the second floor of the same building and found it too noisy - likely better higher up.

I took the train from Naples to Siracusa, and flew from Palermo back to Naples. I found the trip down the mainland coast boring, and while the scenery is very good along the east coast of Sicily, the train was VERY slow once we reached the island. I mostly took the train because I wanted to ride a ferry while riding a train, but I was glad to fly back (on Air One - quite cheap). I'd be inclined to take the ferry one way another time. I don't think it makes much difference which direction you go, except I would think Sicily is likely to stay warm longer than the Amalfi Coast.

mhyde1

This is a new experience for me. I do not know what the editor means when they say "I would take the op". We will be on the train down to Sicily, but we will take the ferry back to Salerno. After reading all of these threads, we are tempted to stay for a couple of days on Capri and do some hiking. However, we had planned on staying in Naples and taking day trips down the Almafi Coast. We only have two weeks --minus a day over and a day back. We will fly in and out of Rome. It looks as if Sorrento is off the main railroad line so I thought we could take a bus trip up and down the coast. With all of this reading, though, you make it sound as if we should stay somewhere along the coast. Thanks for all of the wonderful advice.

thursdaysd

mhyde1 - "I'm topping for the OP" means that she is adding a post to the thread, thereby bringing it to the top of the forum, for the Original Poster, i.e. you.

Two weeks is not a lot of time for what you are planning - have you laid it out day by day? The main line trains go from Naples to Salerno, the Circumvesuviana commuter train goes from Naples to Sorrento, no train runs along the Amalfi Coast, you take a bus or a ferry - or a car if you can afford a driver or have good nerves.

If your main interest is the AC, stay in Amalfi or Positano. If your main interest is day trips to Pompeii and Herculaneum and the AC, stay in Sorrento.

mhyde1

Our plans now are to take the over night train from Rome to Palermo. Spend 3 nights in Sicily. Take the ferry from Palermo to Salerno. Spend 3 nights in Salerno with side trips to the Alamfi Coast on the bus, visit Pompaii, and Paestum before going on to Naples. Everyone suggests a private driver, but I think that is too expensive for us. In fact, we may go ahead and take the train to Naples and tour the coast from there. I also understand you can visit Pompaii from there. So many suggestions for spending 3 night on Capri might be too much although we might be able to get 1 night there for hiking and taking the chair lift. I will try and find the hostel that you mentioned. Thanks for the info.

kybourbon

Is there a reason you aren't taking ther ferry in both directions (Rome/Palermo and Palermo/Naples or Salerno)? I think the ferry will be cheaper (Snav has been having a "happy" sale) and much more comfortable. I could get a single cabin round trip on Snav for September for 140€. Since that includes 2 nights accommodations and transportation I thought it was quite a bargain. The train one way (10-12 hours AND reguires changing trains in Naples) with sleeping accommodation was going to be at least that expensive (or more). I'm not sure if winter ferry schedules are out yet. I think the current ones are through September.

Also consider the budget airlines.
www.whichbudget.com

zeppole

I think you'll have more fun if you base in Salerno. You can do Pompeii from there, as well as Paestum, and then simply take the bus up the Amalfi coast all the way to Sorrento/Napoli on your way out to see the spectacular drive. In the alternative, I think it's possible to take a ferry from Salerno to Capri, and then another ferry from Capri to Positano, and then go back to Salerno from there (take the train to Napoli as your exit).

Instead of daytripping to the resort-like Amalfi towns, you might find it more fascinating to poke around Salerno and go to Castellabate di Santa Maria in the Cliento national park (all very close to Salerno) and Velia, or to into the heart of Campania's ceramics artisan works in Vietri sul Mare.

http://www.italytraveller.com/en/r/a...i-castellabate

http://www.italytraveller.com/en/r/a...tri-sul-mare-3

Lodging in or near Salerno and in Napoli will help you keep down expenses, plus also treat you a side of Italian life largely untouched by mass foreign tourism.

mhyde1

I was told that we could take an over-night train to Palermo, and no one said anything about changes. That way we would only use one day of our train tickets. We plan on a 9-day ticket for the train. We were also told that we could over-night from Palermo to Naples on the ferry which would be a delightful change from the train. We could also ferry to Salerno and do side trips from there. After reading so many negative articles about Naples, I do not know if we want to stay there for 3 nights. Everything you teach us will make our trip much more delightful. Thanks.

mhyde1

Thursdaysd, how was the trip across the water on the train? That was one reason for taking the train one way. Will we have to change trains once we get into Sicily?

willit

I would not worry overmuch about what you read about Naples. It is a much maligned city and there are parts where I would not feel overly safe after dark, but on the whole it is a wonderful place.

I wasn't overley impressed with Salerno (it was heavily bombed during the war), but it would provide a much cheaper base than Capri, with easy transport options to the AC, Pompeii, Herculaneum, Paestum, Velia etc.

I am cross with Zeppole fotr mentioning Castellabate ....... Shhhhhh , don't let everybody know !

willit

I would not worry overmuch about what you read about Naples. It is a much maligned city and there are parts where I would not feel overly safe after dark, but on the whole it is a wonderful place.

I wasn't overley impressed with Salerno (it was heavily bombed during the war), but it would provide a much cheaper base than Capri, with easy transport options to the AC, Pompeii, Herculaneum, Paestum, Velia etc.

I am cross with Zeppole for mentioning Castellabate ....... Shhhhhh , don't let everybody know !

willit

Apologies, I don't know why this posted twice.

thursdaysd

mhyde1 - I took the day train, with the Amica discount it cost me 36.80 euro, one way Naples to Siracusa in second class. If you are considering a Eurail pass for Italy I would strongly suggest that you reconsider - train tickets in Italy are not that expensive (and it won't include the Circumvesuviana). If you do a search on this site you will find a number of posts on that subject.

Turns out that you should get off the train on the ferry - all I could see from my seat was the inside of a lower deck. Have you read my trip reports? http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=35123298 and http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=35133064 The train was split before it was shunted onto the ferry, and then the front section went to Palermo and the back to Siracusa - no need to get off the train.

I don't think you should necessarily rule out Naples - there are a number of things to see, and like Palermo it will give you a look at a different side of Italy. BTW, if you're thinking of staying on Capri, do you know about the Hotel la Tosca?

zeppole

I concur with the advice that you research train ticketing, here and on Slow Travel, to see if individual ticketing would be cheaper for your itinerary than a pass.

Napoli is always a tough to advise about.

Most of the time, what turns most people off about an Italian destination is that it has too much modern development. In Napoli, it's pretty much the opposite -- this is definitely a case of arrested development. It is stuffed with fascinations, and feels close to exotic -- but you know what? You're going to get a lot of that in Palermo.

You can probably leave your post-Palermo bookings open at that time of year. If you found Palermo invigorating, you'll adore Napoli! If you felt like it was a non-stop assault, head for Sorrento.

But whatever you do, visit the archeological museum in Napoli. And if you can take a bit more, walk to the tiny Capella Sansevero, to see the wild statuary and to experience the heart of Napoli. I don't think one can quite understand Italia without seeing Napoli.

Castelabbate, Castelabbate, Castelabbate...

kybourbon

I'm pretty sure if you depart Rome for Palermo, you will have to change trains in Naples. You will also have to pay supplements if you want a bed or even to share a couchette (4-6 people). As far as being allowed to take certain ferries with a pass, that only gives you "deck passage" - no accommodations. How many of your train/ferry nights do you want to spend sitting up in a seat? Assuming you are coming from the US, you will already be spending one night sitting up on the plane.

If you would post your entire trip itinerary, we could better help you plan transportation and whether a railpass will be of any benefit (usually isn't for Italy).

FWIW - There is a hostel in Positano. What is your price guideline?
http://www.brikette.com/

There is also a hostel on Capri. I'll have to see if I can locate a link.

thursdaysd

No, you don't have to change trains in Naples. See schedules at bahn.de or trenitalia.it. Do agree that posting a complete itinerary would help us help you.

mhyde1

You all are teaching me so much. I always thought it was best to get a rail pass and make reservations--especially on the over-night train to Palermo. I have always had AAA make our bookings. Now, I feel that I need to get rail tickets when I get there. Our schedule is: we arrive at 8:30 am into Rome. We will do the Galleria Borghese the first day and the prison where Peter and Paul were held. And make reservations for a hotel on our return. We will take the over-night train to Palermo. Spend 3 nights in Sicily. Ferry to Salerno for 2 nights to tour Pompaii and Paestum. Take bus from Salerno to Sorrento-1 night, ferry to Capri-2 nights to do hiking and take chair lift (someone recommended the Floridian), ferry to Naples-2 nights, train back to Rome hopefully, to attend the Festival International Music at St. Peters ( I believe) We will spend our last two nights in Rome. We have been to Rome a couple of times, and if I had been smart, we would have flown in somewhere else, but we are both familiar with Rome and have seen all of the sights (that we knew of). Had hoped to get back to Florence, but I don't think we can make it. Now, that I look at the schedule, I see we will be taking the ferry a couple of times. Maybe, I won't get a rail pass after all. You all have been great!

zeppole

Your itinerary says:

"Take bus from Salerno to Sorrento-1 night, ferry to Capri-2 nights"

I believe you can take a ferry straight to Capri.

The spectacular part of the Amalfi coastline is between the town of Amalfi and Sorrento. You can reach the town of Amalfi by ferry from Capri.

I would suggest that when you leave Salerno, you go directly to Capri by ferry. When you leave Capri, take a ferry to Amalfi and simply get on a bus. At that point, I would go directly to Napoli, rather than stop in Sorrento.