RP2015

I would like to take a day trip to Positano from Rome by public transport. What are the best options in terms of time and money? Ferry vs train vs bus? Thank you for your help!

RonZ

Not going to happen, takes too long, maybe 4 hours.

Blueeyedcod

You can go for the day. Get the earliest high speed rail from Rome to Salerno and then take a ferry connection to Amalfi. If you want to see Positano, you can take the ferry there as well.
This plan ONLY works if you travel in season when the ferries run from Salerno and that is until October 31.


To return, reverse the journey. It will be a long day so get an early start.

nytraveler

You need to have a look at the ferry schedules (they don't run that often) and see what train you would have to take to get there in time. Minimum time Rome to Salerno is about 2 1/4 hours (but some trains take much longer), then get to ferry terminal, then trip to Positano. I would assume you will be in RT transit at least 8 hours.

IMHO too long for a day trip but if you are willing to start early enough (train at 6 am?) and it's worth it to you - go for it.

RP2015

Thank you for the advice! Would I need to take a ferry? Could I take a high speed train to a nearby town and then take a bus to Positano? Since we are only visiting Positano, and the bus ride itself is scenic, we don't mind the 8 hours of transit time. This is how I imagine the itinerary to go:
Leave Rome by 7:30-8am, arrive to Sorrento and then bus to Positano? Or Rome to Salerno and then a bus or ferry to Positano? Are either of those transport methods possible? We would plan to leave Positano by 6-7pm. The area is so beautiful, we don't mind the travel time if it means we get to the see the area.

letsgeaux

I agree that this will take too long for a day trip, but this is how I would do it: High speed train from Roma Termini to Napoli Centrale then a www.transferelax.com driver to Positano. We did this last year.

dreamon

You can certainly do as you suggest but it would be a very long day.

If you take the train to Naples, then local train to Sorrento, then bus to Positano, it will take approximately 3hrs to Positano plus connection time and assuming you take the fastest possible train from Rome to Naples.

Via Salerno is also possible as you've suggested. There are ferries along the Amalfi Coast but they are not that frequent so could add to your journey time if you don't get a suitable connection. From memory it's roughly about a kilometre from Salerno train station to the ferry dock.

Timetables are all available online so check them out. As said above, they will vary by season. Naturally, the fast trains to Naples are cheaper if purchased in advance.

Lazy_Banarasi

You have not mentioned the travel date so as to get an idea about the high/low season.
I have never been there but we are planning for a trip in Dec'15 and have done extensive research. Due to the low season at that time the best way to reach Positano from Rome would be to take a fast train to Naples and then a taxi to Positano (100€). You also have bus option from Naples to Positano (35€), so it depends on the group size as well. We are 3 people so Taxi is a great deal than bus as we have a private transfer and on top of that we save 5€.
http://www.positanoshuttle.com (Info about the bus shuttle)