aossip

I will be in Capri with my husband on Thursday, July 24, and must get to Rome on Friday. We are planning on taking the 8:05 AM hydrofoil to Naples and then taking either the 9:40 train or the 10:00 train out of Naples. I have a few questions: Should I reserve the hydrofoil in advance? Do they sell out? Should I reserve the train in advance? If so, will I definitely make the 9:40 or should I reserve the 10:00? If I reserve one of the trains, can I switch to the other train if that's the way the timing works? I see there are a number of different types of tickets, I see that the "Economy" train tickets can be changed until departure. Does that mean that if I reserve the 9:40 train and miss it, then I cannot transfer the ticket to the 10:00 train? Sorry about all these questions! Thanks.

MonicaRichards

You don't need to reserve the Hydrofoil in advance. I'm not sure how long it takes so I don't know about the train. For a high speed train (to Rome in a little more than an hour) you do need a reservation, but for the slower local trains you don't. We only took the high speed and highly recommend it. Truly a first class experience (even in economy).

AJPeabody

What is your plan if the hydrofoil doesn't run Friday am? There could be a storm or a strike. Will arriving in Rome late or the next day be a disaster?

Dayle

aossip,

That was my question too. When I was returning via hydrofoil from Capri, the 8:05 departure did not run due to rough seas (mid-Sept). I waited over an hour for the next one to show up. In the meantime, I watched other boats and ferries depart for both Sorrento and Naples.

Something to think about. If the seas are rough, consider taking a slower, but more dependable early departure.

Luv2travel15

We, too, had rough seas the day we went Naples to Capri. I don't think I'd purchase tixs in advance. I believe it was about a 1/2 hr. trip to Capri w/ the rough seas.

aossip

Thanks for all your replies. Yes, I MUST get to Rome on Friday. We have something scheduled in Rome for 2:00, so I thought I was leaving enough time to get to Rome by aiming for the 9:40 or the 10:00 train(fast train is 70 minutes), checking into hotel and having a quick lunch. It won't be a disaster if we skip lunch, but it would be a disaster if I didn't get to Rome by the afternoon. Do you think I should wait to see what the weather's like that day, and take either a hydrofoil or a ferry that day, and buy tickets for the train at the train station?

kybourbon

>>>If I reserve one of the trains, can I switch to the other train if that's the way the timing works?<<<

Not unless you pay full fare and change the ticket before departure time.

isabel

I am in Sorrento now. Last Thursday none of the boats in the Bay of Naples ran due to 'angry weather'. While everyone said this is unusual in July, it did happen. The weather here now is very cool and breezy and cloudy (all week) for this region in summer.

The last time we were here (4 years ago) we waited till we got to Naples to buy our train tickets to Rome and the next two or three trains after we arrived were sold out (mid morning), we had to wait over an hour for a train with seats.

Hopefully neither of these will happen to you but just wanted you to be aware that they can. You didn't say what you need to be in Rome for, but if it's really important you might want to go the day before.

AJPeabody

If you must be in Rome at 2 pm, you cannot guarantee that result if you are on Capri that morning. My suggestion, and the implications of the other responders, is to change your Capri plan.

Sassafrass

Having also been there and encountered delay on the way to Capri because of a sudden, rather severe storm, and another time, an hour delay departing Capri, I would not spend the night before on an island if it was an imperative that I be someplace specific the next day.

tuscanlifeedit

isabel: I have a question that won't help the OP, but will help me.

Were the two or three trains that were sold out also sold out in first class?

I ask because it has always been my backup strategy to get first class tickets when second is sold out. I'll not depend on that in the future if you tell me that first class was also sold out.

isabel

I can't answer that for sure. It was four years ago and I just remember them saying we couldn't go for a couple hours, I don't recall asking specifically if first class was available, sorry. Coming down here last week we had bought tickets on line ahead but there were empty seats on the train.

Dai

aossip: You are taking a risk by sleeping on Capri if you "must" be in Rome by 2:00 the next day. Only you can decide if it's a risk worth taking. Another thing that was not mentioned is that train strikes can be called (seemingly) at the drop of a hat. Trains fill up quickly too. It was our experience that seats were selling for a great price one day and in less than 2 days, all seats were sold out for that particular departure. On one occasion we had two choices since our train was sold out, either wait six hours for the next one (arriving at 11 pm) or take a bus for an hour and a half then grab a high speed train back to Rome. We had six minutes to find the bus and get on it, otherwise we would have had no other choice than to wait six hours. All I am saying is that maybe it's better to be safe than sorry.

sandralist

>>Another thing that was not mentioned is that train strikes can be called (seemingly) at the drop of a hat.>>

This is not true. Transportation strikes in Italy are announced weeks and months in advance. In addition, the train between Naples and Rome is guaranteed to run by law even if there is a train strike.

I agree with those you are telling you that unexpected bad weather can cancel all boats from Capri at that time of year. But you don't need to worry about a train strike.

aossip

Thanks everyone for your replies. We decided to return from Capri to Naples the night before to avoid any problems.

Dai

Sorry sandra. I didn't mean to steer aossip wrong. First of all, I am the first to say that I am definitely no expert on train travel in Italy! I spoke of a possible strike solely based on my experience. I have never lived in Italy, and I've only been there half a dozen times. I once had a boyfriend there and one thing that I learned from him was that strikes can happen, so I wanted to share that.

We just got back two weeks ago. The possibility of a train strike came into play for us when our driver in Lecce was concerned for us because he had heard there could be a train strike on a particular day that he knew we were traveling by train. He checked in with us a couple of times to make sure we made it to our final destination.

Sandra, maybe you would agree with the statement that days/times of planned strikes <i>can be altered</i> or even cancelled at the last minute? According to this person's views, <i>"most"</i> strikes are planned in advance.

http://www.italybeyondtheobvious.com...-strikes-italy

There is a list of strikes available. I did notice that trenitalia has some sort of a strike called for in the Campania region on July 25th, but as I <i>think</i> I understand it, that doesn't mean that the long distance routes will necessarily be on strike...but what if they bump it up a day? Could that possibly affect their travel? I am asking because I don't know the answer.

http://www.cgsse.it/web/guest/elenco-scioperi

When I go to Italy, I fly in and out of FCO. Being someone who relies on public transportation, I would <i>never</i> spend the night anywhere else except Rome the night before departure to be sure that I can find my way to the airport on time for my flight. So in the same way that this OP wants to be certain to be in Rome by 2 pm, I think it is wiser to spend the night in Rome beforehand.

Sign me,

just trying to help....