HELP?? We are going for a 9 day trip to Sorrento, however, on days 5-7 we want to go to Florence (one night) then Venice for a few hours (maybe a night), then take the Eurostar back to Naples and take the IC train back to Sorrento. We plan to buy our train tickets by the seat and are wondering if on the return Venice to Naples, we should get a "couchette" or a cabin since it takes about 8 hours? Also, would we be better off getting a railpass of some kind or just paying for seats one at a time? Is this trip do-able or any other suggestions? Also, we may extend a few days to go the Cinque Terre for couple of days. Anyone know how much the train would be Naples to Cinque Terre & back to Naples?

Dianeaz - If you want to travel Venice-Naples overnight, yes - it's definitely advisable to book a couchette or cabin.

Trenitalia currently has a special offer on couchettes & cabins from € 30.
For details go to:
www.trenitalia.it

Alternatively ... have you thought of flying?
VOLARE and ALPI EAGLES are 2 budget airlines which fly the Venice-Naples route. They have very good rates on certain dates. Have a look:
www.volareweb.com
www.alpieagles.com

A railpass would not save any money for the journeys you're planning.

You can find fares for all your rail journeys on the Trenitalia site -
www.trenitalia.it

Naples-Cinque Terre and back will cost you approx € 85-100 depending on whether or not you use Eurostar trains.

Florence + Venice in 3 days sounds a rush!
Is it doable? Yes.
Is it a good idea? Hmmm - the jury's out on that one

Hope this helps ...

Steve

Yes, thanks very much. Are the couchettes comfortable, are they like a recliner?

Hi diane

Couchettes are bunks (think local jail)that fold down from the wall.

They come in 4 or 6 to a room.
You are expected to sleep in your clothes.

You are going to a lot of trouble for a few hours in Venice.

I suggest that with only 9 days that you either visit Florence and Venice or Sorrento, Naples, Pompeii, the Amalfi Coast and Paestum.

YOu might find my

Having just spent 4 days in Venice for the second time in as many months and still feeling like we need more time, I agree whole-heartedly with Ira. Looks like his answer was cut off in some mysterious way but let me add my concerns to his. This is WAY too ambitious an itinerary, breaking up what otherwise sounds like a relaxing vacation. Skip Venice if all you have is a few hours and spend the extra time in Florence. Otherwise, on days 8 and 9 all you will be doing is recovering!All the train cost info is available at Trenitalia.com (Do a search for good user tips for that site on this site.)

If you are determined to go to both Venice and Florence I would catch a very early flight to Venice from Naples. Spend your "few hours" there and catch a late afternoon train to Florence. If you are only spending one night you will only have 1/2 day sightseeing in Florence and then catch a late afternoon train back to Naples.

If you are going to add Cinque Terre to your trip then you should complete the Sorrento part and then head north to Florence/CT and Venice and not waste so much time traveling.

Yes, we are going to skip Venice and spend 2 nights in Florence. We've been both places but didn't spend much time. We are going to add Cinque Terre at the end of our Sorrento trip and do Florence in the middle since the train is only a few hours. Our home based guided tour is 7 days in Sorrento. Florence will be 2 days in the middle. At the end when we fly out, going to take train to Milan. But from Naples to Cinque Terre all I can find on the train site is Naples to Genoa and wondering if you can jump off at one of the (5) towns before Genoa, or maybe take a different train?

I have the Thomas Cook Summer Rail Timetable with me, if you give me your date I will look up Naples to Genoa for you.

Hi diane,

If you go to www.trenitalia.com and click on the Italian flag you will see that there are IC trains from Napoli to La Spezia.

From there you take the local trains to the CT towns.

See http://www.italyheaven.co.uk/liguria/cinqueterre.html

I'm sure glad I found this website. Our date is April 3,2005, Naples (Sorrento) to Genoa,then April 5 to Milan. Our tour charges $100 ea for deviation since we're thinking Milan instead of Naples to fly back to U.S. (shorter distance) At beginning we fly into Naples (Sorrento). Do they have trains to go to all 5 towns and can you jump off and on again after each town the days we are there on Riviera? Any ideas which of the 5 little Riviera towns is best to stay in and B&B or hotel? So far I'm seeing around $120/nite on websites which is pretty good split 3 ways.

Ira, there is no Italian flag to click on at that website. I've been all over it and cannot find anything about Intercity trains. Also, what hotel should we stay in to be central to all the 5 towns? I have several pieces of info but no idea which is best. Can the towns be seen in one day and can you get on and off the train?

To see the Italian flag you probably need trenitalia.it not .com

Hi diane,

At both www.trenitalia.com and www.trenitalia.it the opening page shows a Red/White/Green Italian flag.

The other site just tells you about La Spezia.