starrbright01

Leaving for Italy in June on mother/daughter trip! For all of you Italy experts out there, can you please tell me if you had it to choose - would you choose to take a bus from Rome to Positano or would you choose to take the train to Naples and then hire a driver from our Positano Hotel to pick us up in Naples and drive us to Positano? I realize it would be considerably cheaper to take the bus - but maybe not quite as enjoyable of an experience. Hiring the driver may be nice - it is more expense and also more "logistics" involved. Is your opinion that it is well worth taking the train and hiring the driver?

Thanks so much!

nytraveler

Where is your hotel in Positano located?

The town is almost vertical and if your hotel is far from the bus stop - you might find a taxi from Naples a better choice than the bus and then a cab in Positano.

WWK

I would take the fast train to Naples from Rome ( takes just over an hour) then hire a driver to take you from Naples to Positano. One company I can highly recommend from many trips to the area is:
tourofitaly.com Good luck!

kybourbon

The bus only goes to Positano in summer after about mid-June. Otherwise Sorrento is the destination. The bus will cost 20€. Taking the train to Naples will be about 45€ and the driver will cost at least 130€ (maybe more if he is coming all the way from Positano to pick you up). Taxis are a flat fee from Naples and would cost the 130€.

The scenery will be the same whether you take the bus or hire a driver as both use the same roads between Naples and Positano.

GAC

Rome Tiburtina BUS depot to Positano DIRECT bus with NO connections (daily from June 1 through September 30 only):

Depart 7:00 a.m.
Arrive 11:30 a.m.

21 Euros one-way

www.marozzivt.it

http://www.marozzivt.it/script/bigli...pobigl=marozzi

NOTE: The Rome Tiburtina BUS depot is located 300 meters from the Rome Tiburtina metro/train station. Walk out the front of the station, walk under the overpass to the bus depot, which you'll see in the immediate distance.

NOTE: There is also a mid-afternoon Marozzi BUS from Rome Tiburtina BUS depot to SORRENTO, with connecting service on the SITA bus to Positano. This bus could also be taken if arriving by plane same day, and especially if your final destination is Sorrento instead of Positano.

ekc

I would do neither. I would take the direct train from Rome to Salerno, and then take the ferry from Salerno to Positano. Arriving in Positano by water, and seeing the Amalfi Coast along the way, is fantastic!

GAC

Ferry schedule between Salerno-Concordia Dock and Positano:

www.coopsantandrea.it

NOTE: The distance betweeen the Salerno train station and the Salerno Concordia Dock is 800 meters, walkable in 10 minutes.

When the ferry boats are not running (November through March and in season when the weather is rough), you can take the hourly SITA bus from Salerno (directly outside the train station) to Amalfi, connecting to a second SITA bus to Positano. The SITA bus has a large luggage hold.

www.sitasudtrasporti.it

starrbright01

You all are so wonderful to give me your expertise! Every time I think I have finally narrowed it down to two options, I find there is always a third or fourth! Help!! I just do not know! I do know that I want as little aggravation and logistics as possible! We cannot do the Marozzi bus as it departs Rome at 7:00 am and we are not able to depart Rome until sometime early afternoon. Maybe the train to Salerno and then the Ferry to Positano might be best??

Thank you!

starrbright01

Can you please tell me the name of the "Fast Train" from Rome to Naples??

Thank you!

ekc

The last ferry from Salerno to Positano leaves at 3:30, so you would have to catch a train that arrives no later than, say, 3:15. So looking at the Trenitalia schedule, you would have to catch and 11:45 train to Salerno. If you have to leave Rome later than that, you will have to catch the bus or have a driver get you from Salerno to Positano.

starrbright01

ekc you are so knowledgable!! The train to Salerno will not work. I'm thinking the best option is the train to Naples and get the driver from the Hotel to pick us up in Naples. Do you know the name of the fast train and how I contact them for a schedule??

Cannot thank you enough!

kybourbon

>>>Arriving in Positano by water, and seeing the Amalfi Coast along the way, is fantastic!>>There is also a mid-afternoon Marozzi BUS from Rome Tiburtina BUS depot to SORRENTO, with connecting service on the SITA bus to Positano.

trivbeck

Several years ago we had flown into Naples and used a driver who the hotel in Positano had arranged to pick us up. It was well worth the money.

ekc

Starr, it sounds like going to Naples is your best bet. The website for the train is www.trenitalia.com

GAC

The FAST train from Rome to either Naples or Salerno is called the Trenitalia FRECCIAROSSA and the Trenitalia FRECCIARGENTO.

For ITALO TRENO, it's any of their trains.

FHurdle

GAC is exactly right. I don't understand why the train to Salerno "doesn't work." This train runs all day and is very fast even if not always as nice as the trains in northern Italy.

We took a cruise and ported in Naples. We took a short walk to the ferry dock and took the ferry towards Positano. We got off at Amalfi and walked around an hour and got an ice cream. We got back on the ferry and went to Positano. Of course you don't have to get off. The ferry ride was great; beautiful scenery. If for some reason the ferry is cancelled, then you can go about hiring a driver, but really I don't understand this notion of hiring a private driver for long distances unless absolutely necessary, and you have to give them your money, which is not pleasant.

There is a plethora of trains from Rome to Salerno. The ferries run constantly and are also cheap. Easy.

FHurdle

OOPs, I can't edit my post. After our port in Naples we took a train to Salerno and THEN took a short walk to the ferry dock.

wanabel45

9/26/13
My husband & I just returned from a 7 day trip to Italy. We stayed in Rome for 5 days & decided to take a day trip to Pompeii and I wanted to visit Positano. We took the train (Trenitalia) from Rome to Naples cost 11.20 euros each. We changed trains in Naples to Pompeii 2.90 euros each. After exploring the ruins of Pompeii that day, we took the train to Sorrento 2.20 euros each. We spent the night in Sorrento and took the bus to Positano 3.80 euros each. It took about 45 minutes and we got off the 1st stop in Positano. We walked down the windy narrow road to the bottom & enjoyed eating lunch on the beach & feasting our eyes on the beautiful seaside city. We were thrilled to take a ferry from Positano to Naples that made a stop at Capri 22.50 euros each. From Naples, we took a bus to the train station Napoli Centrale approximately 2 euros each. Last leg of the trip from Naples to Rome 11.20 euros each.

ekc

FHurdle, the train to Salerno won't work for the OP because apparently they can catch the train leaving Rome in time to catch the last ferry to Positano.

cmpzqd

This is great advice! Is it okay to wait until arriving in Rome to book the bus to Positano? Or is there an English website you'd recommend using?