Fiancee and I are honeymooning in Italy and need to figure out the best setup/deal for train tickets.

We are flying into Rome and need train tickets to get to Sorrento. I believe the furthest it will take us is to Naples, right? Then from there we have to catch another train to get into Sorrento.

Also need a train from Naples to Venice. Where is the best place to buy these? Is raileurope.com ok? Any other advice would be greatly appreciated!

We have made the train ride you mentioned and had no trouble getting tickets after we arrived in Italy. You can either go to the ticket window or buy from a machine at the train station. Assuming you are arriving a day or two before you leave for Sorrento, there is no need to buy them from Raileurope. The ticket will cost more. Do a search for trains in Italy on this site. Try "Italian trains" on the search and you should come up with some information. I can't remember the exact web site, but we took printed schedules with us from that which was a great help.

Someone has posted (Rex, I believe) very detailed instructions about picking up the Circumvesuvia (probably misspelled that word) in Naples. I would suggest getting reservations both coming and going. That is a busy route.
One other suggestion is to get an Italian phrase book and write out what ticket you want for the ride back. I once hear Rick Steve's say that people in Sorrento want your money badly enough that they will do almost anything to help you. I did not find that to be true at the train station in Sorrento! I finally went to a travel agency, but I don't think you pay any more by doing that.

I don't know how much help this is, but this will bring your inquiry to the top, and maybe someone else can be more specific. I think the web site might be www.trenitalia.com. If that doesn't work, try searching on this site in a couple of different ways. This is an often discussed topic, so I think you will find some helpful information. PJK

Hi - just got back from Italy and visited many of the towns you mention.

You can either buy the passes, tickets and/or reservations ahead of time, or do it in Italy. I bought passes and reservations in Italy, but sometimes wished I wasn't cheap and just paid the service fees and had it all completed before the trip (confusion and lines waste time). You can always change your reservation times later.

You can buy point-to-point tickets, or a pass (like one just for travel in Italy, for their national Trenitalia train system). You can get passes for 4 or more days. The gotcha is that even with a pass, you still need to also stand in line and make reservations for EuroStar (ES) trains (or you can do this ahead of time from the US). And if you do this in Italy you can only do this at the larger train stations in Italy (I did this at the Rome and Florence stations). The lines can be really long. It seemed easier to buy point-to-point tickets at any station (which includes the reservation) - many dinky stations had an automated machine. You will want reservations ahead of time for the long routes (like Rome to Naples and Naples to Venice), but you won't need them for Naples-Sorrento or other short hops.

IF you decide to get a pass, AND decide to do this in Italy, I wasted much time with this part. Look for the ticket window that says "International Tickets" or something like that (Biglieta Internazionale?) No, this doesn't mean you're buying tickets to another country (like I assumed in my jet lag haze), it means you are an international person who wants a pass. The ticket people will probably be very confused, I heard later it's because people don't usually buy passes IN Italy.

Going from Rome to Sorrento -
1. Take train from Roma Centrale to Napoli Centrale. There are some EuroStar trains (quicker), plus some regular Trenitalia trains.

2. At the Naples Train station, see Rick Steve's excellent directions on how to find the "Circumvesuviana" train to Sorrento. If not, here's a summary - get off the train in the main part of the train station, and look for the signs leading you to Circumvesuviana, a different train line (and no, your Trenitalia passes won't work here). Ignore everyone who offers to "rent" you a luggage cart (they're really free!) Go to Cicumvesuviana ticket window and buy a ticket to Sorrento. (Quick and dirty italian - "una per Sorrento". If you want a return ticket also, say "andante e ritorno" or something like that) English and pantomime works, too.

3. There are trains to Sorrento about every 30 minutes, most stop at all stops (15+), a few are direct and stop at half the stops. Just take whatever's next.

4. Look to see what track (Binario) the train to Sorrento is leaving from. Follow the signs to the Circumvesuviana platforms. Take escalators down to platforms. Here, watch your luggage carefully, and look at the front of the trains for a destination (Sorrento) as the tv monitors on the platforms weren't correct (and people got on the wrong trains).

5. Train ride is, I think, about 30 minutes. Same train passes by the stop for Pompeii, which I really liked. The last part of the ride to Sorrento is breathtaking. Sorrento is the very last stop.

6. Where's your hotel? Ours was the Hotel Il Nido, way up the hill - taxi ride was like 30 euros? Ouch. You can also take a public bus. If your hotel is remote (like mine was), many hotels have shuttle busses into town and the train station. Ask your hotel what they recommend.

Have a Limoncella for me in Sorrento!!!

Thanks for the GREAT info, Carin! We are staying at the Grand Aminta Hotel. It's supposed to be very nice. I am so excited!

I'm thinking I'm going to buy my point to point passes ahead of time to avoid any lines and confusion. I think I'll feel more assured knowing that I have tickets beforehand.

Flattering, but I don't think I have ever posted anything about the Circumvesuviana.

I have never taken any train south of Rome.

But it sounds like you good info all the same.

Whatever your plans, congratulations on your new life in marriage.. and...

Best wishes,

Rex

It's easy to buy your ticket in Italy. Be prepared for half-hour or more line-up. (Ticket people will close their window and take their break when it's due, leaving the whole line to shift to anither window...). I found most ticket sales pretty good at interpreting what you want.

Circumvesuvia was downstairs to the ticket boot, and then over and downstairs again to the platform. (But NOT the subway. It just seems like it...) They're right. Which train and which platform was confusing even to the engineer and conductors when we were there. they were arguing over when the next train would go because everything was running late...

Good luck. Should be fun.