help with trains!!!
 

Boy is this complicated! We have a rail ticket from Rome to Bari. We were told we can get off at Foggia and then continue to Bari after staying a week in Rodi Garagancio. The train gets to Foggia at 5:00 PM Then we need to get from Foggia to Rodi Gargancio. How can I find out if there are local trains? I am hesitant to just find out when we get there, as we are traveling with kids.I guess we could get a taxi but with 5 people we would need 2 and that would be pricy. Maybe rent a car? Help please!

trenitalia.com is the website for Italy's train system. There is even an English option. Enter Foggia as the departure station and Bari as the arrival station to see what trains will run at what times on your date of travel. The trip will take 1-2 hours depending on the type of train you choose.<BR><BR>I'm afraid I can't help you with transportation from the train station in Foggia to Rodi Gargancio, but perhaps you will want to rent a car for that week anyway? Autoeurope.com is a good resource for rentals abroad.

Take a look at this website:<BR><BR>http://www.ferroviedelgargano.com<BR><BR>To get to the train timetable, click on the little picture of a train next to the words &quot;Il Treno.&quot; It would seem that you could leave Foggia at 17:32, change at San Severo, and get to Rodi Garganico at 19:34. (But not on Sundays or holidays, when you would have to leave Foggia at 19:10 and get to Rodi at 22:10.)

Thank you so much. I don't know how we would ever get this trip planned without this site!!

jahoulih,<BR>I couldn't get into that site. Do you think we would need reservations for the train from Foggia to Rodi Gargancio? Any do you have any idea of the price? I wonder if renting a car would be better.WE will have to do the return trip a week later. Do you know what Rodi Gargancio is like? Is there much to do with kids. As you can see we are new at this. Thanks,

I'm afraid I've never heard of Rodi Garganico until today. This appears to be a local commuter train; I doubt if reservations are even possible, and I don't think the cost would be significant. Just for getting there and back, I imagine the train would be better, but maybe the car would be useful for day trips.

Hi Elaine,<BR><BR> The site is back up. The 17:32 gets to Rodi G. at 22:06.<BR><BR> This will be the last train (unless it is a day when they operate the holiday schedule). If your train from Rome is late, you miht not make the connection.<BR><BR> May I suggest that you take the 9:10 IC train from Rome instead of the ES*? It takes only 1/2 hr longer, and gets you to Foggia at 1:18, in plenty of time for the 2:50 to Rodi G.<BR><BR> What's in Rodi G?

Blue Marine Resort is in Rodi G. It was booked with our timeshare sight unseen. No idea of what to expect. There's a beach so how bad can it be?

Ira, I don't think you're necessarily meant to read the table straight down. For instance, sometimes the upper column is marked &quot;Fer.&quot; (weekdays) and the lower column is marked &quot;Fes.&quot; (Sundays and holidays) or vice versa. So I think Elaine could take the 17:32 from Foggia, get to San Severo at 17:53, catch the 18:01 and get to Rodi at 19:34. (You're right, though - the 17:32 is the last train, so it might not be a bad idea to leave earlier from Rome and catch an earlier one.)<BR><BR>Elaine, this website has some information about things to do in and around Rodi:<BR><BR>http://www.netstar.it/rodi/gb/frame/default.htm

We have already reserved train seats with rail europe for a high speed train leaving Rome at 1:20. I don't know if we can change. If we missed the train in Foggia to Rodi, are there car rentals at the train station so we aren't stranded with 3 kids?

Hi Elaine, and Hi jahoulih,<BR><BR> My concern was that Elaine was going to arrive at Foggia at 17:00 (if all went well) and take the 17:32 to Rodi G.<BR><BR> If the train from Rome is late, she has a major problem.<BR><BR> Elaine, if you have a ticket for the ES*, I am sure that you can convert it to a ticket for the earlier IC train. You might lose a few $.<BR><BR> I assume you will be in Rome for more than a few minutes, and will have time to change your tickets at the station or a local travel agent.

One last question, I hope!! Looking at the train schedule on the site you mentioned tell me if this is correct for our return trip. We need to be at the port in Bari by 18:oo to catch a 20:00 ferry, so we leave Rodi @ 10:50 Arrive S. Servo 12:24 Leave S. Servo @ 12:30 arrive Foggia 12:52. Our ticket with rail europe is Rome-Bari with a stop at Foggia. We were told that we use these same tickets to continue to Bari after our week in Rodi and that there are hourly trains from Foggia to Bari. It looks like this would be the latest connection that we can do to arrive in time for our ferry. Am I reading that correctly? Thank you so much for your help with this.

I think that's correct - you would have to get the 10:50 from Rodi. You could also take the 14:09 at San Severo, arriving in Foggia at 14:31, if you happen to miss the 12:30.