Rome to Naples
 

Advice needed - We arrive in Rome at about 9 am on a Sunday (October 3rd) and need to go by train directly to Naples. (Yes, we considered flying to Naples directly but for a variety of reasons this didn't work for us). So, we are stuck with the train. Can anyone tell me whether we will have difficulty getting same-day Eurostar tickets between these two places? We do not have to be in Naples at any particular time. If anyone thinks this is a problem - what do you recommend? Any advice would be appreciated.

Have a look at this thread:

http://www.fodors.com/forums/pgMessa...=1&start=0

It's a little long and complicated, but GAC is THE authority on this board about transportation in Italy. I know the thread is about Rome to Florence and not Rome to Naples, but the general principles hold, I think.

If I can put his advice into a nutshell: At the Fiumicino train station, when you buy your ticket for the express to Roma Termini, also buy the Eurostar ticket (with automatic seat reservation) from Roma Termini to Napoli Centrale for the next Eurostar train that you will be able to make, bearing in mind that you have to calculate about 20 minutes (GAC says 15, but I like to err on the side of caution...) to get from the Fiumicino express track to the main tracks at Roma Termini.

I'm not sure that Eurostars from Rome to Naples are as frequent as from Rome to Florence, but on a Sunday morning, I doubt that there will be huge numbers of people traveling from Rome to Naples.

Eloise - thanks so much, that was very helpful!

If enter your date on trenitalia.com it appears there are Eurostars at 10:45,11:20,12:45,13:45,14:45 with many IC trains scheduled inbetween. Train time from the airport to Termini is about 30 minutes with departures about every 30 minutes and then you need time when you arrive at Termini to get to the Eurostar. I think I would book the 12:45 from the airport and if you have any waiting time at Termini you can eat lunch. I have booked 6 tickets 10 minutes before departure in summer so I don't think you will have a problem getting tickets.

Eloise and Kybourton are both correct. Look at my posting: "Rome to Naples: Three Types of Trains" for further information.

I can't imagine that you would have any difficulty whatsoever finding space on one of these trains to Naples, particularly on a Sunday morning in October, on a Eurostar Italia train, or on an Intercity train which originates in Rome (such as the excellent IC "Archimede" departing Rome Termini at 11:45 and employing the same amount of time to reach Naples as the ES, but costing less).

If you are transiting through the Rome Fiumicino airport, I suggest that you purchase your onward ticket to Naples from the airport train station ticket window, but be sure to allow 15-20 minutes connection time at Rome Termini Station, where you will be required to WALK about 1000 yards.

If, for some bizarre reason, all the Eurostar and Intercity trains are fully booked, you still don't need to wait: there are stopping trains every hour which still take less than three hours to get from Roma to Napoli. These trains are cheap and you cannot reserve seats. If the next Eurostar is full, you might as well hop on the slow train and sit back to read about Italy or brush up on your Italian.

I've always found it easiest just to turn up at Termini & use a ticket machine to buy a ticket for the next train - or at least the next train to reach my destination, which may not be the next to leave.

Having done this Rome-Naples/Naples-Rome trip 2x when I was just there last week, it is very easy to negotiate. I bought my first ticket at the ticket window, and purchased my second ticket from the machines there. The machines are very easy to use and you can usually avoid a long line. They accept any type of credit cards (I used an AMEX) and you scroll until you find the city(ies) you need then select, and your ticket comes out.

There are frequent trains going back and forth between Rome and Naples so you won't miss any connection. On Sunday, October 3, there are 10 trains leaving in the morning (starting from 8:27 am) thru 12:27 pm. You could easily catch the 10:45 am ES train and make it to Naples by 12:30 pm. Between your arrival and departure, there is enough time to buy lunch to bring on board if you choose, unless you decide to eat later once you've arrived in Naples.

I would recommend going to the trenitalia.com website, typing in Rome-Naples city pairs for October 3, printing out the exact schedule you want (and the next train, should you miss it) and then show that to the clerks at the ticket counter at Roma's Termini station.

Wow, once again I am nearly overwhelmed with the amount of information on this - thanks everyone!

By the way, if anyone will be at the Hotel Marincanto in Positano from October 4-9th, we'd love to meet any fodorites for drinks - email me at [email protected].

Again, grazie mille to everyone!