Train from Positano to Rome?
 

We'll be staying in Positano in May and have to figure out how to make it to Rome in time for our 10am flight. We won't have a car, so I've investigated the online train schedules. However, I haven't found a site that shows Positano as a destination. Perhaps I have to take the local bus to the nearest train station, but I'm not sure which town that would be. <BR> <BR>Can anyone suggest the best way to get from Positano to Rome? Considering our 10am flight, I'm wondering if we need to spend our last night in Rome. <BR> <BR>Any thoughts?

Dear Jane, <BR>I think that once you string together the transfer from Positano to Naples, then Naples to Rome via train, you will be pretty frazzled trying to make a 10am flight. In that situation, you would need to leave the night before. Is it too late to change your airlined ticket to depart Naples instead? I would begin to investigate a transfer from Positano all the way to Rome via private car. <BR>Last year we used Positano car service, and they were very reliable. You can request a rate through the internet at www.starnet.it/car-service. You can also see more information on Positano there. The email address for Positano car service is [email protected]. <BR>The fax number is 011-39-089-875867 (you may need to drop the 0 before the 89). They will give you door to door service. If you are trying to accomplish the transfer as cheaply as possible, then you will need to bus from Positano to Naples, then train up to Rome. Depending on how many people are traveling, the private car may be <BR>less expensive. If Positano car service returns a rate that is too high, you can always fax your hotel to request advise on another private car that may offer a lower rate. One last thing, if you end up taking the train from Naples to Rome, don't rely on the schedules offered by Rail Europe, you need to check a Thomas Cook train schedule. There are alot more trains running than Rail Europe will offer you. <BR>Email back to me if I can offer any other advise.

Think seriously about booking a night close to the Rome airport unless you can change your flight to leave from Naples. Even with a private car you face unpredictable traffic from Positano to Rome. We encountered a terrible jam somewhere around Naples even with an experienced private car driver. A taxi from Positano to Naples is a cheaper option than a car all the way. I hate intricate connections on the morning of a flight and sleep much better knowing that the airport is a short hop away.

You would need to take the bus from Positano to Sorrento. At Sorrento you would take the Circumvesuviana train to Naples and the FS train to Rome Termini Station and change for the train to the airport. The Sorrento site on the net has the bus schedules. There is also a site for the Circumvesuviana on the net and the FS is on www.fs-on-line. However, everyone is right--it would probably take too long, but too hair-raising to try to make it by 10 a.m. Marilyn

I knew I could count on smart, savvy, and wonderfully solicitous Fodorites for sound advice! Thanks to all of you for your help. I'll find out if there's any way to change our flight to Naples, but in any case, all the website information is tremendously helpful. If we do have to go to Rome, I can calculate how much time we'll need to get there. <BR> <BR>Christine, are the Thomas Cook rail schedules online?

Jane, <BR>I don't know that you can pull up train schedules from the Thomas Cook guide on line. Even if you just get a look at the guide in the library or book store, you can see that there are more trains than what Rail Europe will offer to sell you point -to- point. I find Rail Europe exasperating to deal with. Also, Italian rail occasionally goes on <BR>strike, and some service is delayed or disrupted. Another reason to be sure to <BR>get up to Rome the night before. Again, I want to encourage you to exhaust your options for a private driver , door-to-door, from Positano to Rome. He can deliver you the night before as well. The drivers are willing to negotiate the rate. So get your prices together for the cost of the train plus overnight hotel, and see how that compares to the cost of a driver. Or fax your hotel for suggestions, explain in the fax that you <BR>are looking for an economical, but convenient way to get from Positano to Rome without all those transfers with bags.

Most probably, your cheapest option would be a taxi from Positano to Naples and a train thereafter (with a train change in Rome). In my opinion, though, your risks would be quite higher than going by car all the way (and you would have to start earlier ...) <BR> <BR>A "normal" drive from Positano to Fiumicino airport should take about 3 hours. Early in the morning, unless you have a car breakdown or a natural disaster, this should never take more than 4 hours. If you leave Positano at 4:00am, 99 times out of 100 you'll be in Fiumicino before 8:00am. <BR> <BR>Of course, if you want to play it safe, you could travel the day before your flight. You would still have to find your way to Naples (either a bus to Sorrento and the Circumvesuviana train thereafter, or a taxi directly to Naples - about 50 minutes) then to your hotel in Rome, then to the airport the next morning ... a pain in the neck which this 1% chance of foul up doesn't justify. <BR> <BR>My option would be to enjoy my last night in Positano, negotiate a reliable transfer service, and depart early in the morning even if that would cost me an extra $100. <BR> <BR>Paulo <BR> <BR>PS. For compararison with the transfer service cost, suposing a perfect trade off for the one night hotel costs in Positano and Rome, I estimate a minimum of Lit 140,000 for two people to get from Positano to Rome and airport using public transportation and local taxis. <BR>

This post is very helpful. Our return flight to US is from Naples airport (6:30 a.m., ugh!). Originally, I reserved a hotel in Naples to be near the airport but this post gave me the courage to stay in other places other than Naples. We are now deciding on whether to stay in Sorrento or Positano. Any recommendation on a good, moderate hotel (preferably with a water view) will be appreciated. Thanks to all and most especially Paulo (I have been copying your feedbacks as they are very helpful and informative.

Dear Jane, <BR>Personally, I wouldn't think of staying so far away from the airport! You just don't know if the driver might oversleep the morning you need him, part of the roadway suddenly may be closed due to heavy rains (that happened to us), traffic accident (even though you'd have to leave the hotel about 4am to check in early enogh for a 10am flight), etc. I'd spring for the extra $ just for the peace of mind of being much closer to the airport.