So far our itinerary is as follows:

Rome for 5 nights, train to Florence.
Florence for 3 days.
Train to Positano, positano for 2 days.

How long is the train ride to Naples and on to Positano?

This is an easy one. There is no train to Positano.

Oh, ok. Well how far to Naples, then taking a bus to Positano?

However, there is a Eurostar train from Florence to Sorrento departing at 7:53 in the morning that takes just over 4 and a half hours. From Sorrento, you might want to opt for a car service -- the alternative is a bus or not very dependable connections to the port and then a boat.

mayerfan83,
The train from Florence to Naples is about 3.5 to 4 hours. From Naples you can take the local commuter train to Sorrento then bus or taxi to Positano. You can, depending on the season, take a ferry from Naples to Positano. See http://www.trenitalia.com/ for train schedules or http://www.metrodelmare.com/inglese/home.htm or http://www.metrodelmare.com/inglese/home.htm for ferries.

But I don't think there is any reason to take the train to Naples then the commuter train to Sorrento if you can take the 7:53 Eurostar directly to Sorrento.

The ferry to Positano (Metro del Mare) from Naples took 1 1/2 hours and cost about 9 euros. We thought it was wonderful. We flew into Naples and took the bus to Beverello port, crossed the street from the busstop to the port, turned right and bought our tickets at the Metro Del Mare counter and off we went.

Hmmm ! Patrick, are you sure you do not mean Salerno?

NeoPatrick,
There is no Eurostar to Sorrento because the FS doesn't go to Sorrento. Now they may have a link with a bus or ferry.

OK, I give up. Earlier I swear I went to the DB site and found 0 connections from Firenze to Sorrento Mare from 7:53 to 12:29. I thought that must be something new. Now I bring it up and the same schedule shows two connections for that -- one in Rome and one in Naples. But oddly, rather than show different trains, it still only shows that as being ES -- which it clearly is not from Naples to Sorrento.

Meanwhile that is a point about taking the Eurostar to Salerno (less than 4 and a half hours), where it is a short stroll even with luggage to the docks and getting a boat to Positano. We left Ravello to take the boat from Amalfi (which was actually coming from Positano) to Salerno, with a quick and easy walk to the train station for a train direct to Rome.

Meanwhile, mayerfan, when are you going? Those boats can all be very undependable going to Positano.

I have made the trip several times from Rome to Sorrento. You can take an ES (not Eurostar) train to Naples and then it's a 70 minute trip to Sorrento on the Circumvesuviana Railway. You might want to consider a stop-over at Pompeii as the train stops right in front of the entrance to the ruins. Sorrento is the end of the line for the C.V. railway. You can take a bus to Positano from the train station that takes about 45 minutes. Both the C.V. train and the SITA bus trips are dirt cheap.

Larry J

OK, this part I am sure of. It does show the train from Naples Centrale to Sorrento Mare as 35 minutes! Is that not right?

There is Sorrento and there is Sorrento Mare, Sorrento Piano etc. Sorrento is about 70 minutes from Naples Centrale Station (you go downstairs from the FS station to get to the CV Railway). Sorrento is the end of the CV Railway. The FS mainline trains run a little inland south of Naples to Salerno while the CV runs along Naples Bay.

Larry J

NeoPatrick,
Don't be too sure. It shows a "nave link" not a train that takes 35 minutes. I would guess that it is the ferry to Sorrento.
Henry

Well, what I'm looking at on the DB site shows a little picture of a train engine and it says ZUG 70, 2nd class only. Departs Naples Centrale at 11:54 and arrives Sorrento Mare at 12:29. So I don't think that's a ferry.
But now I guess Sorrento Mare is not the same as the Sorrento station that is at the end of the CV line, as Larry describes.

Meanwhile I'm still trying to figure out why that site showed 0 connections until I clicked the "show intermediate stops" and then it changed to 2 connections. Has my faithful DB site failed me?

NeoPatrick,
Check http://www.trenitalia.com/

Now I'm confused! LarryJ - Since when is the ES train not Eurostar? Here's a link for Trenitalia train descriptions and it says Eurostar Italia Trains(ES).
http://www.trenitalia.com/en/treni_stazioni/index.html

Of course there are other trains - IC, AV,D, R, etc.

mayerfan83 - The website for Italian trains is www.trenitalia.com. You can either take the train from Florence to Naples or Salerno. The connection on to Positano will probably be easier from Salerno.

The only way to get to Sorrento by Train is by the Circumvesuviana Railway.

Hi M,

To get to Positano from Florence, you might want to take the train to SALERNO and the ferry from Salerno to Positano.

The ferry docks are about 3 blks from the train station.

The ride along the coast is quite pleasant.

The ferries are less crowded than the Circumvesuviana train to Sorrento.

For Ferry schedules Positano – Amalfi - Salerno (P.zza della Concordia):
See http://tinyurl.com/j4ufa

OK, Henry I did check that and when you click details it shows a TRAIN from Naples Centrale to Sorrento Mare, second class only at the exact times I gave. I don't think any ferries go from Naples Centrale Station -- do they?
The DB site is so much more user friendly, that's why I prefer it (not to mention that it also covers country lines as well).