Travel options from Venice to Naples
Jul 25th, 2006, 07:55 PM
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Travel options from Venice to Naples
I am the main planner for our upcoming trip for 2 couples, each of us with a 13-year old daughter. We are doing Venice, Sorrento, and then Rome.
I've been researching our options for travel from Venice to Naples (and then on to Sorrento) and have come up with the following options. I need help (Please!) from those of you more travel savvy than I as to which makes the most sense.
Option #1
Take the train during the day from Venice to Naples. Takes around 7 hours. Husband likes this option to "see the country side". Sounds boring to me and a waste of a precious day.
Option #2
Take the nightsleeper train from Venice to Naples. Leaves at midnight and arrives in Naples around 10 the next day. With this option, I'd cancel our final Venice hotel stay and this becomes the least expensive way.
Option #3
So far, it only look like Alitalia has morning flights on Mondays from Venice to Naples. This would be the most expensive option, but the fastest. My husband says that flying will be a hassle.
He wants to know if it is easier to get to the airport or to the train station from our hotel near the Rialto bridge.
Help! I'm feeling the pressure of trying to make everyone happy and I need a support group!
Thanks for your guidance.
I've been researching our options for travel from Venice to Naples (and then on to Sorrento) and have come up with the following options. I need help (Please!) from those of you more travel savvy than I as to which makes the most sense.
Option #1
Take the train during the day from Venice to Naples. Takes around 7 hours. Husband likes this option to "see the country side". Sounds boring to me and a waste of a precious day.
Option #2
Take the nightsleeper train from Venice to Naples. Leaves at midnight and arrives in Naples around 10 the next day. With this option, I'd cancel our final Venice hotel stay and this becomes the least expensive way.
Option #3
So far, it only look like Alitalia has morning flights on Mondays from Venice to Naples. This would be the most expensive option, but the fastest. My husband says that flying will be a hassle.
He wants to know if it is easier to get to the airport or to the train station from our hotel near the Rialto bridge.
Help! I'm feeling the pressure of trying to make everyone happy and I need a support group!
Thanks for your guidance.
Jul 26th, 2006, 05:50 AM
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You can improve option 2 by having a longer night. You start north bound, turn round, and sleep through Venice, thus: Venice Santa Lucia 2156, Conegliano 2243 to 2252, go to bed, Naples 1000. Your sleeping car conductor will serve you coffee and a roll, but you may like to buy in Venice on your last evening some kind of cheese sandwiches, to avoid hunger at ten
Ben Haines, London
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Ben Haines, London
[email protected]
Jul 26th, 2006, 05:52 AM
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Do NOT take the overnight sleeper. Overnight trains are notoriously bad in Italy. Not only do you run the risk of one or all of you not sleeping at all, it may be quite unpunctual. Italy does not keep a full crew working overnight on their train systems -- and it's an old, overused system prone to problems. In the daytime, somebody is there to fix them. At night ----- you get the picture.
I think your husband is right that getting to the airport in Venice and out of the one in Naples is a drag. You are not far from the train station at the Rialto Bridge. And you might find, in the middle of your trip, that a "day of rest" on the Eurostar, lounging in the comfy seats, is actually a quite welcome respite. You can read your guidebooks, write postcards, snooze. And occasionally you'll spot something interesting out the window.
I would make the day an adventure. The day before your train trip, load up on goodies from the Venetian pastry shops and food shops. Get a bottle of wine and a corkscrew. Buy your daughter a beautiful journal in Venice in which she can write her impressions of the city -- or all of you can take turns adding entries.
Have a nice time.
I think your husband is right that getting to the airport in Venice and out of the one in Naples is a drag. You are not far from the train station at the Rialto Bridge. And you might find, in the middle of your trip, that a "day of rest" on the Eurostar, lounging in the comfy seats, is actually a quite welcome respite. You can read your guidebooks, write postcards, snooze. And occasionally you'll spot something interesting out the window.
I would make the day an adventure. The day before your train trip, load up on goodies from the Venetian pastry shops and food shops. Get a bottle of wine and a corkscrew. Buy your daughter a beautiful journal in Venice in which she can write her impressions of the city -- or all of you can take turns adding entries.
Have a nice time.
Jul 26th, 2006, 06:06 AM
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Hi K,
Your fastest trains require a change. The direct train at 13:22 takes 8 hr.
The scenery from Florence to Rome is nice, as is that for the last half of the Rome/Naples portion.
I agree with ben.
Have you considered going Venice-Rome-Sorrento and flying home from Naples?
Your fastest trains require a change. The direct train at 13:22 takes 8 hr.
The scenery from Florence to Rome is nice, as is that for the last half of the Rome/Naples portion.
I agree with ben.
Have you considered going Venice-Rome-Sorrento and flying home from Naples?
Jul 26th, 2006, 08:03 AM
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THanks for all of your suggestions. I'm going to look into the northbound first option for the night train. Is the night train really that bad? I've only done a sleeper train in England, and thought it was great.
Ira, I've already booked our flight. We're flying into Venice and out of Rome. I know its not the best idea for doing Rome at the end, but we'll make the best of it.
Ira, I've already booked our flight. We're flying into Venice and out of Rome. I know its not the best idea for doing Rome at the end, but we'll make the best of it.
Jul 26th, 2006, 01:34 PM
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Jul 26th, 2006, 02:00 PM
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Kim-I'll be doing the same as you, going from Northern Italy to Sorrento-I'm taking Air One out of Trieste Airport at around 1:30pm, land an hour and 10 min. later, get on the bus at Naples Airport that will take me direct to Sorrento-get off in the center of town-walk to my hotel, simple as that.
I've done Rome-Venice-4 1/2 hour train rides -and that was, as you say, quite boring and a waste of time.
As for an overnighter to Naples-I wouldn't even consider that-it sounds awful in every way. I think everyone will be a lot happier if you take Alpi Eagles (although I saw no flights on Alpi Eagles leaving from VCE-only Alitalia) and fly out of Venice-there's nothing difficult about getting to VCE (particularly not if you don't have to leave on one of those god-awful 6:30am flights). VCE is one of the nicest small airports in the world-you'll be in NAP in a bit over an hour-can't see it any other way but flying.
Also you know you can take Air One out of Treviso for $116.00US one-way?
I've done Rome-Venice-4 1/2 hour train rides -and that was, as you say, quite boring and a waste of time.
As for an overnighter to Naples-I wouldn't even consider that-it sounds awful in every way. I think everyone will be a lot happier if you take Alpi Eagles (although I saw no flights on Alpi Eagles leaving from VCE-only Alitalia) and fly out of Venice-there's nothing difficult about getting to VCE (particularly not if you don't have to leave on one of those god-awful 6:30am flights). VCE is one of the nicest small airports in the world-you'll be in NAP in a bit over an hour-can't see it any other way but flying.
Also you know you can take Air One out of Treviso for $116.00US one-way?
Jul 26th, 2006, 02:08 PM
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Girlspy,
Can you clock out the real travel time door to door from Venice (Rialto Bridge) to Sorrento flying from Triete or VCE? By that I mean, give the time for each element of the journey (time it takes from Rialto Bridge hotel to check in at the airport, how early to arrive before flight, how much time from airport in Napoli in Sorrento --
and do any of these airlines have weight limits for luggage?
Can you clock out the real travel time door to door from Venice (Rialto Bridge) to Sorrento flying from Triete or VCE? By that I mean, give the time for each element of the journey (time it takes from Rialto Bridge hotel to check in at the airport, how early to arrive before flight, how much time from airport in Napoli in Sorrento --
and do any of these airlines have weight limits for luggage?
Jul 26th, 2006, 02:29 PM
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I have no idea how long a drive it is, so this might be completely insane, but have you thought about driving instead? You could get all the way to Sorrento (which takes another hour from Naples if you take the commuter train). Would it be more than a 7-8 hour train ride? More freedom to see the country, stop when you want, have lunch along the way. Instead of staying the last night in Venice, you could leave in the afternoon and drive south, and stay in a small town along the way, to break the drive up. Just a thought.
Jul 26th, 2006, 02:50 PM
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Nessun-I don't understand your post-are you trying to say that it would be just as long to go to the airport to get to Sorrento than to travel on an uncomfortable overly time consuming train overnight? Where you may have to switch trains in Rome at some point? Hardly.
Go to Piazzale Roma in Venice and catch the bus to VCE -it takes 20 minutes to the airport, assuming your flight leaves at 11:30am-get on your flight-it takes 70 minutes to NAP, catch the "Currieri" bus to Sorrento that leaves every 90 minutes until 7:30pm, and 75 minutes later you're at Piazza Tasso in Sorrento. If you caught the 2:30pm bus at NAP, you'd be in Sorrento at 3:45pm. - not bad at all.
Go to Piazzale Roma in Venice and catch the bus to VCE -it takes 20 minutes to the airport, assuming your flight leaves at 11:30am-get on your flight-it takes 70 minutes to NAP, catch the "Currieri" bus to Sorrento that leaves every 90 minutes until 7:30pm, and 75 minutes later you're at Piazza Tasso in Sorrento. If you caught the 2:30pm bus at NAP, you'd be in Sorrento at 3:45pm. - not bad at all.
Jul 26th, 2006, 02:54 PM
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Also, the Currieri bus is public transportation-it costs 6 Euros one-way. However, if you opted for private transportation from NAP to Sorrento, say limousine service (if which there are many) or taxi-that would obviously be more expensive, but it would get you to Sorrento even faster- probably a bit after 2pm.
Jul 26th, 2006, 04:34 PM
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For what it is worth, friends in Congeliano take the Alitalia flight from the Marco Polo Airport (Venice) to Naples and of course back again. They do not take the train be it a daytime train or a night train.
Jul 26th, 2006, 06:29 PM
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Gypsygirl,
I was just curious. I've never flown out of VCE. How long are you taking to get to Treviso?
I think in general it's good to factor in time needed to get to the bus to the airport, as well as how much time you are likely to want to allow for check in when comparing flying vs. taking a train. (Train travel time should include the time it takes to get to the train station from a hotel.)
How fast you get to Sorrento depends a lot on whether you you catch a bus immeidately or have just missed one and therefore need to wait 90 minutes for the next one. A car service from the airport to Sorrento for 6 people would make sense to me.
I was just curious. I've never flown out of VCE. How long are you taking to get to Treviso?
I think in general it's good to factor in time needed to get to the bus to the airport, as well as how much time you are likely to want to allow for check in when comparing flying vs. taking a train. (Train travel time should include the time it takes to get to the train station from a hotel.)
How fast you get to Sorrento depends a lot on whether you you catch a bus immeidately or have just missed one and therefore need to wait 90 minutes for the next one. A car service from the airport to Sorrento for 6 people would make sense to me.
Jul 26th, 2006, 06:38 PM
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Nessun-I'm not intending to leave Venice for Trieste airport to go to Naples! I'm spending some time over in the "Venetian Arc" as it's called, using Trieste as my base-and I'm going to try to go to Slovenia as well-but I've not decided yet-I like to play things by ear until the last minute. My main objective is to see the incredible Roman city of Aquileia, and Muggia (ssteve is going there as well)-and hopefully a few other places, like the island resort of Grado.
I was thinking of taking Meridiana Airways out of Verona to Naples for US116.00, but that would be too much backtracking-better to pay just a little more -US 174.00 I believe, on Air One out of Trieste-that will work very well for me.
I was thinking of taking Meridiana Airways out of Verona to Naples for US116.00, but that would be too much backtracking-better to pay just a little more -US 174.00 I believe, on Air One out of Trieste-that will work very well for me.
Jul 26th, 2006, 06:47 PM
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Love Italy-as I'm sure you know, Conegliano is a lovely little Prosecco-producing town-part of the Prosecco Wine Road-with its own 14th century Duomo. I always think of the name of this town as "rabbit" which is "coniglio" in Italian-but it isn't the same word-I only think of it that way.
Jul 26th, 2006, 07:05 PM
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Hi girlspytravel, how interesting that you should mention Congeliano. That sweet and serene small city of about 36,000 people is my "home away from home". I know almost every little nook and cranny of Congeliano. I have so many friends that live there also.
The Duomo, one family that is like a family to me owns the building to the right of the Duomo when facing the Duomo. The bedroom I stay in is on the 4th floor (5th per US standards). The bell tower of the Duomo is right across from the bedroom windows . Ding, Dong, 24/7 every 15 minutes etc. Music to my ears. My friend calls the belltower the "pumpkin" which is funny but I understand as it does look rather like a pumpkin with teeth and some missing missing teeth, lol.
I don't mention Congeliano too much, not a place most visitors to Italy with two or three weeks would want to visit. But my heart is there. And my home here in CA has so many etchings of old Congeliano (including the Duomo, the plaza and the Castle of Congeliano), an oil painting of the Castle of Congeliano, etc and etc. I just think of Congeliano and I get homesick.
The Duomo, one family that is like a family to me owns the building to the right of the Duomo when facing the Duomo. The bedroom I stay in is on the 4th floor (5th per US standards). The bell tower of the Duomo is right across from the bedroom windows . Ding, Dong, 24/7 every 15 minutes etc. Music to my ears. My friend calls the belltower the "pumpkin" which is funny but I understand as it does look rather like a pumpkin with teeth and some missing missing teeth, lol.
I don't mention Congeliano too much, not a place most visitors to Italy with two or three weeks would want to visit. But my heart is there. And my home here in CA has so many etchings of old Congeliano (including the Duomo, the plaza and the Castle of Congeliano), an oil painting of the Castle of Congeliano, etc and etc. I just think of Congeliano and I get homesick.
