burnma01

I will be on my honeymoon in Rome in May. We will be taking the train from Rome to Naples. I am looking for the most comfortable and quickest way to do this. Can anyone recemmend what train to take? Also, what is the difference between 1st and 2nd class? Thanks!

PalenQ

Take the fastest train - the newest AV - high-speed trains that take about 1.5 hours and go constantly - IMO there is a significance difference between first and second class - first class you can get so-called isolated seats - those with an aisle and a window - rows with just one seat in it vs always two by two in 2nd class - couples can get solo seats facing each other with a table in between. Seats in 1st class are larger - IME there are often more empty seats in 1st class - I always have a nearby empty seat to stow my luggage - 2nd class is typically more full and luggage space more full - but others will say it is only a short trip - I say on the trip of a lifetime - as I presume a honeymoon trip will be - pay the extra, as zillions of Italians do, to go in a more relaxed style. Check out www.trenitalia.com for schedules and fares and if you know exactly when you want to travel book ASAP a discounted but limited in number online seats - can save a lot but even full price on that trip in first class will not break the bank. Beware of IC trains that are much cheaper but take twice as long often and are not nearly so comfy as the newer AV trains. Sites with great info on Italian trains - www.seat61.com; www.ricksteves.com and www.budgeteuropetravel.com. And do not worry about not getting on a train if you do not pre-book - these trains rarely sell out, especially in first class and there are a couple an hour all day.

kybourbon

The fast AV train between Rome and Naples takes only 70 minutes. You will pay about 25-30% more for 1st class (58€ v 45€). For such a short ride, you might not want to pay the extra. Here is a picture of the AV train 2nd class.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...ssainterno.jpg

Are you doing a day trip or going to the Amalfi coast for a few days?

sarge56

I am with ky- save your money for a nicer meal. 2nd class is perfectly fine for a 70-minute trip on the AV train! (No offense, PQ).

A_Brit_In_Ischia

Perhaps someone who lives in the area, who's been doing the journey for a decade now, might put in a word or two?

Things have changed considerably since the opening of the new, more direct, Frecciarossa line - with the day's fastest journey times dropping from 105 minutes to just 68 - and, if you'll be returning to Rome again, you might well care to use that in one direction.

However about half the trains on that service will be offering a wider choice than just the plain "1st or 2nd" - with, instead, several 'tiers' of quality... for which you could pay from 43 Euro right through to 99 !

http://www.pbase.com/isolaverde/imag...51057/original

For some more details, see:
http://www.fsitaliane.it/cms/v/index...008916f90aRCRD

Personally, I'd not go beyond either 2nd class option (43 or 45 Euro) - where so often one meets a nicer sort of person than those whose automatic instinct is to go for First?

.................................

But whilst indeed fast, those don't offer the greatest of journeys.... and for a good part of that new route the trains are either in long tunnels or travelling between the high glass safety walls that protect adjacent farms and houses from the noise and pressure waves that follow in their 280-300 km/hr wake!

http://www.pbase.com/isolaverde/image/129591563

And if you'd rather see more of the Lazio and Campania countryside, go instead for one of the slower and cheaper choices - to enjoy a route that runs nearer the coast, with lovely views of the Bay of Gaeta, and some gorgeous rolling countryside with sheep, vineyards and mozzarella buffalo farms....

Those who commute on a weekly or daily basis obviously prefer the fast route but especially if you're continuing on - either to one of the islands as we do, or maybe to the Amalfi Coast - the difference it makes to the overall trip time isn't so very significant..... save perhaps on a daytrip to Pompei etc, for which I'd suggest coming down on a fast service - as early as you can bear - and then having a doze on a slow train back to Rome!

Lecture over....

Peter

PalenQ

Yes you only get the worst of folks traveling in first class - folks like me! Meet a nicer sort of folk in 2nd class? Wow how judgmental, especially for someone who obviously have never ever ridden in first class so how does he know?

A_Brit_In_Ischia

>>> Wow how judgmental, especially for someone who obviously have never ever ridden in first class so how does he know?

Congratulations: snide, abusive and only semiliterate.

Peter

PalenQ

You say that after saying "You only get the worst of folks traveling in first class"?

Look in the mirror please. You malign everyone who travels first class as being the worst of people. Wow!

A_Brit_In_Ischia

If you must continue this, why not stick to real quotes - rather than falsifying them?

"Personally, I'd not go beyond either 2nd class option (43 or 45 Euro) - where so often one meets a nicer sort of person than those whose automatic instinct is to go for First?"

Peter

PalenQ

What makes 2nd class nicer than first class? Actually in first class you are more likely to meet folks who speak English.

Sorry for mixing up the quote - a big FU on my part so my apologies to you for that - I quoted my own quote that I took from your quote and again that was wrong - I did not do it on purpose but FUed - so yes you are right about that and I am sorry.

You give great info above and if your opinion that 2nd class folks are nicer than first class then that is your opinion - I will debate that as foolish but that is my opinion.

tarquin

Don't worry, burnma01, we aren't always like this.