We’re Andrew and Kait – we share travel tips and experiences to encourage couples to take time off and see as much of the world as possible together. If you daydream about traveling to sunny Italy as often as we do, here’s what you need to know about traveling from Rome to Sorrento and the Amalfi Coast in 2023.
FLYING TO ITALY
Depending on time, budget, and where you’re flying from, we’d recommend flying roundtrip through Rome or into Naples and out of Rome. We personally found it more affordable to fly roundtrip to Rome, but if you find a great flight option into Naples, your trip will be launched right to the action. For the best flight deals, we swear by FareDrop. They send you notifications to the places you’re interested in with up to 80% off flight prices! We’ve scored flights to Italy with FareDrop for only $550 on multiple occasions. It’s definitely worth the small annual
DRIVING IS NOT AN OPTION
Well, technically and legally you can, you really can’t. While you might assume driving yourself is an option, we cannot discourage you enough from trying to do this. In southern Italy, pretend you don’t know how to drive anymore because – trust us when we say – you don’t know how to drive as the southern Italians do. That said, there are three primary options to get to Sorrento and the rest of the Amalfi Coast from Naples.
OPTION ONE: BY PRIVATE DRIVER
Clearly, private car transfer from the airport is the fastest and easiest way, but also a little pricier. Pre-book a private transfer from the Rome or Naples airport directly to your hotel in Positano. Once your driver picks you up from the airport, sit back, relax, and take in the scenery along the way as you let the driver handle the luggage and the crazy, winding roads! We highly recommend this one offered through Get Your Guide.
OPTION TWO: BY SPEED TRAIN & FERRY
If you plan to take the ferry, it’s essential to plan your trip around the ferry schedule. The ferries primarily run in the morning, take a break throughout lunch hours (typically between 11 a.m.-2 p.m.), and resume trips in the later afternoon. You will also need to take a $10-15 taxi from Napoli Centrale to the ferry terminal. Plenty of taxis can be found directly outside of the station. (And if you’re on a budget and wondering, no, you don’t want to walk from the train station to the ferries – it’s farther than it looks. The taxi ride is well worth it.) Once you arrive at the ferry terminal, you can buy a ticket on the FerryHopper app in advance or from kiosks on location. The ferry typically costs about $20-$30 per one-way ticket and will take about 40 minutes to arrive in Sorrento. Once you arrive at the Sorrento marina, you can walk or take a taxi to your final destination. Most ferry rides from Naples take about two hours to arrive in Positano as the ferries always make other stops in different destinations along the Amalfi Coast.
- Arrive at the Rome airport early in the morning
- Go through customs, then follow the airport signs to the airport’s train station.
- Purchase train tickets from the airport station to Roma Termini on the Trainline app, from the kiosks, or in person from the ticket desks.
- Arrive at Roma Termini and buy tickets for the next train
- If you want to nap along the way, book quiet business class seats.
- Take the train from Roma Termini to Napoli Centrale
- Rome to Naples – 1 ½ hour train. (south)
- The train will stop at a few terminals along the way. Still, you don’t get off until the end in Naples. (Known in Italy as Napoli!)
- Take a taxi to the ferry port in Naples
- The taxi should cost no more than $10-15. Make sure they take card before getting in.
OPTION THREE: SPEED TRAIN, REGIONAL TRAIN, & BUS
Consider the regional train as plan C and/or the worst case scenario. The regional train, the Circumvesuviana (which means “around Vesuvius”), is…an experience. To get to the Napoli Garibaldi station, exit the Napoli Centrale Station, walk outside, and wander around a few corners to the next station. Once you lug yourself and your baggage down a flight of stairs, you can purchase a ticket at the window with cash only for around $8 each.
Once the heavily graffitied train arrives, every car will most likely be incredibly crowded. Picture the oldest New York subway car you can imagine filled to the brim. While both Google and Apple Maps may say the journey will take a little over one hour, prepare your timeline for a train ride that can take up to two hours. This commuter train makes many stops where more people get on the train than off – meaning the train cars were Disney-World-On-Christmas-Day-Crowded for the entire journey.
We beg you – save the headache and schedule your travel timing to catch the ferry to Sorrento or Positano instead!
- Arrive at the Rome airport early in the morning
- Go through customs, then follow the airport signs to the airport’s train station.
- Purchase train tickets from the airport station to Roma Termini on the Trainline app, from the kiosks, or in person from the ticket desks.
- Arrive at Roma Termini and buy tickets for the next train
- If you want to nap along the way, book quiet business class seats.
- Take the train from Roma Termini to Napoli Centrale
- Rome to Naples – 1 ½ hour train. (south)
- The train will stop at a few terminals along the way. Still, you don’t get off until the end in Naples. (Known in Italy as Napoli!)
- Walk around the block to Napoli Garibaldi station
- Buy your tickets in cash at the ticket window.
- Take the train from Napoli Garibaldi to Stazione di Sorrento
- If you are staying in Sorrento, have a taxi take you to your stay so you aren’t trying to navigate the city with luggage in tow.
- Take a bus onwards to the Amalfi Coast towns
- If you are continuing onto Positano, Amalfi, or Ravello, you can find the bus stop directly across from Sorrento’s central train station.
- Buy bus tickets from the tobacco shop (tabacchi) adjacent to the train station. Unless you’re buying over $10 worth of tickets, you’ll need to purchase these with cash.
- Join the long line of passengers and wait for the next bus.
ARRIVING IN SORRENTO & THE AMALFI COAST
If you’ve come by driver – congratulations! You’ve found the easiest route to your hotel and should be dropped off easily. Check in, rest up, and enjoy your stay!
If you’ve arrived by ferry – drop off your bags with the porter instead of trying to lug your suitcases to your hotel. It’s not worth it trying to navigate all this by yourself with your luggage! The porters are friendly, reliable, trustworthy, and worth every penny. (Speaking from experience!)
IF you’ve arrived by train or bus, try to find the route to your hotel which requires the least amount of stairs. The walk from the train station to Sorrento or from the Positano bus stop after Sorrento can lead to an extremely challenging walk to the hotel with bags in tow on steep local staircases. If you haven’t caught on yet, we highly discourage anyone from taking the train or bus route to get to Sorrento or the Amalfi Coast.
