Fly to Rome and then train to Naples?

LennyB

Looking for advice on traveling to the start of the Classic Italy tour in Naples.

I just started looking for flights and it seems to me flying into Rome and taking the high speed train to Naples would be much more affordable and faster.

Does this make sense? or is there a better way of finding flights to Naples from US East coast?

TIA!

Ken from Vegas

They are good points and bad points to each option. The plane is probably less hassle, but the train might save you money (but cost you time in transit).

You'll have to clear customs in Rome anyway, so you might look into booking the Rome to Naples flight separately. That might help keep the cost down. (Be sure to consider bag fees - some of the short hop planes are no frills). Expedia is a good place to look at options.

The train is definitely doable, but remember that the Rome airport is a ways out of town on the coast. So you'd have to take a train into Rome to get your High Speed train to Naples. The Rail Europe site is a good place to look into the train options. I would also check with Tauck to see if they pick up at the train station in Naples (I'm betting they do).

AlanS

A lot depends on your carrier. If you fly with the same carrier/code share it might be cheaper and quicker/easier to book all flights with them. We are on the Classic Italy, Small Groups next May and I booked the open jaw flights with Delta on their website several weeks ago.

We aren't near a big international feeder so will fly out of RDU to ATL, then to CDG and on to NAP. The CDG - NAP leg is on Air France (code share/Skyteam member).

For our return trip we fly from VCE non-stop to JFK then to RDU. I try to avoid Amsterdam's Shiphol airport. We are flying business class, but the coach fare for that routing is around $1700 per person, round trip.

While lowest price is not my #1 priority, it is one factor I look at. I do a detailed analysis of all options using the Delta, Travelocity, Orbitz, etc. websites and Tauck, before I decide on flights. I want the shortest flight times/layovers, reasonable departure and arrival times, best airplanes/seats, etc. Ticket purchase timing matters also. While there may be specials between now and when you depart, I find the lowest prices, at least for business class, are always the farthest out - most airlines won't accept reservations further out than 330 days from departure. I usually make my reservations soon after that. The fares for both our upcoming Ireland trip and next spring's Italy trip have gone up since I booked. If I had waited until now, only 4 weeks from departure, to purchase our Ireland tickets they would cost three times what I paid last November!!

If you don't like having to do the research and booking yourself, use a travel agent or Tauck.

If paying now is an issue, then go with Tauck. While not always the cheapest option you don't have to pay until 60 days before departure and Tauck has a liberal cancellation policy if you get their trip insurance.

Taking the train from Rome to Naples won't be cheap (or easy) either. Depending on the time of day, it could be $60 USD per ticket for comfort class. Plus you will have to schlepp your bags and get transportation from Fiumicino (Leonardo da Vinci) to the Rome train station, and possibly from the Naples station to Sorrento- you should check with Tauck on this- their website says they will provide "Airport transfers upon arrival and departure."

A quick check of Delta airfares using my criteria and routing except flying into Rome instead of Naples shows the fare to be about the same $1700 pp rt (for coach).