I'm with a group of people arriving in Rome in the early morning but need to go straight to Naples by lunchtime.

Personally, I would opt to go there by train, starting with the Leonardo Express to Termini and then a fast train down to Naples. This would probably be the fastest and cheapest, but it does mean having to moving our luggage from one place to another a few times.

Someone has suggested we hire a minibus to take us directly from the airport to Naples instead. While this certainly helps with minimising our problems with the luggage, it does costs substantially more and I'm wondering if the scenery enroute is worth this.

Any comments about this? I think it's really a question of whether the money spent is worth the saving of hassle. We're not planning on actually stopping anywhere after all since we do need to reach Naples by lunch.

EC

If you are in a hurry, you'll be taking the autostada from Rome to Naples, and there isn't much in the way of scenery to offset the incremental cost.

It is time consuming, and a bit of a hassle, to make the trip by train. I did it last week, but I was alone and could handle my own luggage.

There are four different train options between Rome and Naples, and the price goes up (sìignificantly) as the time goes down. The new fast trains aren't all that much faster than the ES trains, but cost more.

When you are considering the time, remember to factor in the time to get your group together and walk over to the airport train station, purchase tickets, get on the Leonardo (that alone is a chore, and at least some of you may end up standing for the trip as the first folks on each take up several seats, between themselves and their luggage), walk from the Leonardo tracks (about two blocks from the main part of Termini) to the track for your Naples train, then getting from the train station in Naples to your hotel.

I have some experience moving groups around in Italy - this is one situation where I would spend the money and use a private transfer.

Check around and get quotes, I've found wide variations in prices.

Thanks Ellen.
I figured the main advantage would be the saving on the hassle, so that would be the deciding factor.

The superfast trains cost 31 euros with the 30% reduction for early booking online, which I think is quite good value. I wouldn't pay the full price of 44 euros though.

With 6 of us, doing the transfer by privtae transport still costs us about twice that.

EC

Two of the limo companies that are highly regarded on the cruise boards are:


http://www.stefanorometours.com/

http://www.romeinlimo.com/

I would go by train: you do not need to move your lagguage so much. Leonardo Express is available directly in Fiumicino to Termini every 20 minutes. Price per person around 8-9€. While in Termini you should only change line. You can choose either Intercity (you have one every hour) which takes 2.30h and is cheaper or Eurostar which takes 1.15-1.30 and is less frequent.

Thanks. I shall have to think carefully about how to do this.

Timing a little tight that morning. We need to arrive in Naples by lunchtime - meeting some friends there - and if we do go by train in the end it would probably be one of the Freccerosse ones to minimise transfer time.

Actually, there is a number of luggage moves going by train:
Airport to Leonardo Express
Leonardo Express to mainline train
Mainline Train to bus/taxi at Naples
And finally transfer to hotel.

At least with a private coach it's just airport to coach to hotel in Naples. But I'll have to discuss this with everyone in the group to see if we are all willing to pay extra for this.

EC

quote:

Leonardo Express is available directly in Fiumicino to Termini every 20 minutes. Price per person around 8-9€.

You have repeatedly said this, but it's every 30 minutes and the fare is €11. Two cabs at the flat fare of €40 each might be worthwhile for getting to Termini.

HuangEC, do you have the means to book the train online and get the discount? It's generally difficult from outside of Italy. Also with this being after a flight, you need to provide for the chance the flight could be late, and with a discounted fare it can be trouble if you miss the train you've booked.

Hi Andrew,
yes I can book online using my Singapore credit card.
Strangely, it doesn't work all the time though. What I've found is that I can make one transaction (consisting of either a single or multiple train booking) and then subsequent ones are blocked immediately after that. I would try again over the next few days without success, and then after about 5 days or so, my credit card would be accepted agan. No idea why this should be so.

Anyway, the plan for now is to catch the 10am train from Termini. the flight arrives at 7:10 so we have almost 3 hours to get through immigration, customs and the transfer from the airport.

If we were to use private transport instead, we would have about 3 and a half hours to get to Naples from the airport, with sufficient time to stop for a mid-morning coffee along the way.

EC

I see that Rome Shuttle Limousine, which has been recommended here, can take 8 people in a van from FCO to Rome for €60, so that looks better than the Leonardo Express for six.

Andrew's alternative makes perfect sense. The Leonardo is a mess in every way, avoiding it AND saving money is a sure win-win solution.

Thanks, everyone.
Will think about the various options and decide...

Just so everyone knows, we decided on the private transfer to Naples.

EC

We used www.limoservicerome.com for our transfers which was recommended previously on this board. Could not have been happier with the service. Especially driver Gianluca who was full of information and tips. Suggest getting a transfer from FCO to Termini.