2463 Driving/Train costs and risks

Hi Giovanna,

To answer but one of your queries... you can find train prices on [url]www.trenitalia.com[/url] ... I've looked into doing a day trip from Rome & if you look on the map & type in the places, it should give you a price. Not too expensive, eg Rome to Naples, ...

Have only taken trains across the north of Italy so unfortunately don't know anything about any dangers in the south.

As for discovering Rome - once you're in the centre, it's easily walkable I'm told.... I'll be there in 3 weeks' time (yippee!) & can tell you more afterwards.

Enjoy your trip!

Stephanie

We paid €17.50 each way on the InterCity service between Rome and Naples. The trains we were on were very good - modern, clean and seating much more generous than your average airplane. You can pay more for a more luxurious (and faster) service between the two cities but the basic trains are fine.

As to driving - I think you would find driving in and around Rome fairly ok, but Naples is mad and better explored on foot and via their public transport system (which is actually very good now).

Public transport in Rome is very good - the best buses we found were the no. 175 (near to all major sites in the city and the Colosseum) and the no. 40 (for the Vatican - much less crowded than the no. 64 noted in guidebooks).

Thanks for your answers so far. I've also been on the Trenitalia website, but I can't seem to get it to give me prices. I got it as far as giving me train times, but nothing else. The other problem for me is that I don't yet know where exactly we would be, so I can't put in names of stations for journeys from places say 20km from Rome, because I haven't enough information about where there are stations. If I could find out where there are stations I could perhaps then use those town names for finding places to stay.

Looking forward to answers to other questions in my original post if anyone else has suggestions - early days yet though.

Grazie

[QUOTE=Giovanna]Thanks for your answers so far. I've also been on the Trenitalia website, but I can't seem to get it to give me prices. I got it as far as giving me train times, but nothing else. .....
Grazie[/QUOTE]

When you put in the details (once you know the cities & dates), it brings up a list of different trains you could take with their duration. You'll then need to click the shopping trolley icon on the right-hand column (under 'Acquista') - then it shows you a page with the ticket details & prices.

I take it that 'interna' is a type of one-way trip? Haven't sussed out how to get 'return' ticket prices... but I take online details as a guidance & get the tickets when I'm actually there.

Hope this helps.
Stephanie

Just South of Rome is the Alban Hills, Colli Albani,- if you're heading for Naples stay on the motorway side of the hills or it can take 40 mins plus to rejoin the motorway (beautiful journey though). Palestrina is one of many small towns on that side.(have a good look at a map)We are 30Km from Rome in Lanuvio and the cost of the rail fare is peanuts compared to UK - it's really cheap. As for driving in Rome- the problem now is that if pollution levels reach a certain high, only people with permits can get near the town centre. Also it is IMPOSSIBLE to find parking, unless you have a Smart and even then they double park and you could get back to your car to find it locked in by other vehicles.There are park and rides - our nearest is Agnanina which gets you straight onto the metro.But to be honest, when we want to go to Rome it's always by train even though the 30Km takes 45 mins (beautiful views though) I agree with Aliena about driving in Naples - one thing about Italian driving is that if you just keep a steady course, anyone in a hurry will go round you and if you don't know where you are going they may beep but are much more tolerant than the drivers I experienced today on the M6 on my first visit to Birmingham town centre

is an extaordinary experience..the first time for me was about twenty years ago with GB plates...got the feeling I was fair game but that could have been paranoia. Rule 1, you must anticipate the traffic light change and start moving before your lights turn to green, Rule 2, never never jump a red light or you will collide with someone following rule 1. Failure to follow rule 1 for fear of colliding with someone not following rule 2 will result in the car behind shuntinmg you forward. Anybody know rule 3?
I recently had a businees visit from a Chinese entrepreneur who proudly told me about his shiny new BMW 7 series and how much he had paid for it back in China. He was at a loss for something to do at the weekend so I suggested he took a trip down to Naples. On the Monday he told me all about what a marvellous time he had ... counting the number of cars with dents and scratches ... he estimated more than three-quarters of all cars on the streets of Naples had been in a collision with another car without the damage being repaired.
Fantastic exhilarating city but leave the GB registered beamer in the garage!

Fantastic, exhilarating city is what I said and if that is not true then you can throw me to the lions. Regarding the car I think I am right if you must drive in to the city then leave the car in a secure car park and walk everywhere or use public transport if you have a choice on how to arrive then I suggest by sea or on the overnight train from Venice?

Thanks, you've all given me some really useful information there. Aliena, you said you could tell me about places worth staying - yes I'd be grateful for suggestions of places to stay or places to visit.

The only thing is, it is going to be a question of where we find the self catering accommodation. There doesn't seem to be much in the places I'd rather go to. We aren't keen on being near the coast as we aren't seaside resort types. Especially in Italy - I've been really put off by photos of rows or parasols and sunbeds.

You've got me even more keen on planning this holiday now! Thanks

[QUOTE=Giovanna]I'm trying to work out a budget for a trip to Italy as follows:
Driving down to Italy in own car
Staying in a hotel somewhere in perhaps the Florence region near the motorway on the way down for 1 night. CAN YOU RECOMMEND ANY CHEAP HOTEL CHAINS IN ITALY SIMILAR TO B&B/VILLAGES HOTELS IN FRANCE?
We are thinking of getting self catering accommodation outside Rome - perhaps near the motorway and then self catering accommodation near Caserta i.e. outside Naples nearish to the motorway.
We know that we would not want to drive in Rome or Naples, so...

Could anyone tell me the price we could expect to pay to catch a train from Caserta to Naples/Pompeii/Herculaneum and other journeys round there?

What sort of price for local trains into Rome?

Which other places in those regions would you recommend NOT driving in?

Which other places would you recommend visiting by car or by train - we are into history and archeology and not into beaches or sports. A bit of walking is OK too.

Do you know any places operating Park and Ride systems?

What about security in car parks or with on street parking - is it any different to in France and England or are British cars targeted?

I bought the Rough Guide to Italy, but unlike it's French counterpart, it gives no information about driving in Italy - or more to the point - parking. Can you recommend any books which give information about driving into places?

Are Italian motorways busy like English ones or quieter like French motorways? What I mean is, are there a lot of hold ups or does that only happen near the coast.

Any other suggestions you can make would be appreciated. I do speak Italian, but have never had an opportunity to visit Italy. We need to have the car with us to cut down the cost of travelling around and enable us to use self catering accommodation (not to mention taking the vino back). We also need to spend a couple of days in France on the way back or we will have French withdrawal symptoms! Oh - I'm also terrified of flying! A holiday without a car would be too restrictive.

Oh, yes - one more thing - reading various things, I get the impression credit cards are not much in use. Is this correct? Do we need to carry cash around most of the time? Not keen on doing that! Where would cards be accepted? Petrol stations? Supermarkets? Restaurants? Historical sites?

Also, someone told me there is an equivalent to the National Trust which gives NT members free entry - know anything about this?

Thanks - any information/advice gratefully received.[/QUOTE]

there are quite a few routes to italy.cheap hotel? are you expecting to
get to florence in one hit?
i will asume you are not, so depending how far you live from the ports,and
if you are able to get to them for an 8.00am crossing, then reaching italy
with one days driving is possible. costs,depend on your cars mpg and whether
u use only toll m/ways or a mixture of roads? via michelin on the michelin site
can work out tolls on routes through france.m/ways in italy do vary from around major junctions,cities and the time of day. much like britain.

crossing? speedferries do a £50 return fron dover to bolonge[spelt wrong]
heading down the A26 onto the A4 is the fastest/ short route, but tolls are
heavy and petrol prices on m/ways like here,higher.this route gets you into
italy above milan, via switzerland [another toll]even 100 odd miles in germany if you wish.hotels on this route? no idea,as we sleep in the car at the colderia
service area, just outside italy in switz, as do so many others.its italian switz
so they talk italian.
other route would be down through france to mont blanc. again tolls,but u
make aosta by nightfall, well 10hours or so driving from the ports.
hotels. hotel mignon on the gran san bernard road is clean cheapish,and
means you can do a couple of hours site seeing around aosta.

my personel favourite route is down through france,getting off at dole and
cross country to lausenne and over the grand san bernard. you save on the heavy tolls in southeast france,can get fuel off m/way,and get some great sites as well. doesn't seem to take much longer than going through mont blanc.

if you are really trying to save on tolls, then aroute accross the top of france
into belguim, luxemburg [very cheap fuel] germany ect could be done,or
the same route, but going back into france after luxemburg down past metz nancy ect,will avoid tolls and again fuel will be a little cheaper.
if you want to drive just through france,and save on tolls. then the ports to
rhiems, will cost 17 euros, getting off at rhiems junc 26? pick up n44 till it
joins the n4. the n4 is dualcarrigewayto nancy and alittle after. from here
there are a few ways into switz again scienic and you loose very little time.

all these routes are good if you are aiming for naples,and depending on the day mileage and driving time vary by 65miles to 2 hours...
good luck . note if you are traveling in june grand san bernard,over the top run will only just have opened up, snow and ice sheets right to the roads
edge,and brilliant sunshine as well. awesome....
good luck.

Giovanni - to answer your question about were we going to Florence in one go. No, I checked out the route from Calais to Rome/Naples on Mappy and it suggested via Basle and cutting through Switzerland. We have relatives east of Basle, so the plan would be to have a couple of days with them on the way there. We generally take an afternoon sailing to Calais and stay the night either there or a couple of hours along the journey - that's when we are going on holiday in France, which is our normal thing. So that would be the plan. One night in Calais, a couple of nights in Switzerland and then straight down. Coming back, we might go a route through France and I'll consider the one you mentioned via Switzerland and Dole.

Aliena - I'm just looking for somewhere outside Naples, not too far away from the motorway so that we can travel easily to Pompeii, but I don't want to stay anywhere in that immediate area. So, say 20-50km from Naples/Pompeii, but not south of there. I've been told a trip along the Amalfi coast by train is good, so we might do that, or even drive down that way, but from an accommodation point of view, I want something self catering - preferably near a town with a railway station, supermarket and traditional food shops. Nothing too touristy. No we wouldn't be particularly likely to go to a secluded cove, we just don't tend to do much sitting around, but would probably be more likely to go to a lake if we wanted to do that. We do like hills and mountains. I don't want to stay south of Naples partly to reduce the length of the journey, but also because someone I know whose father is from south of there and is looking for a house to buy in that area says he will not drive in that area. We generally drive for up to 2 hours to places of interest around where we stay. For a self catering house/flat, I think we would have to book for a week, so I'm looking at a week near Naples and a week near Rome, then a few days either side for travelling to and from.

Thanks

Giovanna
not sure when you intend to be in the Rome area but have a few contacts - depending on the size of your pary. Didn't realize you weren't just passing through - can you PM me if you want more details

oops sorry, meant party obviously

Thanks everyone - My husband has agreed to the trip to Rome and Naples now. I've found places I'm interested in staying at, and one of the owners is English, so that will be easily sorted. The other one has said he will take the booking without a deposit and just take me at my word, so I'm a bit worried about that. We had that situation with a Chambre d'hote in France on one occasion and they had our letter of confirmation including our phone number AND we had stayed there a few months earlier. But when we arrived, they had booked in a larger party and booked us in with a neighbouring Chambre d'hote which was nowhere near as good. For a start, my husband couldn't even stand straight in the bedroom and to play cards, the children had to wedge a plank between the beds! So, I'm not sure what to do about that booking now. Booking fees are such a problem now that Eurocheques have been discontinued.

I'm more sorted out on train journeys now. The owner in the Naples area gave me some useful information and I tried the Trenitalia site again. It won't give prices for all journeys, but at least I can get an idea for some journeys - but not for the summer, which is when we are going to be there.

It is really just a hotel for the journey down which is the problem now. I used to have a penfriend in Prato and now I wish I'd continued writing to her, but she was so erratic. That would have been an ideal place to stop between Basle and Naples. I have found that there are a few hotels near the airport at Florence, but they are twice the price we pay in France! That will have to do. We wouldn't be keen to sleep in the car, simply because I don't think we would get any sleep. If we thought we could sleep in the car, we would take it in turns and drive overnight, but we have tried it a few times in the past and the only one who felt like sleeping was the driver! I'm not sure that I could sleep in close proximity to the airport though. Surely France must have something like Premier Lodge etc?

OK, so now I've nearly sorted Italy out, I have to plan our lower budget Easter Holiday in France.

Thanks again.