Travelling round Italy by train or plane

silverwhistle

HobgoblinBT said:

I haven’t been to Turin so don’t know enough to recommend it or not.

I'm biased with friends there as I used to live in the Alps to the north (also reachable by train), but it's a much more liveable city than Milan and definitely worth a visit.

Rome at Easter is probably not to be recommended, but the comment above about train to the centre of town against flying is also worth considering.

finn99

Someone mentioned Verona. The other Veneto cities are well worth visiting - Vicenza and Padua are on the main Milan to Venice train line. Venice is an obvious port of call, but time it carefully. The crowds at peak times can literally cause people jams in some of the tight alleys. Both Padua and Verona are good for train journeys south and the route of Bologna/Florence/Rome/Naples gives plenty of scope to explore. Slightly off the beaten track, you could try Assisi and near there is Spello, which is one of the most beautiful villages/small towns I have ever seen. On the trains, first class is affordable and well worth  the extra ten Euros. Strangely on Italo trains some first class tickets are cheaper than second class.

katejo

skycatcher said:

We did a trip a couple of years ago... Flew to Bergamo stayed a couple of days then flew on to Bari (€15 on Ryanair, so much cheaper than the train) and did day trips by local trains from Bari to other places in Puglia... It was a fabulous trip and loved Bari!

I am now at the end of a 9 day Puglia trip. I am in Bari now and travelled back from Lecce this afternoon. I like Bari but particularly liked Lecce and Matera (just outside Puglia).

Bigphil1474

We did a trip to Italy a few years ago - flew into Rome, train up to Florence, stayed there a few days including day trip to Pisa on the train. We then got the train down to Naples and around the bay to Sorrento (CircumVesuviana train). I thought Naples was a dump so glad we didn't stay there. We stayed in Sorrento a week and used the Vesuvia train to travel round to Pompeii, Herculaneum, and eventually back to Naples to get the train back up to Rome.
There's also a good bus station at Sorrento if you want to visit Amalfi coast, and there are ferries over to Capri. Got the train back up to Rome, stayed there a few days and then flew home. You need to get the train to and from Rome airport as well. The main train journeys were booked online in advance, the Vesuvia train we paid on the day - Frequent and reliable although we warned about pickpockets all the time.

fifeken

It's been a few years since I did it, but with regular, bought on the day at the counter train tickets there was a strange rule about getting the ticket stamped before travelling which was easy to miss and could prove costly.

victor2

fifeken said:

It's been a few years since I did it, but with regular, bought on the day at the counter train tickets there was a strange rule about getting the ticket stamped before travelling which was easy to miss and could prove costly.

Still required, but there are machines everywhere that do it, so it isn't too difficult. 

Spent a week travelling by train and never actually had our tickets checked, even when a power failure caused our train to offload us at a station and get another train to our destination, which our ticket didn't actually cover. The guard just told us to say what had happened if our tickets were checked, but fortunately they weren't!

clarkyson

I’ve been to Florence and really enjoyed it, it’s such a beautiful city with amazing food, art, and views. Watching the sunset from Piazzale Michelangelo was one of my favorite moments, and the pasta and gelato were some of the best I’ve ever had. If you're planning to visit Italy around Easter 2026 and want to see places like Milan, Turin, Rome, Naples, Sicily, and Florence, two weeks is a great amount of time. Trains are a good option—they’re fast, comfortable, and often cheaper than flying, especially when you book early. There’s also an Interrail Italy Pass you can look into if you want to travel around the country easily. For sports, you can catch football games in cities like Milan, Rome, or Naples—they’re super fun and full of energy. If you’re looking for more places to visit, I’d suggest Bologna (great food) or Verona (very charming). Also, I found this article really useful for planning my time in Florence: https://gowithguide.com/blog/florence-tourism-statistics-2025-all-you-need-to-know-5219   might help you too. Enjoy planning your trip! 

SarahB16

katejo said:

skycatcher said:

We did a trip a couple of years ago... Flew to Bergamo stayed a couple of days then flew on to Bari (€15 on Ryanair, so much cheaper than the train) and did day trips by local trains from Bari to other places in Puglia... It was a fabulous trip and loved Bari!

I am now at the end of a 9 day Puglia trip. I am in Bari now and travelled back from Lecce this afternoon. I like Bari but particularly liked Lecce and Matera (just outside Puglia).

I have done quite a bit of travelling around Italy but have never been to Lecce but it has been recommended to me recently.  How long do you think you need in Lecce please and with you suggesting Matera I will look into Matera now.  

Aslan69

I've traveled around Italy by train and found it way more convenient than flying, especially for getting into city centers and being able to do spontaneous day trips. Trains like Frecciarossa and Italo are really fast and comfy, and you don’t lose time with airport security or travel. If you want to squeeze in some less obvious destinations for a break from bigger cities, check out Santa Margherita Ligure. It’s a gorgeous spot on the coast, super chill, not far from Genoa, and has great food along with easy access by train. One thing I liked was using towns like Santa Margherita Ligure as a base for a night, which made it easy to check out Portofino and other coastal villages without needing a car. The vibe felt really Italian but not as hectic as the major cities, plus you still get all the perks of great seafood and scenery.