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Bologna to Napoli / Naples by train
How to travel from Bologna to Naples/Napoli by train
A sequence of three connected high speed railways enables high speed trains to rush from Bologna to Napoli.
This high speed route is shared by 'Frecce' services operated by the national rail operator, Trenitalia, and competing Italo services.
For those who favor cheapest price over journey time, there is also the opportunity to save money by taking the much slower Intercity trains which still snake their way along the older 'classic' railway lines.
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Routes
Option 1: taking the high speed Frecce trains operated by Trenitalia
Journey Summary
3hr 15min - 3hr 42min
Daily
Travel Information
Final Destination: Napoli or Salerno or Reggio de Calabria or others
All trains also call at: Roma Termini
These trains reverse direction on departure from Roma Termini station.
Some trains also call at: Napoli Afragola; take care book tickets to Napoli Centrale if you're heading to the city centre.
All of these trains will depart from the AV binari/tracks/platforms (16-19) at Bologna Centrale,
So if you will be heading to Bologna Centrale by taxi, tell the driver to drop you at the AV station.
1 - 3 x trains per hour
Tickets
Book early and save: Yes
Online bookings open: 4 months ahead of the travel date - usually
The high speed (AV) train service between Bologna and Napoli/Naples is provided by:
(1) these Frecce trains operated by Trenitalia and
(2) alternative Italo trains
Tickets for the Trenitalia Frecce trains are placed on sale around 4 months in advance, but the Italo train tickets are made available around 5 months ahead.
Trenitalia does not sell tickets for the Italo trains - and Italo does not sell tickets for the Trenitalia trains.
Trains departing at different times can be cheaper than others leaving on the same day, so you may need to look through the day's departures to find the cheapest fares.
If you're booking no more than 4 months ahead and have no particular preference for the train that you will be taking, the price and departure times of the Frecce and Italo trains can be directly compared on with Trainline or Omio, though look out for the fact that both of these services will charge a booking fee.
Rail Pass Users:
If you will be travelling with a valid Eurail or InterRail pass, you will need to reserve prior to boarding these trains, either at the station (using a Trenitalia ticket machine or ticket desk) OR by booking them online.
How to book the rail pass reservations online is included on our guide to using rail passes in Italy.
If you will be travelling with a rail pass, it's worth targeting the faster trains, as the reservation fees are the same regardless of which Frecce service you travel by.
Where to book
| Ticket Provider | Approximate Cost | |
|---|---|---|
| Trenitalia | from €29.90 | |
| Italiarail | from €29.90 | |
| Trainline | from €29.90 | |
| Omio | from €29.90 | |
| SaveATrain | from €29.90 |
On this journey
Travelling On
Journey Features
Good to Know
When looking up this journey it's worth paying attention to the journey times as there are in effect two different service patterns used by these 'Frecce' trains.
- Fastest are the trains which only make one station call at Roma Termini, where they reverse direction, so are non-stop between Bologna and Roma (there are fewer of these fast trains on Saturdays).
- Slower are the trains which divert off the direct route to call in Firenze/Florence, where they also reverse direction.
This diversion to the main station in Florence/Firenze adds around 10-15 mins to the journey time.
The Frecciarossa 100 trains are more likely to be used on the faster services, but when you look up the journey on Trenitalia or ItaliaRail, you'll be able to see which specific type of train will be used on each departure.
Italo high speed trains operated by NTV, compete with the Frecce trains operated on Trenitalia on this route, but they aren't sold by Trenitalia.
This is a journey of three parts:
(1) From Bologna to Florence the train will be mainly travelling through tunnels.
(2) The high speed line between Florence and Rome more scenic than most, it's not a beautiful journey, but there is a wow factor of travelling across the rolling landscape at more than 240 km/h*.
*The direttissima between Florence and Rome was the first high speed railway line to be built in Italy, so it has a slower maximum speed than the other Italian high speed lines.
(3) The fastest part of the journey is when the train travels on the high speed line between Roma and Napoli.
Option 2: taking the Italo high speed trains
Journey Summary
3hr 33 min - 3hr 40min (Italo trains)
Daily
Travel Information
Final Destination: Napoli or Salerno
All trains also call at: Roma Termini
These trains reverse direction on departure from Roma Termini station.
Some trains also call at: Napoli Afragola; take care book tickets to Napoli Centrale if you're heading to the city centre.
All of these trains will depart from the AV binari/tracks/platforms (16-19) at Bologna Centrale,
So if you will be heading to Bologna Centrale by taxi, tell the driver to drop you at the AV station.
7 x trains per day
Tickets
Book early and save: Yes
Online bookings open: 5 months ahead of the travel date
The high speed (AV) train service between Bologna and Napoli is provided by:
(1) these Italo trains
(2) alternative Frecce trains operated by Trenitalia
Tickets for the Trenitalia Frecce trains are placed on sale around 4 months in advance, but the Italo train tickets are made available around 5 months ahead.
However, Trenitalia does not sell tickets for the Italo trains - and Italo does not sell tickets for the Trenitalia trains.
If you're booking no more than 4 months ahead and have no particular preference for the train that you will be taking, the price and departure times of the Frecce and Italo trains can be directly compared on with Trainline or Omio, though look out for the fact that both of these services will charge a booking fee.
Trains departing at different times can be cheaper than others leaving on the same day, so you may need to look through the day's departures to find the cheapest fares.
Eurail and InterRail passes can't be used on Italo trains.
Where to book
| Ticket Provider | Approximate Cost | |
|---|---|---|
| Italo | from €29 | |
| Trainline | from €29 | |
| Omio | from €29 | |
| Happyrail | from €29 |
On this journey
Travelling On
Journey Features
Good to Know
Travellers have a choice of train services on the Bologna to Naples route:
(1) These Italo trains, which compete with Frecce trains operated by Trenitalia on the high speed route between the two cities.
These Italo trains all divert off of the direct route in order to call at Firenze S.M. Novella and Roma Termini stations.
They reverse direction on departure from both stations.
(2) Frecce trains, which take the same route as these Italo trains.
(3)Less frequent, but faster Frecce trains, which are non-stop to Roma/Ro,e
(4) Much slower, but cheaper Intercity trains which don't use the high speed lines.
These Italo services take the same route as the Frecce trains, which travel via Firenze/Florence and Roma/Rome.
Option 3: taking the Intercity trains
Journey Summary
6hr 11min
Daily
Travel Information
These trains don't depart from the AV station at Bologna Centrale, instead they use the main part of the station, so are most easily accessed from the main entrance.
Final Destination: Napoli
These trains also call at: Roma Tiburtina
These Intercity trains don't use the high speed lines between Bologna and Naples, but they do save time by not diverting off of the direct route in order to call at the city centre stations in Florence or Rome.
2 x trains per day
Tickets
Book early and save: Yes
Online bookings open: 3 months ahead of the travel date
These IC trains to Naples are usually scheduled to depart from Bologna Centrale at 09:18 and 17:18, so target those times when looking up this journey, if you want to travel by these trains.
Take these Intercity trains from Bologna to Roma and you can save at least €15 in comparison to taking the faster Frecce trains also operated by Trenitalia.
Though to compare prices with both the Frecce AND the Italo trains, you can can look up this journey on the Trainline.
Using rail passes
Target these IC trains if you want to save €10 on rail pass reservation fees.
Though if you'll want the peace of mind of being able to remain in the same seat for the entire journey, paying the optional €3 reservation fee is virtually essential.
However, this is a route on which the balance can tip in favour of paying the more expensive rail pass reservation on the Freece trains; you can save more than 3 hours by taking the Frecce trains and the journey will also be more comfortable.
If you do opt for that then target the faster Frecce trains they won't cost you any more than the slower Frecce trains and will save you around a further 20-25 mins when taking the journey.
Where to book
| Ticket Provider | Approximate Cost | |
|---|---|---|
| Trenitalia | from €14.90 | |
| Trainline | from €14.90 | |
| ItaliaRail | from €14.90 |
On this journey
Travelling On
Journey Features
Good to Know
If you will be booking tickets, then these Intercity trains are a cheaper alternative to the faster Frecce and Italo services.
If you will be a using a rail pass, the rail pass reservation fee**](/train-ticket-guides/using-rail-passes-in-and-to-from-italy/), will be €7 cheaper than on the Frecce trains.
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