A sequence of three connected high speed railways enables high speed trains to rush from Milano 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.
There's also an overnight service available.
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.
Some of these trains also call at: Milano Rogoredo
Depending on where you'll be setting off from in Milano, taking the trains from this station can be time saver.
Milano Centrale is on the northern edge of the city centre, so these trains initially head north and then make their way around the city, so that they can take the route south towards Napoli.
Milano Rogoredo station is on Line M3 of the Milano Metro, though the same line also links the heart of the city to Milano Centrale station.
But if you'll be boarding a Metro train at Duomo station, which lives up to its name with a location by Milano cathedral, you'll be heading north to board these trains at Milano Centrale, so the end-to-end journey can be quicker if you head towards Milano Rogoredo.
Local trains head to Milano Rogoredo from multiple stations in the city centre, including Milano Porta Venezia and Milano Porta Vittoria.
1 - 3 x trains per hour
*Save by booking in advance: Yes, for more details on how to obtain the cheapest prices for Frecce trains see the guide to Italian rail tickets.
Online bookings usually open: up to 6 months ahead of the travel date; though the booking period will be typically be shorter when looking up journeys for travel after the second Sunday in December.
The high speed (AV) train service between Milano Centrale and Napoli/Naples is provided by:
(1) these Frecce trains operated by Trenitalia and
(2) alternative Italo 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.
Tickets for the Trenitalia Frecce trains are placed on sale up to 6 months in advance, but the Italo train tickets are typically made available around 3 to 4 months ahead.
Trenitalia does not sell tickets for the Italo trains - and Italo does not sell tickets for the Trenitalia trains.
So, 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.
*Some Frecce and Italo trains depart from stations in Milano other Milano Centrale.
If you will be travelling from Milano Centrale then use this specific station when looking up tickets and prices.
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.
Ticket Provider | Approximate Cost | |
---|---|---|
Italia rail | from €49 approx | |
Trenitalia | from €49 approx | |
Trainline | from €49 approx | |
Save A Train | from €49 approx | |
Omio | from €49 approx |
When looking up this journey it's worth paying attention to the journey times as there are in effect three different service patterns used by these 'Frecce' trains.
The Frecciarossa 1000 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.
This is a journey of four contrasting parts.
(1) Between Milano and Bologna the trains are at their fastest as on this stretch of high speed line they travel up to 290 km/h- which is fortunate as there's nothing much to see.
(2) Between Bologna and Firenze 99% of the journey is in tunnels
(3) The high speed line between Firenze and Roma isn't quite as fast as that between Milano and Bologna, but as the trains travel at up to 250 km/h pleasing distant views of hills can be seen from either side of the train.
Much of this part of the route is elevated on viaducts, and the video, was taken from one of these.
Then as the train races towards Roma across the farmland, it flashes by a series of villages.
(4) The trains once again attain their maximum speed on the high speed line between Roma and Napoli.
Final Destination: Napoli or Salerno
All of these trains also call at: Roma Termini - where they reverse direction
Some trains also call at: Napoli Afragola; take book tickets to Napoli Centrale if you're heading to the city centre.
Most of these trains also call at: Milano Rogoredo
Depending on where you'll be setting off from in Milano, taking the trains from this station can be time saver.
Milano Centrale is on the northern edge of the city centre, so these trains initially head north and then make their way around the city, so that they can take the route south towards Napoli.
Milano Rogoredo station is on Line M3 of the Milano Metro, though the same line also links the heart of the city to Milano Centrale station.
But if you'll be boarding a Metro train at Duomo station, which lives up to its name with a location by Milano cathedral, you'll be heading north to board these trains at Milano Centrale, so the end-to-end journey can be quicker if you head towards Milano Rogoredo.
Local trains head to Milano Rogoredo from multiple stations in the city centre, including Milano Porta Venezia and Milano Porta Vittoria
15 - 16 x trains per day
Book early and save: Yes
**Online bookings open: around 3 months ahead of the travel date
The high speed (AV) train service between Milano Centrale* 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 6 months in advance, but the Italo train tickets are made available around 3 to 4 months ahead.
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.
Ticket Provider | Approximate Cost | |
---|---|---|
Italo | from €43 approx | |
Trainline | from €43 approx | |
Happy rail | from €43 approx | |
Happy rail | from €43 approx | |
Omio | from €43 approx |
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 Italo trains.
These Italo trains take the same route as the Frecce trains.
This is a journey of four contrasting parts.
(1) Between Milano and Bologna the trains are at their fastest on this stretch of high speed line - which is fortunate as there's nothing much to see.
(2) Between Bologna and Firenze 99% of the journey is in tunnels
(3) The high speed line between Firenze and Roma isn't quite as fast as that between Milano and Bologna, but pleasing distant views of hills can be seen from either side of the train.
(4) The trains once again attain speeds of more than 285 km/h on the high speed line between Roma and Napoli.
Final Destination: Napoli
These trains also call at: Roma Tiburtina
2 x trains per day
Book early and save: Yes
Online bookings open: 3 months ahead of the travel date
Take these Intercity trains from Milano to Firenze/Florence and you can save at least €20 in comparison to taking the faster Frecce or Italo train.
If you have a rail pass you can save €10 by taking these trains, as Eurail and InterRail users don't have to make reservations to travel on the Intercity trains, but paying the €3 optional reservation fee is virtually essential, because if you don't, you'll be lucky not to have to constantly find different seats during the journey.
So think twice! You can save more than 4 hours by taking the Frecce trains and the journey will also be more comfortable.
This is a journey on which the balance definitely tips in favour of paying the more expensive supplement to travel on the Freece trains.
If you do, 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.
How to book the rail pass reservations online is included on our guide to using rail passes in Italy.
Ticket Provider | Approximate Cost | |
---|---|---|
Trenitalia | from €25 approx | |
Italia rail | from €25 approx |
If you want to make the train journey from Milan to Naples, these InterCity trains are much slower than the alternative Frecce and Italo trains, because unlike those trains, these Intercity trains don't travel on the high speed lines.
So why would you consider spending more than an additional three hours making the Milano to Napoli journey on these trains?
The simple answer is price , you can typically save at least €20 by taking these InterCity trains.
They are usually scheduled to depart from Milano Centrale daily at 05:00 and 14:48.
Between Firenze/Florence and Napoli these Intercity trains travel through a similar landscape, the foothills of the Apennine Mountains, as the high speed trains, though their slower speeds allows more time to take in the scenery.
Though between Bologna and Firenze is the most scenic part of the journey by these Intercity trains and the high speed trains travel between those two cities in a series of tunnels.
Final Destination: Salerno
The train also calls at: Roma Tiburtina (arrives 05:58 usually)
This train is typically scheduled to depart from Porta Garibaldi station in Milano at 22:13 and arrive in Napoli at 08:46, note that it does not depart from the city's main station, Milano Centrale.
1 x train per night
Book early and save: Yes
Online bookings open: 3 months ahead of the travel date - usually
See the 'Train Guide' below for info on the type of accommodation available and the how tickets can be booked.
Ticket Provider | Approximate Cost | |
---|---|---|
Trenitalia | * |
This train is scheduled to arrive in Napoli/Naples shortly before 09:00, while on Mon-Sat the first Frecce train of the day doesn't arrive there until around 10:30, while on Sundays the earliest arrival time is around 11:30.
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