How to Get from Florence to Naples (& vice versa)
· Updated · BootsnAll
If you want to get beyond the Venice, Florence and Rome circuit without heading into the hinterlands, go south to Naples. It sits on Italy's high-speed rail line, and the trick to not being overwhelmed is to ignore most of the sprawl and spend your time in the historic center.
Naples is also the base for Pompeii, Herculaneum and the Amalfi Coast. It's cheaper than the northern cities, and it's the birthplace of pizza.
Going straight from Florence to Naples, skipping Rome on the way down, makes sense if you fly home from Rome: see Naples, then work your way back up to the capital for the last few days. The information below works in both directions; only the timetables change.
>> More on getting between Rome and Naples
The short answer
Take a high-speed train. It's direct, the fastest take under three hours, and if you book a few weeks ahead it often costs less than a tank of fuel and the tolls. Everything else on this page is slower, and only the bus is cheaper.
| Option | Time | Cost in 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| High-speed train | from 2 h 42 min | from about 24 euros booked early |
| Coach | about 5 hours or more | from about 8.50 euros |
| Car | about 4.5 hours, 474 km | fuel, tolls and parking |
| Flight | no direct flights | not worth it |
Taking the Train from Florence to Naples
Florence and Naples are both on Italy's high-speed rail line, and two companies run direct trains between them: Trenitalia with its Frecciarossa trains and the private operator Italo. Italo alone ran 22 trains a day on this route in 2026, and its fastest took 2 hours 42 minutes. Trenitalia's timetable is similar. That's not quite a day trip, but it does mean a morning cappuccino in Florence and pizza for lunch in Naples.
How to get a good fare:
- Book ahead. High-speed fares are priced like airfares. In 2026 Italo's advance fares on this route started at about 23.90 euros, and a ticket bought at the station on the day can cost several times that.
- Compare both companies. Check trenitalia.com and italotreno.com for your date. They're separate companies, so a Trenitalia ticket isn't valid on an Italo train or the other way around.
- Your ticket is your seat. High-speed tickets are for one named train with a reserved seat. Show the booking code or PDF on your phone; there's nothing to validate.
Trains leave from Firenze Santa Maria Novella, the main station a few minutes' walk from the Duomo. In Naples, get off at Napoli Centrale, on Piazza Garibaldi. Some high-speed trains also stop at Napoli Afragola, a station in the northern suburbs, which is not where you want to be unless you're driving on from there. From Napoli Centrale the metro and the Circumvesuviana line to Pompeii and Sorrento (from the Garibaldi station underneath) are right there.
Slower routes exist, using Intercity and regional trains with changes, but they take five hours or more and rarely save enough to matter. On a rail pass, the Frecciarossa is covered but you still need a seat reservation: free with a Trenitalia Pass, paid extra with an Interrail Italy Pass. The Trenitalia Pass isn't valid on Italo.
Taking the Bus from Florence to Naples
Italy now has national coach networks, and FlixBus and Itabus both run Florence to Naples. FlixBus listed 19 buses a day in 2026, some overnight, with the fastest taking about 5 hours and fares from about 8.50 euros.
Check the stop before you book. In Florence, FlixBus leaves from several places, including Villa Costanza (a car park on the edge of town with a tram into the center), Piazzale Montelungo and near Santa Maria Novella station. In Naples the main stop is the bus terminal by Napoli Centrale, but some buses use Afragola or other stops out of the center.
The bus is for the tightest budgets. If a cheap advance train fare is available, the extra couple of hours on the bus aren't worth the handful of euros you save. There's more about long-distance buses in Italy here.
Driving from Florence to Naples
Driving in Florence is a pain, and driving in Naples is a pain on a whole other level. If every stop on your itinerary is a big city, don't rent a car. If you're planning countryside day trips from bases near Florence and Naples, a car makes sense, but pick it up and drop it off outside the city centers.
The drive is about 474 km, almost all of it on the A1 toll motorway, and takes about 4.5 hours without traffic. You take a ticket when you join the motorway and pay by distance when you leave; stay out of the yellow Telepass-only lanes. ViaMichelin will give you the route and an estimate of the tolls.
The big risk isn't the motorway, it's the ZTL, the camera-enforced limited traffic zones in both historic centers. Drive into one without a permit and the fine is 83 to 332 euros in 2026, plus an admin fee from your rental company, and several cameras can mean several fines. Ask your hotel where to park before you arrive. Read up on driving in Italy before you go.
Flying from Florence to Naples
Florence's Peretola airport (FLR) and Naples' Capodichino (NAP) have no direct flights between them, and neither does Pisa (PSA). Any itinerary you find will connect somewhere, usually Rome, and will take longer and cost more than the direct train. Don't bother. For flights into either city from abroad, see airfare to Florence and airfare to Naples.
Now that you're in Naples...
Some help planning the rest of your stay:
- The guide to Naples
- Budget hotels in the historic center of Naples, which is the part of town to stay in
- Day trips from Naples
- Things you should know about Naples, a city that can be a little tough to love at first
photos by: Global Jet, Daveness_98, Armando Mancini, Vokabre, Armando Mancini