Travel days are becoming increasingly more difficult for me. I should re-arrange that thought. The more I try and pack into them, the more difficult they obviously become. This day I was staying within Italy, however I ended up with six legs to complete my journey. Here is part uno, travel day Salerno to Naples.
The Train
Leg one of six for the day was starting bright and early with a train from Salerno to Naples Centrale Station. This had to be early as I had a flight leaving Naples Airport later in the morning.
Having prebooked my ticket online with Trenitalia, their website is easy to use, and has an English option, bonus points! I was taking the 6:38am train from Salerno to Naples Centrale Station and was also able to book the second leg of the journey today, a bus from Naples train station to the airport.
Now all I needed to do was bag drag myself and my luggage through the dark cobblestone streets of Salerno to get to the station on time. This was not a fun way to start the day, especially since it took just about half an hour.
The train ride from Salerno to Naples was great. Easy, my car was empty and I didn’t even get asked to show my ticket. There was not a lot to see along the way however. Most of the ride was underground which was a surprise to me.
Naples Centrale Station
The first tricky part of the day was here in Naples. I had to find the bus.
I had a first-class seat on the train. Not fully understanding what that meant, I was in carriage number one, which as trains go, is the furthest away from the station! So yes, when I arrived into Naples I had to walk along the platform, 12 train cars just to reach the station.
I had done as much research as I could, to figure out where my bus was departing from. Because I only had 13 minutes to find it, I was super stressed. And my train was 7 minutes late. 😐😐😐😐
That left me with 6 minutes to find my bus. The other hurdle, was there was no clear information on my booking as to what the bus line was called. I was relying on bus personnel to be able to look at my booking with Trenitalia and tell me where to go.
Looking for the Bus
Racing outside to the front of the station, I believed this was where my bus was supposed to be. I ran to a group of buses across from the front entrance and began asking the bus drivers if this was the correct area for my bus to the airport.
After one of them looked at my ticket, I was told no. That I would need to cross to the opposite side of the station, and go around the back, in order to catch my bus.
With minutes to spare, I began to run. Remember I am pulling a suitcase, have a carry-on and my purse.
I arrived at this other area, late now, and in a panic, began asking drivers here if they knew where I should go to find the bus, hoping that perhaps it was late arriving into the station.
The third driver I asked directed me to the ‘information box’, which was a room across the parking lot, selling tickets.
Inside here, when I got to the front of the line, a second gentleman, who could speak English, insisted I go back to the front of the station, where I had originally been, to catch the bus there. I was crushed. I had definitely missed my bus. He did say though that they run every 20 minutes, so I was sure to catch the next one.
Re-directed
By this time, my hand pulling the suitcase was raw and my arm was shaking. I went back to the front of the station, which took a further 5 minutes to reach.
I found a sign that said Alibus and believing this was the brand I was looking for, joined a line of people, directly outside the front doors of the station. Exactly where I came out the doors just about 15 minutes prior. Dude.
I stood here until an Alibus pulled up. I hopped on board amid the crush of others trying to get onto this bus. Showing the driver my online ticket, he waved me forward.
Alas, I am on the bus, heading for Naples Airport where I will begin leg number three of this long and tiring travel day.
