Booking flights was one thing, but getting around once we landed was a different challenge. Our plan was to use a mix of trains, rental cars, and public transit. We looked into private cars for a few airport transfers, but they were more expensive and came with their own challenges.
In the end we took one Uber, home from a date night in Brussels, but other than that we were on mass transit.
Public Transit Wins
Our first test came the moment we landed in Rome. After an overnight flight with little sleep, we went straight to the adjacent train station to take the Leonardo express from the airport to the central train station. It was easy to buy tickets, find the platform, and board the train.
There’s only one stop, so there’s no need to worry about the route. Ticket machines are in both the airport and the station, and every one we used could be switched to English.
Throughout Europe, even small shops, and vending machines support tap to pay.
They even had extra staff at the turnstiles to help weary parents scan their tickets. We were in the heart of Rome in just 30 minutes for a fraction of the cost of what I’ve read can be a harrowing cab ride.
The Luggage Puzzle
Of course, not every public transit experience was that smooth. We had to carry all our luggage for a few transfers, and it was never easy, but it was always manageable. We strapped our booster seat onto a backpack with a luggage strap, which made one of us unusually wide.
That width was a problem on subway systems, but was generally okay on dedicated airport trains.
The Rental Car Adventure
While public transit was our go-to for city-to-city travel, in order to access Calabria conveniently we rended a car. We rented in Naples because it was hundreds of dollars cheaper (and two hours less driving) than renting in Rome.
The train from Rome to Naples was frequent, fast, and cheap, so we used that to get south. The train station in Naples was absolutely packed, and the rental car location was a few blocks away, but we stopped for lunch and the calories helped get us there.
We also needed to make Naples a hub for one other important reason: the cheapest flight to Belgium was out of Naples.
Driving in Italy
Driving in Italy was an adventure. The mindset is much more aggressive than in the Pacific Northwest—you can’t wait for your spot or it may never come. One thing we had to learn quickly was how Italians deal with passing lanes. If you aren’t going very fast, even on a one-lane road, you pull over to the shoulder to let people pass.
Also the speed limit seemed to needlessly drop down from 100 kph down to 60 kph for a kilometer or so then pop back up. It looks like the locals don’t slow down for these, so I stopped slowing down as well.
We didn’t drive too much in many urban areas, and I was thankful for that. Driving in small mountain towns and around windy mountain roads was certainly different than what I’m used to, but there wasn’t anything too sketchy.
Busses in Oslo
In Oslo, their was major construction on their metro, the T-Bane, which meant we were taking buses and trams around the city. That made the local transit app, Ruter, essential. After doing the math, we found that a week-long pass was more cost-effective than per-trip tickets after only eight rides. Also kids ride free with an adult, which made it super affordable.
While the Ruter app had excellent timing, right down to the minute, we used Google Maps, for route planning. It had the same data in terms of arrival times, but also helped navigating between stops when we had to transfer.
Our Final Verdict
We bet on public transit and that bet paid off. We were able to save time and money and the convenience of apps and kiosks all in English made navigation effortless.
We use public transit, as a family, quite often in the states so we already have a level of comfort that made it easy to transition to using similar systems abroad.