Retire Early Lifestyle
Retirement; like your parents, but way cooler

In 1991 Billy and Akaisha Kaderli retired at the age of 38. Now, into their 4th decade of this financially independent lifestyle, they invite you to take advantage of their wisdom and experience.

Riding the Train in Naples, Italy

Billy and Akaisha Kaderli

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I'm just gonna say it.

I wish the US had a clean, efficient, affordable, extensive train system like Italy does.

Taking trains all around southern Italy and Sicily, our experience was very positive.

Remarkably easy to purchase tickets, the trains were on time, for the most part modern and comfortable and - a very important factor - were affordable.

TRENITALIA ticket booths

Conveniently, there were these ticket machines located in train stations.

One simply follows the prompts (you can choose your language) and choose the date and location of where you want to go.

There is an option to purchase one ticket or several, and the machines take cash or credit card.

Easy-Peasy!

Note: be sure you check the date on your trip ticket if you are purchasing ahead. This can be very confusing and if you don't check the date when you want to go, you may be purchasing your ticket for the current day.

On the date that you are leaving for your trip, your ticket must be validated by another machine and that validation is good for 2 hours.

Our train ticket for this ride

Take a close look at this ticket.

At the top it shows that we are leaving Gaeta at 12:12pm and arriving in Napoli at 13:40pm.

The date reads 02/05/2023 -- which means May 2, 2023. Remember, Europeans write the dates differently than in Canada, Mexico or the US.

The cost of an individual ticket for this ride is $5.80 Euros or just over $6USD.

Reasonable price, right?

Cafe offerings inside train station

We checked out of our apartment and settled up miscellaneous charges (like a city tax for lodging per person per night).

We had made previous arrangements with our taxi driver to pick us up and drop us off at the train station. The ride was $25Euros or about $27USD.

It was a rainy, unappealing morning, but when we arrived to the station, we had time to go to this train station cafe before boarding our ride.

Look how clean this place is, and note all the choices one has to eat or drink.

Bathrooms were clean also.

Stuffed spinach and mushroom pie

These were delicious.

We bought 2 little stuffed pies at $3.60 Euros each (just under $4USD) and it held us over until we ate lunch.

We always travel with food, so in case we get stuck or something unexpected happens, we are prepared. So when we got hungry on the train, we ate sandwiches we made and some cheese.

Waiting for the train to arrive

After eating our pies, it wasn't a long wait until the train arrived.

Seats are not reserved - it's a first-come first-serve situation. Much of the time the trains have room unless it's a holiday or the train is going to a very favored tourist destination like Pompeii.

For instance, the train to Pompeii was jam-packed beyond belief.

When we stayed in Naples, our friend chose to go to Pompeii and braved the crowds. However, we went on the same train line twice on our way to the coastal town of Sorrento.

The train was ridiculously cramped until after the stop for Pompeii, when it then opened up in order for us to sit down.

Cozy on the train with a window seat!

I'm bundled up due to the cold rain, but I have a window seat to view our trip to Naples.

As you can see, the clouds outside are thick.

The train was clean and modern.

The Naples Central Train Station

We arrived at the Naples Central Train Station about an hour and a half later.

It was still drizzly and cold, but our apartment wasn't far from here.

Actually, this is why we picked our place - the convenience of getting around by train, all within walking distance.

Now... onto Naples!!

Retire Early Lifestyle appeals to a different kind of person – the person who prizes their independence, values their time, and who doesn’t want to mindlessly follow the crowd.

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