Where do we have to keep luggage in Italian trains?

There is space for luggage at one end of the car on fast trains. There is also some room for bags overhead. You cannot leave the bags in the aisles, but sometimes there is room between back to back seats. The Italian train system doesn't go to Sorrento, but there's a local train that runs from Naples to Sorrento - the Circumvesuviana trains. http://www.vesuviana.it/web/en There's a stop at Pompeii (Pompei - Scavi Villa Misteri) between Naples and Sorrento. Personally, I prefer to take trains as early as possible and get more time in at my destination, but you should just take the train whenever it's convenient for you. Florence to Aosta is roughly a 5.5 hr trip which will require at least one train change en route. You can find schedules & prices here: http://www.trenitalia.com/cms/v/index.jsp?vgnextoi...

I've never taken the bus from Rome to Sorrento - just the train to Naples and then the Circumvesuviana train from there to Sorrento. However, I've never had any problems getting on of off buses here in Italy. Shuttle buses to the airport are the most crowded that I've been on - often standing room only. There can be some jostling geting on one of those, but usually there's a line.

First, there are no Eurail trains. Eurail is a third party agent that sells passes that can be used on the various national trains in Europe. they do not operate any trains; you will be on Italian trains while you're here. How crowded the trains are depends on which specific trains you take and on which specific days. Sometimes the trains can be pretty empty and other times they will be packed. Generally, it's not too difficult to get in or out with luggage, but I've seen some people struggling with very heavy over-sized bags on occassion. There are times when you may have to stand on the regional trains - this is especially likely if you're on a train headed for the beaches and don't get on at one of the first few stops. Usually I haven't had any problems here. If you're getting on a train that sits in a station for a while before leaving, then you want to get on early. The fast trains have reserved seats, so you will not have any problem of overcrowding. You will sometimes find people crowding around the doors waiting to get on while you're coming out. Other times, there will be no people. You'll be able to get off either way. The early morning trains are less crowded. I usually take the first train in the morning when I'm going out exploring on the weekends and there often is no one else on the platform waiting. There are not so many people in the station in Verona or Bologna when I arrive to change trains either. At some stations, the trains are scheduled to stop for a minute. These tend to be the smaller stations. In actual practice it takes a few minutes and you have ample time. There may be an announcement of the next stop or a display showing the stops, but not always especially on the regional trains. When the train is slowing, you get up and head for the door. However, in some stations, the trains stop longer - sometimes much longer. This is especially true at places like Roma Termini, Venice Santa Lucia, Florence Santa Maria Novella, Milano Centrale and other stations that are terminals and other large stations like Bologna or Verona that have a lot of tracks. I've lived here for 11 years and never had any problems on the trains at all. I often sleep on the trains. However, it's always a good idea to be aware of your surroundings and take the same precautions you would anywhere else. The slower regional trains do not accept reservations. For example, the trains between Florence and Pisa & Lucca if you want to nake a day trip there. Other trains like the fast trains and the intercity trains do. You can reserve seats at the ticket windows or the ticket machines. The machines have an English language option for the interface except in the smaller stations. It's very easy to figure out even using Italian though. You won't have any problem getting by here in English in the tourist destinations. Not everyone speaks English, but you should manage very well - thousands of tourists who speak only English have successful trips here every year.

Last summer I traveled with a bunch of people in Italy. We bussed to Sorrento but we took a train to Rome. We put some of our luggage overhead but some of it ended up being lined up along the aisle. Your luggage should remain in sight all the time!

Once I was on a train out of Rome. There was a large party of people who were headed north. In that case they did end up keeping their luggage near the exit doors. One of them remained to attend to the bags.