Hi all,
I've been helped many times by this travel forum (thanks!), and I thought I'd seek your help once again. We (family of 4, 2 teenagers) have 5-6 days to explore Naples and the surrounding area (Amalfi Coast, Sorrento, Capri, Pompeii, Herculaneum). We probably will have a car, we're coming from Rome. I'm hoping for general suggestions on where to stay, where to focus our time, pros and cons of having a car, etc. Any advice is greatly appreciated.
Thanks in advance, Robert in Montreal
Ditch the car unless you want to lose your mind in Naples...perhaps driving outside is OK but not in the city (very chaotic and tight parking). Trains and buses serve the neighboring sites inexpensively and effectively. No need to drive to Naples - can take a fast train from Rome.
Hotels along the Naples waterfront (say Mergellina area) are really nice, so is the Vomero district up the hill. The most important is to find a place that's central/walking distance to the attractions you want to see. Try www.booking.com for hotels - you'll see reviews and hotels at all price points.
Hi Robert, I agree with Agnes, if you plan to stay inside Naples, you don't want to drive or have to park a car. You might decide to stay somewhere outside the city, and use your car for day trips away from the city, and take public transit or taxis into the city. In Naples, I stayed at the WONDERFUL Orsini46 B & B near the waterfront. It is very highly-rated, affordable, and only has 3 rooms, of varying sizes so one or two of the rooms might serve a family of 4. You don't indicate when you are traveling, and that B & B might well already be booked. Some people, including me, love Naples, others really don't. Any guide book will tell you about the various sites in Naples. I walked just about everywhere in the city, although in some areas the street plan got confusing, not every intersection had street name signs, and sometimes the same street changed names every few blocks. Day trips include Pompeii and Herculaneum, which can be visited by train from either Naples or Sorrento, and either on the same day or in separate day trips. I also took a nice day trip by train from Naples to Salerno and Paestum, where there are very well-preserved ancient Greek temples and a nice small museum about them. If you drive there, it would be much easier to also include a visit to a "mozzarella di buffalo" ranch or the nearby beaches, both of which teenagers would probably like. You might even want to spend a night or two there. Enjoy!
The Archeological Museum in Naples is not to be missed.
Have you driven in Rome? Naples is much worse. I saw many accidents there and was surprised I did not see even more. It's like - forget road rules, just drive! I was myself in the accident. In the cab. To drive in Naples is like pulling devil's tail. I would say 2 days in Naples and 4 in Sorrento which is an ideal base for Capri, Pompei, Amalfi coast. Car is wasteful expense and likelihood of accident is high especially in Naples. In Sorrento we stayed in the hotel Antiche Mura. Beautiful surroundings, swimming pool in the middle of lemon grove. 2 minutes walk to Piazza Tasso (central square), 5 to 10 minutes train station and bus station is right next to train station. We went by Circumvesuviana train to Pompei, next day by bus to Amalfi (for views sit on the right hand side). See Amalfi, take a boat to Positano, see Positano, take a boat to Sorrento. Next day - by boat to Capri and back. We came to Naples by train, stayed 2 nights then by boat to Sorrento, better than bus or train. Fresh, cool sea air even in hot weather.
Staying in Sorrento for 6 nights would give you 5 full days to explore.
Sorrento is easy from Naples via Pompeii on the Circumvesuviana train line.
Day 1 - Ferry to Capri
Day 2 - Pompeii and Herculaneum
Day 3 - Positano (by bus)
Day 4 - Naples
Day 5 - Amalfi and Ravello (by bus)
I would spend three nights in Napoli and a couple of nights in Paestum, which has a beach, mozzarella farms, a good museum and beautiful temples.
Thanks very much everyone, great information.
We will already have a car thanks to the rest of our time in Italy (Tuscany, etc.). We will then be flying home from Rome, so we'll need to get back there. So, if we establish a base outside/near Naples, we can use a combo of public transport (trains & ferries) to get around, maybe take the car along to Amalfi coast (to Paestum?), and then use the car to get back to Rome- but mostly not use the car while we're in the area, and certainly not while in Naples. So, where outside/near Naples might you suggest? We'll be there July 12-18 or so..
Thanks again, Robert in Montreal
You didn't give the month of the year. This area is very crowded from May to October, and you will need to book well in advance. Public transportation can be crowded as well, particularly with the curby, single, two-lane road that goes from Sorrento to Salerno, more or less. Busses have to stop traffic to make it around curves on this road. That's why you don't want to drive it.
Many people, ourselves included, stay in Sorrento because it's the LAST stop on the local commuter train, giving good access to Naples, and the five ancient excavation sites.
You should look up some old posts here to learn just how far (in hours) it is to Paestum, and how annoying it is to drive and park along the Amalfi Coast. Even in Sorrento (not on the AC) we saw long lines of cars outside underground garages every night that we walked to dinner. We wanted to go to Paestum, but it is too hard by public transportation. You are going to use that as justification for keeping your car, but I don't enjoy sitting in a long line of traffic for an hour or more.
I don't have teens, but I wonder if a full day to see Paestum will be interesting for them? Sorry to sound cynical, I just didn't know what an important place "was" when I was a teenager.
Do you understand that many hotels are up or down dozens of steps in the most popular AC towns? I would get parking promises very clear before selecting a hotel on that basis.
IMHO Sorrento is the best base in the area.
I"ll vote with some of the others: base in Sorrento and lose the car. You don't need it, probably will not want it (once you get there) and it'll be an expensive inconvenience. Use public transit around the region (train, buses, ferries) which we could provide some pointers on once you've made a decision.
There's more than enough to do for 5-6 days, and I'd allow some downtime for swimming and the other sorts of things active teenagers like to do!
Thanks everyone!
We've decided to ditch the car, based on the overwhelming feedback/advice, and stay 3 days in Sorrento & 2 days in Naples. We're very excited, and I hope that we can squeeze everything in!
Robert
A wise choice, methinks. :O)
Just a suggestion? Both Pompeii and Herculaneum (Ercolano) have bag checks so you could do one or the other - or both - on your way to/from Sorrento via Circumvesuviana train. Might be an efficient way to eliminate any backtracking.
