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Advance Reservations Required with an Attractions Pass? (Campania Arte Card)

Posted by (New York) on

Hello all, I am posting a question to RS Forums for the first time. I hope you can help me with an upcoming trip to Naples, Pompeii, and Rome next month. I have been traveling solo for 20+ years, but the lack of practice since 2020 has introduced some anxiety into my life! My questions concern the need for advance reservations for "supersaver" cards, specifically Arte Campania Arte:

Can I just walk up to the first attraction I visit, purchase the card, then enter the attraction immediately? Can I do the same for subsequent attractions that accept the card? I would prefer not to commit to a timed ticket reservation in case of last minute plan changes (by which I may or may not be referring to taking a long nap after a wine and pasta lunch).

I would also appreciate any other advice or recommendations that you can offer! This vacation will be my fifth visit to Rome and my first visit anywhere south of there. I like Roman antiquities and am excited to visit Pompeii and the Naples National Archaeological Museum. Those are my two "non negotiable" attractions. I am also open to Herculaneum, Oplontis, and Baia(e). I am not interested in the Amalfi coast or Capri. I have no "non negotiable" Rome ideas, but I would like to visit Hadrian's Villa and possibly the baths of Caracalla. I visited Ostia Antica many years ago and enjoyed it, but I do not need to revisit. I love the Capitoline Museums, Centrale Montemartini, and Palazzo Massimo alle Terme, and I would be interested in similar museums. I prefer taking public transportation. I will spend 2 nights in Pompeii (Hotel Forum Pompeii), 4 nights in Naples (Hotel Piazza Bellini), and 3 nights in Rome (Fifteen Keys Hotel).

Thank you!

Posted by
28372 posts

I can't answer your question, because my tentative April trip to Rome and points south has turned into a June trip to Scandinavia; that happened before I got into the nitty gritty of whether advance tickets needed to be purchased. However, I think you'll be OK just walking up to the Naples/Campania attractions. What I'd do is check the websites of the major ones. If they don't say you must buy a timed ticket ahead of time, they won't be requiring a timed reservation with the Arte Card. You might find a place or two that requires (or urges) a timed ticket/reservation on weekends.

However, you might encounter lines at the Archaeological Museum and the Capodimonte if you arrive without a timed reservation; at least one of my guidebooks suggested buying tickets in advance to avoid the line.

Here are a few things in Naples you might want to check out:

  • Il Miglio Sacro walking tour; I'm not sure individual travelers (as opposed to groups) can sign up for this one; it includes the Catacombe di San Gennaro (but see below). www.catacombedinapoli.it/en/percorsi/theholymile

  • Catacombe di San Gennaro, Via di Capodimonte 13: Half-mile walk past two levels of burial niches, some with early-Christian frescoes surviving (barely). Mon-Sat 1000-1700 and Sun 1000-1400; English tours depart on the hour. €9 combo ticket with Catacombe di San Gaudioso (under Basilica Santa Maria della Sanita. 50% discount with the Arte Card. www.catacombedinapoli.it/en/places/catacombs-of-san-gennaro-naples

  • Mondo Guides Walking Tour: Meets at main entrance to Museum of Archaeology; daily 1500 (subject to 6 participants). Three hours, €25.

  • The city has quite a few art museums and nearly uncountable churches, many of the latter sounding very much worth visiting. Many of those sights are covered by or discounted with the Arte Card.

Posted by
148 posts

Thank you, acraven! I hope you have a wonderful time in Scandinavia. I would like to visit Finland sometime, so if you go there, I would be interested in hearing your experiences. And of course the ABBA Museum in Stockholm sounds fun!

Posted by
5 posts

I bought the Artecard online and there is an app so I don’t have to pick anything up- I can just use my phone, I think.

Posted by
4105 posts

Hi, and welcome to the forum. You might want to look at the 7 day Arte card. It does not include transportation, but you can purchase a transportation pass for about 15€ a week.

https://www.campaniartecard.it/campania-7-days/?lang=en

https://www.napoliunplugged.com/naples-unicocampania-fares

As with the other cards, you have to do the math to see if it would save you$$.

The trick is to use your first 5 most expensive sites first. (Pompeii and the Archeological Museum). Then pick up the other sites at a discount.

For Baia, it would be easiest to train/metro to Pozzuoli first. Visit the Flavian Amphitheater, you might also take a look at Rione Terra ( not included ) then on to Baia. One of the greatest features is the glass bottom boat that travels over the original citi.

Agree w/acraven , use a guided tour for the museum plus the Mondo guide for a walk of the centro storico.

Posted by
148 posts

Thank you, Lee and Gerri! I have installed the Artecard app on my phone and will look into the 7 day pass. I also looked more closely at the Artecard web site, and it says, "Reservation is not mandatory but is required to visit some of the most popular museums."

Other activities: I have scheduled a 5 hour eating/walking tour of Naples with Culinary Backstreets, and I am definitely looking forward to that. I think a nap afterward will be mandatory! I also have a nosebleed ticket for a Sunday matinee performance of Marina Abramovic's The Seven Deaths of Maria Callas at Teatro San Carlo. It sounds like performance art rather than traditional opera, and I am curious what the Neopolitan crowd will think of it.

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