Circumvesuviana alternative if you're going from Naples to Pompeii

I very much appreciate you sharing this information as even after doing quite of research I’ve never seen this website. I had just about given up on the idea of traveling from Naples to Pompeii and this gives me another option. Many thanks for sharing.

The Circumvesuviana has a much worse reputation than it deserves. I have no idea why people fear it so much, because the hyperbole about how awful and scary it supposedly sure didn't match the reality for me. I took it back and forth between Naples, Pompeii, and Sorrento a few times and had no issue with it at all. It's just a commuter train. Watch your stuff and you'll be fine.

Most of the people who use the Circumvesuviana are local commuters and tourists. Just like the buses and metros in most any city that attracts multitudes of tourists, pickpockets are a possibility. And just like in all other cities, you need to take reasonable precautions. The Circumvesuviana is neither better nor worse than any other. Maybe it gets more warnings because there isn't - or at least hasn't been - a convenient low-cost alternative for transportation along the route from Naples to Sorrento.

Just like the buses and metros in most any city that attracts
multitudes of tourists, pickpockets are a possibility. And just like
in all other cities, you need to take reasonable precautions. The
Circumvesuviana is neither better nor worse than any other.

Exactly. The very same precautions one should take on this train should be taken everywhere else. While a bare-bones thing, similar to the 'L' in Chicago or other short-distance urban trains/metros we've taken in the U.S. and Europe, locals use it as well as thousands of tourists annually to Sorrento, Pompeii, Herculaneum, etc. The vast majority of them do so without incident, and most who have lost valuables simply didn't take the precautions they should have.

With its frequent runs and very low cost, there's absolutely no reason to "give up" a trip to Pompeii if the few other options - with much higher prices or far less frequent runs - don't work...as discussed in one of your earlier posts on the subject.

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/italy/alternative-to-circumvesuviana-naples-to-pompeii-in-december-car-service

I was not "afraid" on the Circumvesuviana. The problem was squeezing onto a packed, sardine-can tight train with one rolling suitcase each. In the unlikely case that you get a seat, the problem is staying in contact with your bag. The bag will never get more than 12" from the door; the crowd makes that impossible. I don't know how the concertina players get through! Don't count on air conditioning for your one hour ride, either.

Don't count on air conditioning for your one hour ride, either.

Tim, they're traveling in December so air conditioning isn't an issue, and I believe they're doing Pompeii as a day trip from Naples so no issues with luggage either (Suziee, correct me if I'm wrong?). The trip also doesn't take an hour; closer to 30 minutes.

And Suziee, you'd given another poster some very detailed advice about their own proposed Pompeii trip in this thread:

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/italy/first-time-traveler-rome-florence-pompei

Sounded like you'd done the scavi before?

My original post was back in the summer after having done quite a bit of research. Here we are at the end of November and you can tell this issue of the CV is something I’m still not comfortable with, even though my family and I have used a great deal of mass transportation in Europe and in the US.

I don’t know why there are so many stories about the CV, compared to other mass transit in other cities. I want to simply shrug and say “oh it’s no different than any other mass transit systems” and yet the stores do exist. I agree the approach of acting nonchalant, disengaged, yet simultaneously alert works in many mass transit situations. I am tempted to give it a try particularly as it will be winter and we will not have luggage, and I assume will be less crowded.

I appreciate you sharing your perspectives.

When you leave Naples, it could be standing-room only, but that's partly because like metro trains everywhere, there aren't a lot of seats. There will be more people getting off than on, so you're likely to get seats well before Pompeii. If your timing is good, you might be able to take the Campania Express, a slightly nicer train that runs on the same tracks, but only about once every 2 hours. It costs twice as much and makes very few stops, so the locals don't use it much.

If your timing is good, you might be able to take the Campania
Express, a slightly nicer train that runs on the same tracks, but only
about once every 2 hours

A good suggestion except that it doesn't operate during the winter, if that's when the trip is (December?).

https://www.sorrentoinsider.com/en/campania-express-train-schedule

I agree the approach of acting nonchalant, disengaged, yet
simultaneously alert works in many mass transit situations.

Suziee, taking proper precautions with valuables involves more than that. It's not carrying cash/cards/passports in an exterior pocket, standard purse, or anything/anywhere else on you which can easily be accessed by fingers other than your own. Looking back at your previous posts, you've been to (among umpty other locations) Rome, Seville, Barcelona, Paris, Munich, London and Venice so you shouldn't be a stranger to what the various methods are and have used them on your prior trips?

The Circumvesuviana has a much worse reputation than it deserves. I
have no idea why people fear it so much, because the hyperbole about
how awful and scary it supposedly sure didn't match the reality for
me. I took it back and forth between Naples, Pompeii, and Sorrento a
few times and had no issue with it at all. It's just a commuter train.
Watch your stuff and you'll be fine.

Oh, it deserves a reputation. Like Kathy & others have said, it's similar to a big city subway system, but without the strong-arm robberies. We rode it 4 times in March of last year between Naples, Pompei & Sorrento. And other than being annoyed/amused on one trip by a couple of drunken wastrels getting on board and making a holy racket with an accordion & bongos--hoping for a tip, which was not forthcoming from me or anybody--it was OK, relatively efficient and dirt-cheap. Also, when we rode, it was never full--I can imagine the challenges when it's sardine-like and the only thing you're worried about is not having your pockets picked.

My rule of thumb is ride the CV only during the day, never with luggage, and from experience don't make eye contact with anybody making a racket.

LOL. Other than urban metros and buses both domestically and abroad - ridden PLENTY of those with SRO - our only sardine-like transport experience was a train from Brussels to Bruges. With our luggage. No kidding, a close-encounters hour with my nose and the armpit of an Italian named Gino from New Jersey.

Nice guy, Gino, and practiced good personal hygiene so at least there was that. :O)

Jay, are there are virtually NO strong arm robberies on the NYC subway and busses. Crime is at an all-time low in New York City. Please don't apply Chicago's specific problems (which seem to be primarily about guns) to other large cities.

To me, it seems that Rick's long-standing warning to be extra cautious while riding the Circumvesuviana has somehow morphed into an urban legend that it's practically the epicenter of petty crime in Italy. He provides a similar warning about bus #64 in Rome, but the bus doesn't seem to attract the same level of paranoia. The Circumvesuviana is far from the most pleasant train ride in Italy, but imo it's poor repuation is greatly exagerated.

Jay, are there are virtually NO strong arm robberies on the NYC subway
and busses. Crime is at an all-time low in New York City. Please don't
apply Chicago's specific problems (which seem to be primarily about
guns) to other large cities.

One can only hope, Tim, that in Chicago it's a cyclical pattern and eventually the lawlessness will end and it will return to prominence like NYC did, which I'm sure you remember was a hell of its own in the mid-to-late 1970's, before Giuliani.

I rode the Circumvesuviana to Pompeii earlier this month. I've ridden many commuter trains in Europe and the US, including the NY subway in the late 1970s--which was the all-time worst. The CV is not that bad, but it is worse than most other European commuter trains. The station signs on many of the platforms are covered with graffiti, so you don't know where you are exactly. The "reader boards" inside the train were not working and there was no announcement for the station as we pulled in. I was afraid I'd miss the station for Pompeii, so I got out my smartphone and tracked the train live on Google maps to be certain what station we were stopping at (fortunately I had cellular service, there is no Wi-Fi). The signs for Pompeii have been kept clear of graffiti, but I didn't know that until we stopped at that station. This is not normal on European commuter trains. Yes, the CV is cheap and runs regularly, but even if you don't encounter pickpockets and are able to snag a seat, it can still be a stressful trip. The next time I'm in Naples, I'll be taking the CitySighting shuttle to Pompeii instead. I'm on vacation and I just don't need that kind of stress.