Circumvezuviana latest info

1. True. Especially in Summer
2. Wrong. There is no CircumveSuviana (spelling please) train leaving from Sorrento to Naples at 9:00 . There is a one at 8:52 that doesn't work on Saturdays, as it's written on the schedule.
3. False. There are no free days/hours in Naples. I really wonder who told you so.
4. Wrong. The fare changes based on the number of means of transport you want to use. The "one company ticket" costs 3.6 Euro, the one that's valid for 180 minutes and let you also use buses and metro in Naples costs 4.5 Euro. The Campania Express 2 ways ticket for tourists costs 15 Euro, 10 if you hold the campania arte card.

The fact that nobody checked your ticket doesn't mean it is free and you don't need one. You do.

I'm mystified as well: as far as I know there's no such thing as a free ride on ANY train in Italy. Your ticket on a local or regionale train may not be checked but that definitely does not mean the ride should have been free. Tickets need to be purchased AND validated in case an agent DOES check to avoid an expensive fine.

I'm curious as well where you heard that any of your trains could have been ridden without a fare?

The Circumvesuviana is indeed an adventure, but it isn't free even though your ticket may not have been examined. During our experience on it, 2 teenage ruffians popped on one stop, acted up, and popped off 2 stops afterwards. I'm pretty sure they had no ticket, but they probably knew where agents wouldn't be checking. We also rode an Intercity train where our tickets were never checked, but we had the reassurance that if someone asked, we had paid! I had wanted to avoid the Circumvesuviana at all costs, but the ferries were not running to Sorrento from the other towns along the Amalfi when we were there, so we had to take it. It is everything you described. I will add that it is also full of beggars. We were approached a number of times for a hand out.

Aw, panhandlers aren't limited to just the Circumvesuviana. We've encountered any number of them on regionale or local trains. Trust me, if they're jumping on and off without a ticket, they don't want to call an agent's attention so just be firm with your refusal to give them anything, and make a bunch of noise if they don't leave you alone. We haven't had to do that yet but we can put on pretty intimidating faces if we need to.

Keith, we've contributed to alms boxes all over Europe so it's not as if we have hard hearts. However, there is a well-known guideline among the many for keeping one's valuables safe, and that's not to disclose the location where you're keeping them while in places light fingers are rumored to frequent. Regionale and urban trains can be a couple of those places.

And I'm sorry if you've misunderstood and think I run around with a NY Face on all the time. I don't, and it has only been the rare occasion when I've felt the need. In those few instances, it was with very persistent panhandlers who would not leave us alone, crowded uncomfortably into my personal space, sort of speak, and mostly in Paris and not in Italy.