Naples (or stay in Sorrnto)

I am not seeing anything in the news about an issue with trash pickup, and in a city that big I really doubt one would notice.
I would not enjoy commuting back and forth from Sorrento for the Naples sights, but if you are looking for something more sedate, that would be the thing to do.

We were in Naples in May and did not notice any big accumulation of trash. However I know things can change from month to month. I would heartily suggest staying in Naples to see the archaeological things you want to see, as yes, going back-and-forth from Sorrento would be a hassle.

A day trip from Sorrento to Naples to see the museum would be easy to do and also to Pompeii and is a nice base if your looking to see the Amalfi coast.

We loved Sorrento and the spectacular sunset views over the Bay of Naples. You really only need one day in Naples to see the Archeological Museum and you could enjoy a couple of days in Sorrento and go to Pompeii from there. The historic Centro Storico area in Sorrento has charming shops and restaurants. if you get lodging on the cliff overlooking the sea near Villa Communale Park you can take the Sorrento lift down to the harbor and even take a boat to the island of Capri.

If there is nothing you want to do in Naples except the Arch. Museum, it is reasonable to make a roughly one hour train trip from Sorrento. You could even pair that with something else in that direction, like Herculaneum or Oplontis, to reduce wasted commuter train time. I'm sure there is some way to check your luggage and see the museum on the way to Sorrento if you're going there anyway. But if Naples is your main visit, there's no reason not to stay there. I consider air conditioning to be very important in the summer.

BTW, it can be annoying (and hot) to take the Circumvesuviana with your luggage. But "the price is right." That's really a separate issue, but I wanted to mention it. Don't overlook the Farnese Marbles while you are at the museum.

I hope you will understand that this citation (below) has an ironically-meant title, and is actually pro-Naples:
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/surviving-naples

We spent most of a sunny (but not sweltering) day in Naples. We left our bags with the hotel after checking out, walked to the Arch. Museum, had lunch, walked back to the hotel, walked (+- 1.5 miles) pulling our bags, to the main Train Station, and took the Circumvesuviana with our luggage to Sorrento. Although the train was more crowded than Times Square on New Years Eve, our day was very pleasant, with no fear or discomfort (well, at least when there were bollards between us and the wild car drivers!) We used a car service to return from Sorrento, 90 Euros.

If you decide that Naples is a no-go and you are also not keen on a tourist driven town like Sorrento, you might want to consider Vico Equense -- a pretty, coastal town on the bay of Naples/Sorrento.

It is served by the Circumvesuviana railway which you could catch in Naples-- specifically you would take the Central Naples – Circumvesuviana Railway (Naples – Sorrento line, Vico Equense stop). This same line stops at Pompeii and from Vico Equense it is about a 20 minute ride (would want the Pompei Scavi/Villa Misteri stop and it is is just around the corner from the Porta Marina entrance to the ruins). Incidentally, both Sorrento and Vico Equense are on the same Circumvesuviana line and it's 5 stops from one to the other with a journey time of just 11 minutes should you want to pop over to Sorrento.

I have no first hand experience with the above but I've been researching this as I wanted an alternative to Sorrento.

In my opinion, the only “don’t miss” sight in Naples is the Archaeological Museum. As you have discovered, that can be visited for the day from Sorrento.

Even after more than 10 years, my loathing for Naples hasn’t dissipated. The streets were filthy, and there were many beggars everywhere. ( I live in Berkeley, and I often travel to S.F., so I do know about homelessness. However Naples took things to a whole new level for me.)
The whole place was amazingly disorganized. For example, the person in the TI office told us we needed to take a # 6 bus to get to where we were going, but she didn’t know where the stop was. It was just across the street. The sign for the TI office pointed in the wrong direction. The office had moved, but I guess no one thought to move the sign. We tried to buy Campania cards, but neither the TI office nor the Archaeological Museum had them. These are just a sample of our misadventures.

We ended our stay by almost missing our bus to the Amalfi Coast. Someone who should have known better - - maybe our b&b host - - told us that getting to that bus stop was very easy. Just take the tram to a certain square and get the bus there. The “square” is actually an enormous 2 block long rectangle with around 6 bus stops scattered about its perimeter. We walked from one to another schlepping our luggage and found none for the bus we needed. Luckily we did find an English speaking policeman who directed us to a stop, 2 blocks off the square!
My advice: stay elsewhere!

In my opinion, the only “don’t miss” sight in Naples is the Archaeological Museum.

and there go the Veiled Christ at San Severo and Caravaggio's Flagellation at Capodimonte. It's always a matter of tastes, isn't it?

I live in Brooklyn and visited Naples in mid May. I really liked Naples and found it cleaner, quieter, and safer (in my limited experience walking in the touristy areas) compared to my hometown. For example:

• I saw garbage on the street, but it was less filthy than NYC.
• In both Brooklyn and Manhattan I have noted, since the advent of outdoor dining because of COVID-19, rats running across the street between restaurant "sheds" during dinnertime. I saw no rats in Naples, so I consider that a big win!
• I stayed at the Hotel Piazza Bellini, which is located on a piazza which is both historic (excavated city walls from ancient Greek times) and immensely popular (lots of bars selling discount Aperol spritzes to college students looking to get lit). I was warned that the weekends are very loud because of drunken revelers, so I was apprehensive about noise. It turned out that the hotel's historic thick palazzo walls and modern windows were effective enough to block most of the street noise. It was actually quieter than my apartment overlooking Flatbush Avenue. I recommend Hotel Piazza Bellini. The staff are very friendly and helpful. There is a wonderful interior courtyard where you can enjoy breakfast and aperitivi. The location is a 10 minute walk from MANN.
• I was nervous about the Circumvesuviana and Circumflegrea trains (they have been described as dirty and unsafe), but it turns out they are both like a PATH train: safe commuter lines without charm.

Most importantly, I found Neapolitan residents to be friendly and helpful. I look forward to visiting Naples again.

Caveat: When I was there in mid May, there were relatively few tourists, and the weather was pleasant. I might have had a different experience in the hot, crowded summer season.

Wherever you wind up staying, I recommend researching the Campania ArteCard, which offers discounts to a number of attractions. I used it for MANN, Pompeii (and associated villas), Herculaneum, and Baia, and I found it to be a great deal. I think it might be worth it even if you visit only MANN and Pompeii.

If you have additional time in Naples, I second Dario's recommendation for Cappello Sansevere (separate admission not included in the ArteCard, and advance tickets are a huge timesaver). I also really enjoyed Culinary Backstreets' walking tour of Naples. Buon viaggio!

@NYC Librarian First of all... I am also a librarian and I live in Brooklyn (-: so your post resonated with me! And yes, I was on the LES with a friend to go the New Museum last week and we were jumping over trash. Hopefully beginning of October will be less than high tourist season.

Thank you for this post. I am going to telework from Siena (I work at a non profit and not a public library) in September and then meet my husband in Naples. Now i just need to figure out how many days to stay in Naples because we do want to also get to do some outdoor stuff in Puglia.

acdesign, I notice that this thread has managed to avoid an occasional complaint here, about "answering questions that were not asked." That may because there is a still a pandemic-related (?) decrease in activity here. I certainly have been guilty of that "offense" many times.

Anyway, my point is that if you WANT people to tell you what to see in Naples, or why you should stay in Sorrento or elsewhere for a time, be sure to ASK. Your OP is quite specific, and we have (surprise) mostly honored that.

It appears from posts here that the largest number of people visit Pompeii from Sorrento, then those who stop en route to Sorrento, and finally, those who visit from Naples. But that's not a scientific observation. And it is influenced by Sorrento's massive popularity as a destination, including many countries other than the US. DIscussion of Puglia is less frequent here, but you can use the blue search box top center.

thanks Tim... this thread did help me decide that Sorrento is not really where I want to stay and that as a New Yorker... I can probably handle the grit of Naples. After I research a little more about Puglia--I will definitely hunt around here and maybe start a thread. The comments have been extremely helpful.... kept my eyes open

I think you'll be happy being able to easily see what you want to see in Naples in 2-3 days and then have the big contrast of Puglia. I've chimed in on your Puglia thread, so feel free to ask more there. I went twice and we have several regulars who have explored Puglia.

It is lovely to see another NY librarian on this forum, acdesign! I will follow your Puglia travels with interest--perhaps it will be a new part of Italy for me to visit someday.

Things to do in Naples: the RS walking tour is very good and includes a number of worthy sights which are detailed in the book. It starts across the street from the archaeology museum. You can day trip to Caserta. Another day trip possibility (I'm told) is to Ischia.

Lastly, one of our now-rarely-seen forum members, Harold, would say "the only subtle thing about Naples is its charm." When you stay there, you do learn that.

We just spent 3 enjoyable days in Naples, including visiting the archeological museum. We loved where we stayed, both the location and apartment. (Booking.com and name of apartment was Dimora Augusteo.) I just left a review about it on booking.com. We were glad we gave Naples a try!