REQ advice for base in Napoli and vicinity

IMO a money belt is a must for Rome and Naples. A small inconvenience maybe but well worth it. The hassle and emotion of being robbed is just not worth the cost of a money belt.
napoli is very gritty and chaotic. I see why u wish to stay nr train station but it sounds like u could also stay nr ferry port. Taking ferry to Ishia, and either going or returning via ferry to sorrento and amalfi coast is wonderful. Of course this is weather dependant. But this takes time and u only have sunday to wed for all of this. I would narrow your stops way back. Train travel back and forth from Rome airports uses alot of your time. Pick 1 destination u really do not have the timefor much else. I have visited napoli, islands and south many times and know that the area warrants minimum a wk. it is a blockbuster of beauty. Taking a tour of napoli south will help alot to save time and maximize sights.

Month of the year? Very signnificant factor! Does your first sentence mean you have Rick's Amalfi Coast book? It's extremely useful.

Please read some past posts here on those destinations. When you allow for all the time on the ferry, it's ambitious to do both an island and Naples in one day. It's also ambitious to do Sorrento, Pompeii, and two A.C. towns in one day. You used the word "tour", but it's not clear if you mean organized-tour or personal outing. In either case, you have to say whether you have 250 Euros for an 8-hour car and driver, or if you intend to use public transportation.

When we took the ferry to Capri, we faced pressure from the ticket booth to take a particular ferry back. They also studiously fail to know anything about other ferry companies on the same route. Our 5 PM return ferry was standing-room-only, despite having, literally, hundreds of airline style seats on the boat. We sat on the rear, er, deck, to get fresh air but zero view, which was like a Subway. That was June 30, 2016.

I sometimes wear a neck pouch (crossbody, like a holster), sometimes not. Every big city requires some vigilance. Violent crime is very rare.

I want to spend half a long day on Ischia, half a long day in Napoli,
and full day visiting Sorento and Positano, Amalfi, possibly Pompei. A
single tour hitting each briefly would be fine. I arrive Sunday
afternoon and depart Wednesday afternoon, both from Roma Ciampino.

Ray, I think you're going to have to manage your expectations somewhat: I don't see you getting all of this done with just 2 full days (arrival and departure days don't count, especially as you're arriving/departing from Rome.) Train to the coast (Sorrento) will take about an hour from Naples: tickets are cheap. From there, you can choose SITA bus, ferry or combos of both to get around but all of them take a bit of time. Pompeii is halfway in the middle between Naples and Sorrento: about 30-40 minutes by train.

I don't use a money belt, just a shoulder pouch. I've been to Italy
numerous times (first time to Napoli), have lived in Europe, and just
don't seem as concerned as others. Should I be concerned about theft
in Napoli?

I would say yes. We use other methods of protecting our valuables than moneybelts but I wouldn't personally put anything of value into a shoulder bag or exterior pockets, particularly not in Naples or on the often-crowded train (Circumvesuviana) between Naples - Sorrento. I'm not paranoid but figure an ounce of prevention is worth a day or more lost to cancelling credit/debit cards and getting them replaced; worse for a stolen passport?

But we do the same anywhere in Europe which draws large numbers of tourists + light fingers looking for easy targets.

There is an express train which runs between Naples and Sorrento that is a little more expensive but make s fewer stops and is more comfortable. The problem with that one is that it makes limited daily runs so may not work well with your schedule:

http://www.eavsrl.it/web/content/campania-express-2017-it

responses to follow-up questions:

the trip will be end of May.

my research so far indicates ferry is only 1 hour. it looks like departure port is just a few tube stops on the L1 from girabaldi to municipio.
http://www.capri.net/en/ferry-schedule?from=napoli&to=ischia

i would consider a public tour that hits the coast towns even briefly within one day. i am willing to skip Pompei. if organized tours leave from Napoli then problem solved, if they leave from Sorento, then I would take the train to Sorento and catch a tour bus or ferry from there. if Sorento is charming, then I may spend the day there, especially if the public beach is decent.

regarding responses to money belt - are you suggesting to not bring a passport nor credit card when ferrying to Ischia or on train to Sorento?

thanks folks!

Napoli, Pompeii,Sorrento and Positano in one day? Sorrento is very skipable. Positano too far, and I recommend Herculaneum over Pompeii as it is better preserved and smaller ( 40 times SMALLER) so much easier to navigate and good for a 1/2 hr train ride, and 1.5 hour tour then 1/2 hr back to Napoli. See Napoli, Capri or Procida if you want rustic it is walkable unlike Ischia. See below

Yes, one can go to Ischia for one day...but it is a huge island that requires taking a bus ( they never come) or taxi to get to any of the sights or spas...if you add up the 2 hours on the ferry plus the wait for the ferry and jockying to get on....you have 3 1/2 hours....a day trip to Capri actually makes more sense to me...or Procida, which is smaller and easier to navigate than Ischia.
I have spent many weeks on Ischia over the last 15 years so I know it well and love it, but it does not make sense to go for a day..unless you arrive very early...and you are going to see one specific sight such as you could head right to the Castle Aragonese by taxi 20 minutes or so with traffic and later go to the beach or eat lunch in that town's port....but doing anything else on a day trip would be impossible. even if you do the hop on hop off in the town trip around the island...which takes several hours but gives you a few minutes in each town...you would be on ferries for hours....

I recommend wearing a money belt with your credit cards and passport, cash. Keep 1 cc and 1 day of cash in a safe pocket like one on a shirt that zips shut. Why risk ruining your trip when you are alone, jet lagged and clearly a tourist...Southern Italy is prime time for theft...I am an Italian from Southern Italy...so I can say that! :) Also beware of theft ON the ferrries, as you cannot keep your luggage with you, anything in an outside zippered pocket may be pilfered, lock your luggage or use a hard shell style. Enjoy!

I think you are trying to fit too much into too short of a time. Pompeii requires half a day at least. If you are pressed for time, skip Sorrento. Personally I found it boring and chose to go to Pompeii twice instead.

As for theft, Naples is no different than any other big city. You have to just be street smart. Try not to dress like a tourist, don't flash cash, don't keep money in a back pocket or backpack, etc. When I was in Naples I never wore a money belt. I kept most of my money and passport in the safe in the hotel and only took what I needed for that day. I also wore a cross body handbag and kept in front of me on the train. I didn't walk down dark empty alleys, didn't visit certain sections of the city that were deemed sketchy, etc. just like I wouldn't do that at home in NYC.

On web forums people make Naples out to be so bad but when I went there, I realized it is not much different than NYC. The people who panic are people who have never lived in a city before. Be smart and you will be fine.

I think Naples gets the short end of the stick. People always skip it to go to Sorrento but Naples is much more interesting in my opinion.