Request for Naples advice

Ruby, welcome to this board with your first post. Is this your first time in Europe?

I partly ask because we need to know if "moderately priced" actually means "the cheapest place I won't be afraid of bedbugs", even though luxury hotels have that problem too, at times. Have you got a paper guidebook yet?

How did you select "Naples"? I just mean, instead of Sorrento or Orvieto or whatever. Naples does not have quite as serious tourist crowding problems as does Rome. But I would not miss the highest attendance place, the Archaeology Museum. And I wouldn't miss the Farnese Marbles in there, skipped by many a Pompeii fan. Although we were in this area at the end of May, I haven't been there in April. In May, we desperately needed good air conditioning. And Naples can have night-life noise at night, if you don't have air conditioning.

This old thread is partly satiric, so don't be put off by the title:

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/surviving-naples

EDIT: I should have said that we spent one night at Palazzo Decumani, a small local chain (Hotel Palazzo Decumani, Via del Grande Archivio , 8 Napoli 80100) in 2014. But the rooms were modern, huge, and icy with A/C. We didn't choose it strategically, more that it was still available at the beginning of high season. We also wanted a place that had a modest restaurant on-site for arrival (from London) after dark.

Thanks for your response, Tim! Yes, this is my first trip to Europe. We decided to add Naples onto our trip as an after thought…it’s also where we will be departing from when we fly back to the US. As far as what I meant by “moderately priced” lodging. Ideally something above the possibility of bedbugs, and air conditioning would be ideal. ( We will be there until May 3.) Thanks for the recommendation for the Archeology Museum and the Farnese Marbles. We will definitely check those out.
I don’t have the Rick Steves Italy tour book yet. I think they are mailing those out to us sometime next month…I was just trying to get a jump on booking Naples lodging and sights…It sounds like there are some places near Naples that might be a little more tourist friendly though?

Would you mind being more specific as to “moderately priced”? The definition changes depending on the city, so a specific dollar or Euro amount helps narrow the choices. As active seniors we walked everywhere in Naples and loved it.

If you are on the 17-day Italy tour, you will barely have two days in Rome. I suggest that you allocate those additional days in Rome. Remember the day that you leave for Naples, you will be spending quite a bit of time checking out of the hotel, getting to the train station early, finding your way around the train station, and lastly getting from the Naples train station to the hotel, checking in, etc. That could be half a day wasted. So you will not have two full days in Naples.

We like to stay in the Vomero neighborhood of Naples. It is safe and full of great restaurants and cafes. The neighborhood is well connected by the metro to the main part of Naples and the train station.

Vomero sounds great! Especially since we are spending three nights and two full days in Naples before flying from there to the US again. We are looking for lodging $175 or less per night. It sounds like Vomero would be a good option. Thanks everyone!

...what we should see...would like to avoid the real touristy area/sites..

With good planning you can see Pompeii and Herculaneum in one albeit long day. They will have tourist, but they are not touristy in the usual sense. They are the real deal and as long as you are in Naples.....

Take a look at La Chambre b&b in Vomero.

Vomero is a terrific neighborhood, but we love our strolls on the waterfront and therefore always book an Airbnb in the Chiaia district. We stay about a quarter mile from the Mergellina Line 2 metro station, which works out great.

Ruby, thanks for clearing up some things. You might consider where you are flying home from, and at what hour. Naples is slightly remote from Rome, and it might be too risky to spend your last night there. (That's one reason I asked if this was your first trip to Europe.) My advice to you is limited in that I've never been on a Rick Steves tour, so I can't say what needs to be augmented after the tour. I agree that a week is not too long for a first visit to Rome.

It is true that Naples is loaded with history and art. But it's an "advanced Italy topic." I mean that it's in a region that the northerly-oriented national government has starved for agency and infrastructure money for DECADES. It's often referred to as "gritty", but it has to be taken into account that many posters on this board do not live in the largest cities of the US. (Neither of my NYC parents owned a car their entire lives, and they never had to pick me up or take me anywhere once I was old enough to get to school ON MY OWN, without a cellphone to helicopter over me (because they did not exist.))

I just mean that "seeing a homeless person" (which happens even in European welfare-states all the time, alas) can be one definition of a "gritty" city! But (like in Athens), people park on the sidewalk in Naples, and don't obey road regulations very well.

Tim is partly right and partly wrong in defining Naples as "advanced Italy topic". He is a little wrong as Naples is not tipical Italy and most Italians (me, for example) would not identify with the Neapolitan way of life. But he is very much right in that the most beautiful things of Naples are not easily spotted. The city was for a long time one of the largest in Europe, the capital of a reign, it was an important center for arts and the most important for music (when most composers around were Italian, almost all of them had studied in Naples); this has left an important art heritage, sometimes difficult to spot in the mid of grittiness.

But the most beautiful and interesting things are, I am afraid, out of the reach of the average tourist. A friend of mine, a fellow from northern Italy living and working in Naples since 25 years, tells me he could not anymore go back to the north. The best moment in his day is having breakfast on the terrace of his rented apartment, overlooking the bay on a side and Mt. Vesuvius on the opposite side. Each day he has the feeling of time stopping for half an hour. And the most interesting thing are the people themselves, but if you do not understand their language, not always standard Italian, you are going to completely lose this side. The people are very clever (some of their scams, both to residents and tourists, have a theatrical quality that makes them great stories to tell), very understanding, incessantly speaking and making noise. Their sense of irony is unbelievable and often impossible to translate, leading to distrust of autorithy and ultimately to some unruliness. But this is not tourist stuff....

To clarify, we will be flying out of Naples our last day there, back home, to the US, so no rushing to get to another airport.
Having never been to Europe we’re looking for an authentic, yet safe, experience in Naples. As for familiarity with the “grittiness” of large cities, I worked in law enforcement for 30 years, including in NYC and most recently in Seattle, so I’m no stranger to it..
We are currently looking at the possibility of staying in the Centro Storico area. We are day tourists as opposed to late night ones, so feel we would be pretty safe. Has anyone stayed in this area? If so, what was your experience? Pros/cons?
I appreciate everyone’s input. I have learned a lot from this experience!

Hi Ruby5,
In two visits to Naples, both times I/we stayed right in the Spanish Quarter and felt perfectly safe.
First time halfway up Via Montecalvario, and last time right on Via Toledo within walking distance of the Toledo Metro Station.
Busy bustling areas with lots of shops and restaurants.
Loved it.
I’m a female traveller, late 60’s.
I found the people in Naples very friendly and helpful!
I asked for directions to a certain shop from a man in another shop, and he actually closed his shop and walked me to where I wanted to go.
Both times we stayed in rental apartments, but they are no longer listed.

Lachera,
Thanks for your beautifully written response. Sadly, I don’t speak Italian but I will do my best to honor and respect the people, history and culture while I’m there.

We stayed in the Centro Storico area on our first visit to Naples and plan to again next year. We were there for 4 days and absolutely loved it thus we want to return for a longer visit. Yes it is different from all of the other Italian cities we have visited. We were particularly impressed with the graciousness of the locals we encountered and their love for their city. We plan to stay at the Hotel Piazza Bellini our next visit, which gets very good reviews. You may want to check if it’s in your price range.

We stayed at Hotel Piazza Bellini and it was a great location, very nice courtyard to get away from the crazy of Naples, and a good breakfast. We had the least expensive category of room, and it was a bit dorm-like but perfectly acceptable. We were there on Easter Sunday this year and we were given a chocolate egg from a local, highly regarded chocolate maker. They also have apartment type accommodations.

Naples can be slightly jarring on arrival. We felt safe in all the areas we walked and stayed in, though I’m sure there are many unsavory areas as in most cities in the world.

I can suggest the below hotels both in excellent locations:

Santa Chiara Boutique Hotel, Via Benedetto Croce, 23. It was well priced in 2017, not sure about now. Superb location, with stunning views of Mount Vesuvius from the rooftop. Located on a very busy street.

Decumani Hotel De Charme, beautiful ornate dining area, okay rooms. Great location.

Don’t be deterred by the entrances to many hotels located behind graffiti/street art styled rusty old doors, behind these doors you will find some charming hotels.

We fell in love with Naples and are also returning for a long stay in this captivating city.

Naples is intoxicating, but not necessarily easy--even though heavily touristed, especially these days, it's not as polished as other cities in Italy. Nonetheless, it is truly a beautiful and fascinating city once you scratch the surface.

Hotel Piazza Bellini, mentioned above, does a fantastic job of bridging any gaps between the comfortable/familiar, in terms of hotel stay/experience, and the unfamiliar (neighborhood in central, busy, buzzy touristic Naples).

Find a viewpoint along the waterfront or a cafe full of people, order your favorite beverage, and then just sit and savor the moment and the passing scene. Naples is fascinating.

Santa Chiara Boutique Hotel was where we stayed our first visit. We have never had such a large hotel room! Busy location when we were there in early December. We faced the narrow street and it was fascinating the cacophony of sounds and sights. But it wasn’t quiet:) (Recycling/garbage pick up at 4 am). The location was excellent. We also felt very safe everywhere we explored.

The top sights in the area are probably Pompeii and Herculaneum to the southeast, the huge royal palace at Caserta to the north, and the in-town archaeological museum and nearby Capella Sansevero (for the "Veiled Christ" statue). The city also has many lovely religious complexes and a number of art museums. Most visitors also want to walk down lively Spaccanapoli (Via dei Tribunali). I'm sure the waterfront is lovely, but with only a week in the city I never made it down there.

I stayed in the working-class neighborhood just west of Via Toledo. It's full of restaurants seemingly catering to more locals than tourists but is not particularly well-kept. You often have to walk in the street, and the streets are cobbled. It's not the easiest area to roll a suitcase, and I wouldn't want to have a lot of blocks like that to cover, especially on a rainy day (cobbles can be slick).