Please sign in to post.

Rethinking my 9‑Day Naples, Pompeii + environs plan — Seeking Itinerary & Lodging Advice

Posted by (PNW) on

Hi all, I'm heading to Italy for 9 days at the end of May. My must-see sites are Pompeii, Herculaneum and the Naples Archaeology museum. I'm going solo as my partner has been to Pompeii so I got a hall pass to history nerd out on my own. I'll be reading all the signs in full :)

My initial plan is to spend five nights in Naples and then four nights in Rome but I’m rethinking that. I’m wondering if I should cut down the Naples time and/or replace Rome with a smaller, less busy, town. I've been to Italy a few times, but never south of Rome. My itinerary constraints from me and my absent partner is that I should only be in Rome or south of it I'm good with that :)

Trip basics that will probably come up:

  • Travel style: Solo traveler, active mid‑40s, male
  • Interests for the trip: Archaeology, history, architecture, food, fancy coffee, amazing pizza and pasta
  • Other interests: Beyond my must-see sites I'd like some wandering days, rest days, and am open to promoting some lesser‑visited archaeological sites and smaller museums to a must-see. I'm interested but not dead-set on the Amalfi Coast but if there's an easy, low‑hassle way to work that in then it could be interesting for a few nights. Otherwise I'd do a day ferry from Naples one day to say I did it.
  • Transit: I'm good with trains and buses. I'm open to renting a car outside Naples - I've driven in Italy with no issues before although I have ZERO desire to try that in Naples itself.
  • Lodging style: Flexible; open to hotels or apartments. A staffed lobby might feel reassuring in Naples. A pool for a few days would be a really nice bonus. I know that’s unlikely in Naples so that's part of why I'm rethinking things.
  • Other needs: Reliable Wi‑Fi + a desk - I'll be working east coast hours on weekdays, roughly 3pm–midnight.
  • Hotel Budget: Under $200/night, the lower the better when I'm solo - I'd love to end up around $100/night to increase the food & wine budget.
  • Flights: In and out of Rome (FCO), 1pm-ish arrival, 3pm-ish departure.

My questions for the experts here:

  • Would you suggest alternatives to my original itinerary plan to reduce my Naples time and/or switch Rome to another base like Salerno or somewhere else? Throw your itinerary ideas at me! I'm thinking 2-3 hotel stays max.
  • Which neighborhoods or hotels in Naples feel comfortable for a solo traveler? Any specific hotels to recommend? The Hotel Plaza Bellini is not available on my dates which had been highly recommended. My partner was iffy about me in an apartment, in part due to the theft risk of my work laptop.
  • Anything else you want to share on plans, sites and restaurants? I'm all eyes/ears!

Thanks in advance for your help!

Posted by
1161 posts

Salerno would be a good alternative to Rome. It’s close to the archaeological site of Paestum with its three Greek temples and its museum. A favourite site and a delightful museum in a nice rural area. There is a hotel adjacent to the site, not stayed there but it looks very nice. Also close by is a farm where they raise Buffalo and make great cheese and yogurt. Rick mentions both Paestum and the buffalo farm in his Guides. I have not stayed in Salerno but I think it can offer a lot of what you are looking for in terms of hotels. Salerno is easily reached by train from Naples. If you haven’t booked a ticket yet have you checked out the possibility of flying in and out of Naples? There are a lot of smaller archaeological sites around Naples, individual villas etc. and the volcanic area northwest of Naples could be interesting. I think there is enough of interest in the Naples and Salerno areas to keep you interested for the full nine days

Posted by
637 posts

Have you tried to have an active sightseeing vacation while working full time before? It’s hard. You may think, no problem, I’ll get going early and sight see, have lunch, get back to hotel by 3 and work till midnight (something quick during “lunch break” for your dinner), and on day one ok, but if you got your day going at 8 am that’s 2 am on your work clock, so you’ve packed two full days into one, you’re exhausted by day 2. At least 5 of your 9 days will be weekdays. So don’t move hotels unnecessarily, as that adds more aggravation, pick either Naples or Salerno, do your must sees on the weekend days, and if you can do much of anything else, that’s frosting on the cake.

Posted by
8627 posts

That’s a shame that the Piazza Bellini hotel isn’t available for your dates. It’s just a few blocks down from the National Archaeological Museum in Naples - a short, safe walk. We stayed there back in November, and I couldn’t imagine a better place - great location in Naples - close to the great museum, close to the Dante Metro stop, lots of fabulous museums nearby (which the hotel front desk can recommend and get reservations), and a truly superior breakfast. Is there any chance you can tweak your dates to get nights there? It would be so worth staying there. If not, the neighborhood is certainly good, so if you can locate another lodging close-by that meets your price range, look no further.

If staying south of Naples winds up being your plan, our prior stay near Naples was in the week between Christmas and New Year’s in 2012. We spent one night in Salerno before driving on to Piano di Sorrento, which is 2 train stops closer to Pompeii than Sorrento itself. It’s been 13 years, so I can’t guarantee how things are there now, but the Piano di Sorrento location worked well for getting to Naples, Pompeii, and Herculaneum (and Oplontis, too), and Salerno was great, too. We’d visited Paestum the afternoon before arriving in Salerno for the night, and I’ve always thought it could’ve warranted more time in that city, except we had reservations in Piano di Sorrento for the next night. It was at a hostel that was run by a cooking school chef, and had a separate private room where we stayed, with breakfast included. i don’t think it’s around anymore, but if you can find acceptably priced lodging in Piano di Sorrento, I’d suggest you consider it. I don’t recall where we stayed in Salerno, but I think it had been listed in Lonely Planet at the time.

Add Reply

Please do not reply to violations of our Community Guidelines.