We have traveled a lot and never really have given this a thought but Naples seems to have a rougher reputation for theft. We get in at 6:00 pm after a long flight from Oregon, so we will be a bit dazed. I have asked our hotel and they can arrange for a driver for €60+. Pretty steep compared to a €20 taxi. However I’m happy to pay for peace of mind.
Are we over reacting? I really don’t want to be negotiating a fixed price with a taxi driver when we will be so tired.
Naples has set prices for taxi destinations. Print it out. We had to show our driver the printed list after he quoted a higher rate. He complied to the set rate immediately.
Is there a particular website where I put our hotel name and I’ll get the rate? Should we plan on cash or is it easy to use a card?
Thank you!
Fixed rate taxi tariff
https://www.napoliunplugged.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Tariffe_taxi_2017.pdf
That's how the fixed fare system works there: Customers must ask for it, otherwise the run is always on the meter. There is no third option, do not bargain with cabbies (and don't tip them!)
Show your credit card before getting on and the first taxi in line accepting plastic will take you to your destination.
You can groan at my naïveté but I’m not finding a fixed rate to my hotel or a way to print out an official flat rate tariff off any link. Do I just find a landmark near my hotel? All the sites on Google are ‘unofficial’.
The above link is a PDF
You should be able to print that
Find a location listed there that is close to your hotel
You are probably in the Centro Historico. Don't worry too much about it--the point is really just to show the driver that you will not be taken. If they see you have the tariff sheet, they know that you are aware that there is a set price, and that should be sufficient.
I have asked our hotel and they can arrange for a driver for €60+. Pretty steep compared to a €20 taxi.
How did you determine the taxi fare to be 20euro?
What is the name/address of the hotel? Someone may be able to come up with a solution if given the specifics.
Hotel Piazza Bellini . I came up with €16 off of unofficial site. Maybe my iPad goofing up trying to print from the above link.
Unless you have a busload of people, the hotel rate better have you riding in a Rolls
I found this taxi fare calculator that came up with a 12euro estimate. https://www.taxi-calculator.com/taxi-fare-estimation
Hotel Piazza Bellini is in the Centro Storico, the fixed fare from the airport is 18€. This may not include the toll bridge cost.
Just print out the fixed rate card.
Is there a surcharge for an airport taxi at night? We don’t arrive until 10:30 pm. Also, we have extra baggage (wheelchair and walker). Does anyone know how much extra we should expext to pay?
Fixed rate taxi tariff
https://www.napoliunplugged.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Tariffe_taxi_2017.pdf
So are the 2017 prices still valid? That's the date on the attached PDF.
The nice thing about Napoli is the availability of Mondo/Rick Steves transportation options. I hope something more affordable works out for you!
I went to Naples in February. I didn't ever take a taxi, but I'm nearly certain my research showed a fairly recent increase in taxi rates. Some Googling will probably reveal whether my memory is correct.
The Naples airport website still links to this tariff page with 18 euros to the centro historico:
file:///C:/Users/vmayes/Downloads/Tariffe_taxi-1.pdf
I imagine that that elderly sheet is still in effect. I had no trouble opening the link that gerri provided. I wish I could remember if there was a dispatcher at the airport, but I don't.
Note that Fixed Rates include all extras. That's on the sheet. It is quite common, however, for Naples taxi drivers (perhaps because the rate sheet has not been updated, as you noted) to try to charge for luggage IN ADDITION to collecting the flat rate. If you know what the flat rate is, you can detect if he's collecting a tiny amount, or really ripping you off. If you have printed out the sheet and brought it with you, you could wave it in his face.
Of course, it might be wise to ask about the rate BEFORE you get into the cab. But he might still (because Neapolitans are so ... entreprenurial, like Tech Bro's ... ) try to add luggage fees when you get out. But this is no different from taxi worries in New York City and anywhere else. You said you've traveled a lot! So you are over-reacting a bit, but you don't seem to have all the facts (like the Rate Sheet) at your fingertips.
I don't see that risk of a 2 or 4 Euro phony luggage charge cancels out the benefit of refusing a 60 Euro private car transfer. And that's if you decided to roll with it, and pay the 2 to 4 Euros.
If you really think you'll be that exhausted, you might pre-prepare a sheet of paper with the address of the hotel on it, along with quotes (In Italian, naturally) from the Fixed Rate Sheet. If you use the exact words from the sheet, he'll figure out that you have a copy of the sheet. Naturally, you would include the words "comprende ogni extra."
