Naples, Italy
Shore Excursion and Port Review

efschlenk

NAPLES (NAPOLI) is a large, gritty, and focally very poor city (like many American cities). The waterfront is not particularly attractive, but it is safe during the day. The one recommended in-town activity is the famous National Archeological Museum, which is a 20 minute walk from the port, but unfortunately is closed on Tuesdays (our day in that port).

From Naples there is easy and cheap access by the Circumvesuviana train (a small commuter line which runs along the Bay of Naples, with its own station about 20 minutes by foot or a short taxi ride from the port). The trains leave about twice hourly for Ercolano/Herculaneum (20 minutes, 2 Euros), Pompeii (40 minutes, 2 Euros), and Sorrento (60 minutes, 3 Euros). Herculaneum is a 10 minute walk downhill from its station, Pompeii is adjacent to its station, and Sorrento (and the nearby Amalfi coast) is the end of the line.

I highly recommend leaving early for any of these sites – the first hour in the morning you will have the places to yourself, before the tour bus hoards descend. Nothing compares with a walk through quiet, empty, and evocative ruins (I personally prefer Herculaneum since the reconstruction is smaller but more complete, with impressive mosaics and a few artifacts still in situ). Audioguides are available at each site (5 Euros). Entry to either site is 10 Euros and a combined entry is 18 Euros.

Sorrento is a delightful but touristy coastal town. From the train station, walk a short distance downhill then turn left along the main shopping street. When you get to the square with the halo’d saint statue, venture a few blocks downhill for the views (and possibly a snack) at the "Foreigners’ Club" (ask a local for directions). It has a beautiful patio with the best views in town, and the food is reportedly reasonably priced and reasonably good. From the same square mentioned above, you can continue straight ahead (following the curve of the bay away from the station) along a delightful, narrow pedestrian street which runs parallel to the main road but is one block nearer the water. At the end of this street you can rejoin the main road, walking gently uphill for 15 minutes to the Bristol hotel for a view back to the town and across the bay. This is where the horse carriages turn around and you should too, unless you are a fast hiker and want to continue to the end of the cape by road and foot trail (there are good maps at the Foreigners Club information booth).

When you get back to Naples (4 Euros, 60 minutes), your train ticket will also be valid in the Naples subway. Get off at the main station (Garibaldi) and transfer to the metro one stop to Piazza Cavour. This is just across a small park from the pink-colored National Museum. If it is not Tuesday and not too late in the day, you can see all of the treasures from Herculaneum and Pompeii which were removed to this museum (a perfect closure to your visit). From the museum you can walk 20 minutes downhill to the port and ship along a busy and safe shopping street, but watch out for traffic (including kamikaze scooters) when crossing streets.

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