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Info on Circumvesuviana from Sorrento to Herculaneum

Info on Circumvesuviana from Sorrento to Herculaneum

Old Jan 14th, 2011, 01:21 PM
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Info on Circumvesuviana from Sorrento to Herculaneum

I am looking for current info on getting from Sorrento to Herculaneum by Circumvesuviana. I have seen some posts, but those were a couple years old. I haven't been able to locate the train station in Sorrento yet and it would be nice to know how many stops it is to Ercolano Scavi. By my reading that should be the stop to get us to Herculaneum. Is the site open every day? Are there any good restaurants between the train & the Site? Do you buy RT tickets at the station or elsewhere? Thanks for any and all info. We will be in that area in a couple weeks, and getting excited.
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Old Jan 14th, 2011, 01:34 PM
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We took it several years ago, but there was a web site on trip advisor that had an article about it and the web site below. I believe we just bought tickets when were ready to leave for Naples.

http://www.vesuviana.it/web/en
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Old Jan 14th, 2011, 01:40 PM
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I posted a question about trains to Pompeii and got alot of answers . . .
http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...n-december.cfm
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Old Jan 14th, 2011, 01:53 PM
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It's a short walk from the train station to Ercolano Scavi. There are some eating places on the way but nothing was appealing enough for us to stop. We wanted to stop at Osteria Viva Lo, a Slow Food selection on Corso Resina, 261 but it was closed that day. From the train station at Ercolano you can also catch a minibus to Mt. Vesuvius. We enjoyed the climb but weren't quick enough and missed our ride down!
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Old Jan 14th, 2011, 03:29 PM
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There have been a number of posts with this information in the last few months; MiamiBeachMomma links to a good one. The Fodorite GAC has a wealth of information and A_Brit_In_Ischia has posted a bunch, too. Click on Marija's name for her excellent trip report of Naples; if you click on my name, there should be a number of posts I've commented on that are related to the area, too.

When we were there in early May 2010, we and some other tourists who descended the Circumvesuviana at the same time all apparently didn't see how to walk to the site. It was easy enough to take a group hire van, round trip paid for at an office in the train station parking lot, if you don't want or aren't able to walk.

As for the Circumvesuviana from Sorrento, it couldn't be easier! Very inexpensive, too. I don't remember exactly how many stops from Sorrento to Erculano-Scavi, but there's a line map in every train car, and the stop is a little closer to Naples than is Pompeii...

There is a local pass, called the Campania ArteCard that's a really good deal for transit + sites in the area. I know a search on this forum will bring up the info within the body of at least one of the threads!

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Old Jan 14th, 2011, 05:27 PM
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>>>I haven't been able to locate the train station in Sorrento yet and it would be nice to know how many stops it is to Ercolano Scavi.
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Old Jan 14th, 2011, 06:48 PM
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>>>I haven't been able to locate the train station in Sorrento yet
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Old Jan 14th, 2011, 07:32 PM
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Thanks so much for all the replies. I have clicked on the various links and I'm figuring things out and have printed out the circumvesuviana schedule & the map. And now I understand where the train station is in Sorrento. Should be able to find it now. I also have an understanding of how to find the site from the Ercolano station. You guys are the greatest.
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Old Jan 14th, 2011, 08:24 PM
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Last time I was at Herculaneum it was cash only to get in.
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Old Jan 14th, 2011, 10:16 PM
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If you've not seen it, the new official website for the archaeological sites around Vesuvius is well worth a look - the Herculaneum section starts here...
http://www.pompeiviva.it/pv/en/ercolano.htm

(In the "Services" section there are details of the free cloakroom and Left Luggage facility)

For the Circumvesuviana, try these two route maps for the journey..
http://www.pbase.com/isolaverde/image/124987094

http://www.pbase.com/isolaverde/image/128288647

Keep an eye on the passing station names, on the quicker journeys between Sorrento and Naples the trains don't stop at all of them!

Once you step out of the Ercolano Scavi station, simply head down hill and keep going until you see the site entrance on the opposite side of the road junction, at the foot of the hill. We've stopped at the cafe/bar on the corner immdeiately before you'd cross that road, and it was OK for refreshments - though not a proper lunch!

Some people appear to have difficulty spotting them, but there are signs to show the way...
http://www.pbase.com/isolaverde/image/123061482

Good maps of Sorrento and its surroundings can be downloaded from here....
http://www.unicocampania.it/index.ph...mappe_sorrento

And for the particular E3 tickets you'd need (unless getting an Artecard), start here but do note that from Monday to Friday the €3.90 "Daily Ticket" version can't be used before 10:00...
http://www.unicocampania.it/index.ph...interscambio=0

Hope you'll enjoy your visit!

Peter
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Old Jan 15th, 2011, 12:59 AM
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Wow, Peter, that's an incredibly helpful post!

It's been 2+ years since I was there. The only thing I'll add to the great stuff from everyone else is that the walk to such an amazing, incredible site is so undeveloped for tourism. I was expecting lots of tourist-oriented shops and signs. Instead, the Circumvesuviana is just the local commuter train, you get off at an unremarkable suburban stop. The directions I found in a Rick Steves book were exactly right: exit into a cul-de-sac, go right, then turn left down the main street and keep walking straight to the excavations. I was surprised that the street was just a busy street, with only those little brown signs that Peter shows. Don't worry, you're not going the wrong way! (Oh yeah, I recall there was this big new "virtual museum" along the way, which I thought might be the excavation site when I passed it, but it wasn't. Anyone know if that museum is worth a visit?) It's like the town of Ercolano doesn't think Herculaneum is anything special. And indeed, part of the magic for me was being in the middle of this ancient Roman city, looking up and seeing modern Ercolano, and not seeing so much difference. People are people, even across two thousand years.
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Old Jan 15th, 2011, 05:06 AM
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>>>>Herculaneum it was cash only to get in.>>I recall there was this big new "virtual museum" along the way
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Old Jan 15th, 2011, 07:13 AM
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Although Pompei is a huge draw, the ruins at Herculaneum attract less than a sixth the number of visitors - even including school parties, an average of less than 1,000 a day.... knock out the coach parties who see nothing of the town, and it's no bonanza!

English brochures for the Museo Archeologico Virtuale - MAV - are here...

http://www.museomav.it/doc/brochureENG.pdf

http://www.museomav.it/doc/ING.pdf

It's not one of the included museums, but holders of the Campania Artecard get a 20% reduction off the usual €7.50 entrance price.

Peter
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Old Jan 15th, 2011, 08:06 PM
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And another thank you is in order. Wow Peter, I love it. Everything including the picture of the little brown sign. By looking at the map I assuming that the stop is Ercolano, even though I have seen it mentioned as Ercolano Scavi elsewhere. It appears that the Ercolano stop is next after Torre del Greco. I guess I've never mentioned, but we've been to Pompeii twice and each time we wanted to include Herculaneum but didn't get to do that.
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Old Jan 15th, 2011, 08:10 PM
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Oops, I've just noticed on the other map that there is a Ercolano-Miglio d'oro which is the stop before Ercolano. Do we want just Ercolano? Thanks.
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Old Jan 15th, 2011, 08:38 PM
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You want the Ercolano Scavi stop. Scavi is Italian for excavations.
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Old Jan 15th, 2011, 11:55 PM
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You'll see the "Herculaneum" station described both ways... the main thing is not to get off at the CV's other stop for the town of Ercolano, which always seems to be shown as "Ercolano - Miglio d'Oro".... unless of course you'd like to visit the magnificent villas there - though perhaps that's another outing...

http://www.italiantouristoffice.se/sv/docs/71.pdf

or: http://www.recep-enelc.net/allegati/VillaFavorita.pdf

On their overall route map, the station is simply "Ercolano" (and, as I recollect, that's also how it's written on the platform and walls signs there)....
http://www.pbase.com/isolaverde/image/124987094

But on others - and on the CV website's train-finder - it's "Ercolano Scavi"... fortunately though, once on the train, everything's much easier as there are strip maps all over the carriages!

Peter

PS - with a few more minutes to spare, this makes for an interesting read... a conference paper titled "The city within a city: conservation and community at Herculaneum"

http://www.ahi.org.uk/include/pdf/AH...AHI%202009.pdf
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Old Jan 16th, 2011, 04:21 AM
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Thanks again Peter. This morning I've taken time to read every word about the Museum (MAV). This is a must, it looks remarkable. I see in one of the above posts that this museum was "along the way" from the train to the site. I've looked at the train site for Sorrento to Ercolano: the hourly ticket is one-way, but the E3.90 ticket would be round trip...is that correct?
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Old Jan 16th, 2011, 04:31 AM
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It's all on the webpage mentioned above - click on the blue descriptons to see the details!

There's the ordinary €1.90 one-trip "Hourly" version of the E3 - for which the conditions go...

"This ticket is valid for 100 minutes from the first validation. It must be stamped at the beginning of the journey. It can be used for a single trip on each railway service by the Consortium companies. It is compulsory to write down on the tickets the towns of departure and destination, otherwise the passenger will be considered to be without a ticket, even in case of tampering of the information specified."

Then a "Daily" one for €3.90, which isn't valid till after the morning rush hour...

"Valid from 10 a.m. to midnight of the day of validation. It must be stamped at the beginning of the journey. It is compulsory to write down on the tickets the towns of departure and destination. The owner must fill in the appropriate blanks with his/her name and date of birth. He/she must also show an ID when requested. If this information is not provided or if he/she does not show a valid ID, the passenger will be considered to be without a ticket."

And the €3.10 "Weekend daily" version....

"Valid on Saturday or a holiday, from 00.00 to midnight of the day of validation. It must be stamped at the beginning of the journey. It is compulsory to write down on the tickets the towns of departure and destination. The owner must fill in the appropriate blanks with his/her name and date of birth. He/she must also show an ID when requested. If this information is not provided or if he/she does not show a valid ID, the passenger will be considered to be without a ticket."

So pick whichever fits - but be sure you've got a pen!

Peter
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Old Jan 16th, 2011, 06:11 AM
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Don't forget, if you decide to purchase the ArteCard, the Circumvesuviana is included! We found the card worthwhile for our three days on the Bay of Naples, not least because we could hop the trains and the Sita bus without having to think about ticket validation...
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