Bellisima

Looking for feedback from those who've used public transportation from the Amalfi Coast region to places like Pompeii, Herculaneum, and Scafati (our ancestral city). Private drivers are very expensive as I've discovered. Are the public buses and trains and taxis convenient, safe, and affordable? Are they reliable? Are pick pockets prevalent? Anyone with experience, please chime in. I am wondering whether public transportation is worth it and easy to use.

yorkshire

Are the public buses and trains and taxis convenient, safe, and affordable?
Yes
Are they reliable?
Yes
Are pick pockets prevalent?
No more than anywhere else. Nothing to worry about.

It very much depends on which town on the AC you are staying in.

Bellisima

We will be staying in Praiano. So we'll need to take the SITA bus to Sorrento, then the train from there. Hoping that with all the changes, waits, etc, we'll be able to tour both Pompeii and Herculaneum AND see our ancestral city of Scafati.

yorkshire

ps as you will read in your research, there are two train lines to Pompeii--Circumvesuviana (from Sorrento) and Trenitalia (from Naples and Salerno). It looks like Scafati is one stop past Pompeii on the trenitalia line.
I hope you will find this map somewhat helpful:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...viana_maps.png
It does not include the line to Salerno, which is at the other end of the Amalfi coast and another option for train travel.

yorkshire

You certainly can--but don't expect to do it all in one day. If you want to see it all in one day, then I think splashing out for the private driver would be the only way and still a stretch. You can spend several hours at Pompeii alone.
If you are spending any time in Naples, a lot of people see one of the sights in transit.
Also, if this will be in high season (late May through September), then it will be more tricky due to crowded buses.

annhig

if you're getting the Sita bus to Sorrento, it arrives at the train station where you get the circumversuviana train to Pompeii, so it's very convenient, but you need to allow more time than you might think to make connections as buses [and trains] can be late.

if you're going to Pompeii I suggest that you allow a whole day as there is a lot to see.

nytraveler

There is no way you can do all those things in one day using pubic transit. In fact, from Praiano you will have enough to do for one place in each day. The buses are very slow and you have to make multiple connections - and get done in time to get a bus back to Praiano vis train and bus connections.

So - do you have enough time? Or will you come up with the money for a private driver.

annhig

sorry, i assumed that you WERE going to do them on separate days.

Gina_07

Make sure you take a train that stops at the station Pompeii SCAVI, where the ruins are, not just Pompeii, which, I believe, is the town. If I am wrong, someone please correct.

It was very easy to get to Pompeii from Sorrento on the train. We got the tickets at the train station, and the train stopped right where the ruins were.

flygirl

After watching many a SITA bus go by, filled to the gills, I would not consider public transportation to be reliable - and this was mid-May. If you are on the very first bus of the day you may be lucky, but then what happens when they are all full going home?

I would either spring for the private driver or leave the Amalfi Coast one day early and either stay in Sorrento or Naples and do it all from there.

Bellisima

Very good information, thank you all very much for chiming in. Having never been to this area, I have no idea what to expect. Crowded buses sound like a potential problem with plans running smoothly. Indeed, I was hoping to do all 3 areas (Pompeii, Herculaneum, and Scafati) in one day via public transportation. I think springing for the private driver may be the best way to carry out my wishes… at least giving it a good shot. Changing locations early from Praiano sounds like a good plan too, but I'm not sure my husband could handle it. ;-) I can! But I digress. I think maybe it will come down to either rearranging our plans or spending more money for the private driver. Thanks again! I didn't realize how complicated this country could be to organize a trip for! Thank God the food will be a highlight!!!!

yorkshire

It is really just about geography and the number of hours in a day--I would be hard pressed to do that much in a day anywhere in the world, but when you add in traffic and crowds, it is just impossible.

flygirl

Another note:

I had a private driver for the day and just fitting in enough time at Herculaneum and Pompeii was a challenge and honestly I needed more time at Pompeii. We left at 8 AM from my hotel in Positano. I did have a nice lingering lunch, however, that was perhaps 1.5 hours tops and was in between the two sites. You might want to ask your driver how long he considers a day to be and to be prepared to pay him extra if you want to return at say 7 PM versus 5 PM.

Perhaps consider dropping Herculaneum and just do the other two? Or, do Herculaneum last and only if there is time?

annhig

flygirl - I should think that you needed that long lunch to gather your energy for the next site.

BTW, Pompeii closes at 5pm between Nov and March, at 7.30 pm the rest of the year , though there may be some late summer openings:

http://www.pompeiturismo.it/index.php?Itemid=28&lang=en

November - March, daily from 8.30 to 17.00
April - October, daily from 8.30 to 19.30

Pompeii was quite busy in February, but I gather that it can be madness [and extremely hot] in July and August. As early as possible is best.

kybourbon

I think you could hire a driver to take you from Praiano to Sacfati, then drop you at Herculaneum. I don't see any advantage to have a driver the rest of the day. Herculaneum is small and won't take that long to tour (depends on your level of interest). From there, you could hop the Circumvesuviana train to Pompeii (12-18 minutes depending on train - a euro or two), tour Pompeii and train to Sorrento (about 30 minutes away). Bus back to Praiano. Depending on time of year, the Sita buses run quite late.

bvlenci

Do you know exactly what you want to see in Scafati? It's mostly a sprawling modern town now, with lots of ugly cement buildings, probably not at all like the town your ancestors knew.

Also, lots of immigrants to the US came from the countryside, but gave the name of the nearest large town or city as their place of birth.

I would try to find more details about exactly where your ancestors came from, and do a little research on the area so that you can decide exactly what you want to see: maybe the church where your grandfather was baptized, for example. Otherwise, you may end up at a train station in an industrial area wondering what this has to do with your grandfather.

Bellisima

bvlenci--- I do not know what I want to see in Scafati. I wish I could have better luck researching my ancestry there and have a better plan. I have tried in vain on ancestry.com, but there is nothing I can find about my ancestors before 1900, which is when they came to the US. I do know my great great grandparents' names and that they were land owners and that's about it. I thought I might stop at the Commune and see if there are any public records so that I could find the church they were baptized in, married in, or where/when they died. Then see that church. I just don't know if that could happen. It may come down to stopping for lunch/snack and buying a souvenir at best. ;-) On the other topic, I have found a place that charges 220 Euro/day for a private car/driver. So far that's the best rate. I'm still waiting to hear back from a few more.

happywolf

I suggest you the bus from Praiano to Amalfi, the bus from Amalfi to Salerno and from Salerno you can take a train (ferrovie dello Stato and not Circumvesuviana) Who take you to Pompeii.

swagman

@flygirl, what was the cost for the driver for the day from Positano to Pompeii and return? I am considering doing the same thing. And would you still have contact details of your driver?

Many thanks.

s

flygirl

swagman:

I used the below service. His drivers were wonderful.

Renato Cuomo
Limousine in Italy-Amalfi Coast and Sorrento Coast
Mobile Number (0039)3391612081
Office.(0039)0818023037
Fax(0039)06233208879
[email protected]
www.amalficoastdriver.com

I seem to recall I paid around 220E but I'd have to check to be sure. In that range, anyway.