ok, so my wife and I are playing it by ear, but we'd love some suggestions

day 1 we tackle naples and the major sites
day 2 we considered pompeii and capri (but we've heard this is a little crazy to soak it all in)
day 3 amalfi coast, positano, sorrento, etc.

based upon reading other topics, we were thinking bout splitting up day 1 and 2 to
day 1 morning pompeii, come back and do some naples museums
day 2 capri morning and come back and do some naples museums or vice versa if we want capri in the evening

any better suggestions?

id do a whole day in capri
it is so beautiful- so many photo opportunities and the residences are gorgeous
naples is nice by night- so keep your evenings for strolling( cheaper shopping than rome too)

check out the doors on the older buildings in naples - gee there were some nice ones!
nice mosaic floor in the main shopping centre too!

Hi gh,

Naples and Pompei and Capri and the AC is one too many for only 3 days.

Even your plan two is quite a lot.

I think that you would want a whole day for Capri or the AC, a whole day for Pompei and the Naples Archaeological Museum, and a whole day for Naples.

I think you should forget about Capri on this trip. How many Naples museums do you want to visit? Which ones? Is there any chance of adding 2 days and spending them on the Amalfi coast?

The veiled Christ is a MUST see in Naples.

http://www.philipcoppens.com/sansevero.html

I totally agree that you are trying to do too much. Capri alone requires a whole day (better to overnight), and the AC really requires more than one.

If you only have a half day for one of the Vesuvius sites, you should visit Herculaneum (which I actually preferred) as Pompeii is big and spread out. See my TR for things to see in Capri and the AC: http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...om-s-italy.cfm

wow ok tons of great advice.

yes we only have 3 days so that can't be extended.
we've heard capri is amazing as well as amalfi coast so we wanted to make it our highlights.

why is herculaneum better than pompeii?

capri we really just intended to walk around and see not really do much there but experience it.

museums, we know there a lot in naples, but like you said, we can't experience them all.

just so many options, so little time, ugh.

"why is herculaneum better than pompeii?" Smaller, so you don't need as much time, and don't have to walk as far. More intact, parts of the second stories survived, so not only do you get a better idea of what the buildings looked like, but there's shelter if it rains and shade if it doesn't. More in situ mosaics and frescoes - in Pompeii they tended to get taken away to the museum. Fewer tourists.

so doing half naples, half herculaneum is doable? giving us more time for capri one day and the following AC?

we don't intend to do blue grotto in capri only cause it looks cool, but not our cup of tea. therefore, what's good to spend the day in capri and do?

"so doing half naples, half herculaneum is doable?" - yes. I did Herculaneum in the morning and the Villa Oplontis in the afternoon with time left over, so you could certainly do the Arch. Mus. in Naples in the afternoon.

"what's good to spend the day in capri and do?" - in the TR linked above I write about two walks, a couple of sites in Anacapri, and the Marina Picolo. If I had to pick one I'd recommend the walk to see the Faraglione islets.

I would agree with Thursday about Herculaneum (Ercolano on the map) being a better choice for you. MUCH easier to navigate.

I don't think that you need to include many museums in Naples. You can even--gasp!!--skip the Archeological Museum in my opinion, since you have limited time.

Hi Grey,

I agree with JS.

If you see nothing else in Naples, do try to visit the Capella Sansevero with the veiled Christ.

my wife says she really wants to go to pompeii.

in naples we are definately plannnig the archeological museum.

capri, she planned only to check out capri and bop around that town, but not much else from there.

we'll obviously sacrifice some things to see everything, but it is what it is.

Herculaneum is good, but it's not Pompeii. True, Pompeii is a very large site, and that's part of what makes it so amazing. And there are the crowds, but they're there for a reason: because it's so amazing. Even 2-3 hours there will give you a good feel for it, and although you won't see it all, you'll know you've seen something amazing. I've spent three full days there and still haven't seen it all - so what? I can always return someday, and so can you. Here are some photos of Pompeii, as well as Herculaneum, Oplontis, if you're interested: http://gardentouring.fotopic.net/c814762.html

It's the same for Capri - spend what time you have to see Capri town, maybe taxi up to Anacapri. You won't be sorry you did. It's such a beautiful sight as the ferry pulls into Marina Grande. You will probably find yourself planning a return someday, and then maybe you can spend more time, maybe even a night or two, and really get to know the island. (PS- I think the Blue Lagoon is highly overrated.) Here are some photos of Capri, if you're interested: http://gardentouring.fotopic.net/c812668.html

One suggestion you might consider - if you were to stay in Sorrento, you'd get a jump on the Amalfi Coast. And it's easy to do Pompeii and Naples from Sorrento using the Circumvesuviana. Also easy to do Capri from Sorrento.

Whatever, you decide, I'm certain you'll have a super time - can't help doing so, even just picking and choosing a few of the many delights this part of Italy offers.

Hi gh,

>capri, she planned only to check out capri and bop around that town, but not much else from there.<

Are you sure that the game is worth the candle?

Also, there is a lot more to Naples than just a couple of hours at the Archaeological Museum.

great pictures julia1.

yeh i just have to come to grips that I can't do the 'perfect' trip, get it all in without staying forever, haha.

our base city will be naples, so unfortunately, staying in sorrento isn't an option.

our trip to AC was my guess on a bus, stop off here and there and see the sights. i'm getting in to photography...as a hobby and really want the chance to just take some remarkable photos. your photos look great by the way too.

this is also going to be our last city stop on our leg of italian adventure, so we could be also quite wiped from all we've seen and walked so i think utlimately, we'll just play it by ear, but i definately appreciated everyone's advice. in the end, i'll definately post some pics of our trip. thanks again everyone.