Hello. Has anyone used luggage storage recently at Caserta Station? There seem to be a lot of old articles coming up on a google search. I'm thinking of stopping there en route to Naples with my luggage. TIA!

If you're going to the Palace, there was a cloak/luggage room near the entrance when we visited several years ago. You'd have to check the official website to see if that's still the case. Otherwise, there are usually independent luggage storage vendors near major Italian train stations.

Jean, it looks like your info is still valid. Hope OP does not have very large luggage, as the cases look to be of moderate size.

https://reggiadicaserta.cultura.gov....es/cloak-room/

Can anyone recommend a tour either upon arrival at the Caserta station or one that includes transport from Naples itself? I've searched Viator and Trip Advisor and read some negative comments. TIA.

I haven't checked your site yet, but I would say my suitcase would be considered large, especially if you are talking about something akin to a "cloakroom." I have just added to this thread requesting general info regarding tours. If I could find something suitable from Naples, it would be worth the money to avoid travelling by train en route to Naples from Rome and just check in to my Naples hotel and perhaps do an early morning trip from there. I'm probably more interested in the gardens than the palace itself but finding a tour that has some of both seems to be difficult.

Precisely. I was searching for luggage storage at the train station but the last posts were pre-Covid and I was looking for more recent experiences. I'm leaving for Europe in just over a week and still mucking around with details like this. Not like me!

A day trip from Naples would no doubt simplify your life. I didn’t take an externally organized tour, but stayed in Caserta to enjoy an exceptional evening tour of the gardens offered by the Palace that year. A train to Caserta and a stroll from the station is a pretty straightforward affair.

You would really benefit from scrolling around the Palace’s own web site. It explains what is open and closed which days. Apparently there is an English guided tour at 11:30 am if at least four people show up. They mention the possibility of a golf cart tour of the gardens including the enchanting English Garden. You can also rent a bike if so inclined. Otherwise, oh boy, it’s a long walk — bigger than Versailles?

Do not, under any circumstance, visit on the first Sunday of the month. Admission is free, the place is mobbed, and the English garden is closed.

Thanks heaps FTOttawa. Since my last post, I found this tour which suits me because it has a little bit of both the palace and the gardens, at least some of the fountains. What do you think? I found out there is a metro from Pza Garibaldi that would get me to Caserta 1/2 before the tour starts at 10am. It just so happens my hotel is on Pza Garibaldi.

https://www.getyourguide.com/royal-p...9-ab9b6e527143

I will check out the Palace's website before booking though.

I can see the attraction of a guide — there is a lot of statuary and symbolism in the garden. Viator and TUI Musement are both resellers, so you have no way of knowing who the local operator really is; on the other hand, many book through Viator all around the world with satisfaction.

Hi there. Since our last messages, I read at length lots of Google reviews and I'm thinking of foregoing the "tour" in favour of hiring a bike and/or golf cart. One person suggested renting a bike for one hour to go certain places and then to take the bus to the end of the gardens. Not sure I'm interested in the palace itself but you can get an audio tour at the ticket office. Still thinking. But decided for sure to do the day trip from Naples rather than en route from Rome.

Please circle back when you have travelled to tell us all about your time in Naples and Caserta.

Background on the Masonic symbolism in the English garden:

https://www.reggiadicasertaunofficia...nglish-garden/

Thanks so much for this. It seems I would be foolish not to go there.

I have yet to cancel my first of 3 nights' accommodation in Salerno because of the Naples stopover. The proprietor in Salerno (we stayed there last year) suggested that it's easy to take the train from Salerno. That's all well and good, but we missed out on the Cappella Sansevero's "Veiled Christ" because we did not book tickets so that's the main reason I'm going to Naples at all. The other idea was to go up to Capodimonte but another Neapolitan source warned me about the "borseggiatori" (purse snatchers) on the bus and suggested I use their version of Uber. This is all giving me anxiety and it would be nice to have a buddy with me. I'd consider a private tour guide but they are super expensive in A$.

Anyway I will try to give my impressions although I have never been much of a TR writer and really appreciate those who take the time to do so.

Arrivederci!

I don't understand the perceived requirement to spend a night (or two?) in Naples to visit Cappella Sansevero and Capodimonte. There are no-change trains between Salerno and Naples that take just 37-42 minutes. Between Salerno and Caserta, just over an hour. Easy peasy IMO. Many people stay in Sorrento and visit the same sights, even though the train rides are twice as long.

Where are you coming from before Naples/Salerno?

As for purse-snatchers... I wear a cross-body purse and hold it front of my body. I've also done a day of sightseeing without a purse and carried a few necessities in a zippered inside pocket of a jacket. I'm not overly paranoid about thieves but do maintain a healthy awareness of my surroundings. Maybe I've just been lucky.

I haven't been able to find official current info/confirmation, but in late 2020 the city started a minibus service that circulates between MANN (Naples' archeology museum), Catacombe San Genarro and Museo e Real Bosco (Capodimonte). Because the minibus only makes a few stops and the vehicle is small, I can't imagine it appeals to would-be thieves. Line 3M. It would be worth looking into this. It's an easy walk or short taxi ride from the Napoli Centrale train station to MANN where you could catch the minibus.

https://mycountrymagazine.com/latest...oute-linea-3m/

https://www.expartibus.it/wp-content...2020_orari.pdf

https://www.vadoanapoli.it/la-linea-...ei-napoletani/

Wow, you put a lot of time into your response, so thank you. I now feel I have to justify my decision.

I am coming from Rome and going to Sicily. I only have one day to spend in and around Naples and one on the Amalfi Coast. The main reason I am returning to Naples is because I missed out on Cappella Sansevero last year as we stupidly did not purchase our tickets in advance. It didn't seem making the trip from Salerno to Naples for the day made sense for that, so I also thought of going to Posillipo. Then I discovered that it would have taken two hours to get to Parco Virgiliano, a place better visited by car.

I suppose I could have just stopped in Naples, stored my luggage at the station, gone to the church, and carried on to Salerno, but that didn't sound appealing. I didn't really need two days at the AC. Then someone recommended Caserta which is deserving of at least 1/2 day.

If Sansevero was not in the mix, I could easily have just gone to Caserta from Salerno which my hotel owner suggested. Anyway, there were a few other things I missed in Naples so I am happy to spend 24 hours there.

One factor has been eliminated: Capodimonte is closed on Wednesday which is the day I leave Rome. I'm going to Sansevero at 3.30 the afternoon I arrive so I have time to find the Salita del Petraio in Vomero beforehand.

Hope that explains my thinking. My husband thinks I'm nuts.

You don't have to justify anything. I was just trying to understand why you don't just head to Salerno and day trip from there.

You are not nuts. You just know what your priorities are!

We enjoyed taking a food tour in Naples and the Archeology museum (which you have likely seen.) The Veiled Christ statue was amazing.