BevS

I am planning a return trip to Italy and am thinking of a few days based in Sorrento. Some guidebooks I have read have made me very wary of taking the Cirsumvesiviana (will be coming in from Rome) due to pickpockets, etc. We may be likely targets as some in our party are older females. We will have suitcases but never travel with purses exposed. Any advice here?

adrienne

Bev, You're coming from Rome and are only worried about pickpockets on the train? Are you worried about pickpockets in Rome?

I wouldn't worry about the train. It's no worse than taking a subway in any major city or outdoor markets in major cities, or anywhere else that there's a high concentration of people in a small space.

My circumvesuviana worries are about getting a seat.

adrienne

Here's some helpful advice. When you get to the Naples train station you need to go downstairs to the CV train. There will be men milling about wanting to carry your luggage down the steps and then will want lots of money for doing so. (They are not pick pockets just thieves of another sort.)

If you can manage your own luggage down the steps then totally ignore these people. Do not look them in the eye and pretend you have no idea what they're saying.

Nikki

My husband had his wallet lifted from his front pocket getting onto the Circumvesuviana in Naples. There was a group of men, well dressed, who were blocking his way onto the train. If you find your way unnecessarily blocked, don't try to get through this crowd, they are there to pick your pocket. He didn't realize it until the train left, the guys had exited at the last minute.

Mary_Fran

We didn't take the Circumvesuviana from Rome to Sorrento(suggest you recheck your spelling of the name of this train line, and you'll likely get a chuckle, as I did - I wondered how you'd ever extricate yourself once you got started throwing in superfluous vowels and consonants!), but we took it from Sorrento to Pompeii, and no pickpockets were obvious, at least from our perspective.

The trip was comfortable and pleasant. Sounds like you are taking appropriate precautions, so you should be fine.

One thing I would suggest is to check with your hotel in Sorrento in advance and get an estimate of what a taxi for your party should cost from the train station to the hotel. We were charged double what we should have paid for taxi fares from the train station to our hotels, both in Rome and in Sorrento, and I vowed that would be smarter in the future, though the only thing that was harmed by the overcharge was my pride. It's all just part of the experience you can laugh about later!

kybourbon

If you have ever been on the subway in Rome then you shouldn't have any problems on the Circumvesuviana line. It's just a commuter train with the same risks as any other train or subway.

BevS

Thanks for the helpful replies. We will take precautions and avoid "helpful" men in the station. Money belts will be on our list of pre travel purchases.

Joelleinitaly04

We took the train from Sorrento to Naples and to Pomepei - had no idea there ws a pickpocket problem, but took the usual precautions. The only thing about that train is that it is crowded and it's not particularly fun having to stand the entier 45 minutes back after several hours in Pompei.

When we took the train from Naples back to Rome, this guy did start following us, trying to "help" us find our seats - I knew he didn't work for the train, I knew where my car was but there was no getting rid of this guy and he just grabbed our luggage, put them up and of course wanted a tip. I didn't have any coins so I just gave him a 5 bill. I guess it was okay having some help but it did bother me that there was no getting rid of this guy. he was going to help me whether I wanted help or not.

Joelle