At a Smithsonian lecture last night on Campania they mentioned the Circumvesuviana. The lecturer said it was worth a ride and that you could get off at different points along it and visiti the towns and stop for a meal. I was wondering if anyone had done this and if so what they thought of it? Is the scenery along the way nice? We have been in Naples previously and saw many of the "major" sites then. Thanks

The Circumvesuviana is a commuter train that links Naples and Sorrento and takes just over an hour. It gets very busy and can be a pickpocket problem. It stops at many of the small towns in between, including Herulaneum and Pompeii, making it a good way to see the ruins. Some of the scenery is nice along the way, but it doesn't touch the Amalfi Coast, so none of the spectacular stuff.

It has been much mentioned on this Forum and towns like Vico Equense, S.Agnello may be worth a wander.

There are six Circumvesuviana lines, of which the Napoli-Sorrento line is one. Maybe the lecturer was talking about towns on one of the other lines.

I've only taken the train between Napoli and Pompeii, so I can't speak for any other routes. I mostly remember large apartment buildings, although there were also some nice glimpses of the bay and Vesuvio in the distance. Maybe it gets better closer to Sorrento, or on one of the other lines.

The line from Naples to Sorrento is, IMHO, certainly not much for sight seeing from the train. It is a good commuter line to get you to places that are worth seeing: Sorrento, Pompeii, Herculaneum and other small towns along the way

The train leaving Napoli goes through sad looking housing areas. It is jsut a commuter line. The scenery gets better as you turn to the peninsula and approach Sorrento. There are many stops along the way I would not have wanted to get off. Except at stations like Napoli, Sorrento, or Pompeii where tourists are expected, there are no English announcements - local dialect first, then heavily accented Italian.

We've taken it a number of times. While it is not scenic, it is very convenient for three archaeological sites--Pompeii "Scavi", Ercolano and Oplontis (Villa Poppae)--and of course as a way to get to Sorrento.

Greg, there are stops that most Italians wouldn't want to get off at, either.