Daphne

Here's the plan for our last day in Italy before flying home:

Sat �
car service from Positano to Naples
check into hotel
train to Pompeii for the day
back to Naples for the evening

Sun �
leave for Naples airport at 4 for 7am flight

We're not excited about ending our trip with Naples, the hotel is expensive and Pompeii actually looks closer to Positano than to Naples. And since we have to get up in the middle of the night anyway to catch the early flight, should we just skip Naples and go straight from Positano to the Naples airport (at 3am?) and get back one extra day to hang out in the Amalfi Coast (we'll still fit in Pompeii)?

What would you do?

Isobel

I would definitely not end my trip with a day in Naples - I would much rather have another day in the Amalfi coast. Another suggestion instead of Pompeii. I know everyone talks very highly of Pompeii (and I must say I have never been there). Its a very large site and to see it properly takes a whole day. However, have you considered Herculaneum. Its a smaller site but much better preserved because it was mud that fell here whereas it was ash in Pompeii which destroyed everything. You have actual houses still standing in Herculaneum. We spent half a day there on a guided tour but I could have stayed much longer. - Just a suggestion! Also have you visited Ravello?

janis

Not an answer to the question - but a computer question.

Three places in this thread (the title and twice in the body) I see "& # 6533" (without the spaces - I put them in so nothing converts).

I have seen this in three or four other threads. I suspect it is some keystroke combination that was typed on a Windows machine and being on a Mac I see what was actually typed, not the converted symbols.

Can anyone help with this?

Daphne

By the way I have no idea where the question marks came from in my original post.

Thanks Isobel. Yes, I will have visited Ravello already, even have tickets for the concert. Will also have gone to Capri, Amalfi and may be even Praiano (by the way can anyone tell me what to do there?)

Anyone else? LAst day in Amalfi instead and just go to Naples airport in the middle of the night? Or is that too much hassle?

Thanks.

janis

Daphne - that is weird - I don't see any question marks except the two legit ones at the ends of questions.

You are probably on a PC and see question marks, I am on a Mac and see & # 6533.

I think the ampersand is the key to this. Were you trying to key some sort of symbol?

As for the main question - a lot of others have spent more time in Italy and have more info, but I agree w/ Isobel. herculaneum is a great alternative. Not as famous as Pompeii but REALLY fascinating.

Betsy

Janis, I'm getting the same & # 65533 in many posts over the last few days. I was wondering if it was unique to my Mac as no one else had mentioned it. Weird or what?

Daphne

I'm actually using Mac, I see all the question marks but not the "&#6533" you were referring to.

Anyway, anyone else wants to take a shot at my dilemma? Herculaneum is a great idea. How far is it to get there and to get to Pompeii from Positano? What's the best transportation?

Steve_James

Daphne - If you're not planning on visiting Naples on the last day you might just as well leave from Positano IMO.

O.K - so it means an earlier start - but it shouldn't be much over an hour anyway at that time in the morning.

I don't think you'd need to leave before 03.30 ...

Steve

Steve_James

P.S. Positano-Pompei takes about an hour by public transport and costs about Euro 3.50
(Herculaneum is 10 mins further).

Take the Positano-Sorrento bus to META (25 mins), then the train (Circumvesuviana) from Meta to POMPEI SCAVI (30 mins).

The station at Meta is 3 mins walk from the bus stop.

Steve

GAC

Don't leave your Naples hotel at 4:00 a.m. for a 7:00 a.m. flight out of Naples! You'll arrive at the airport before 4:30 a.m., and check-in counters don't open until 5:00 a.m. at the very earliest! You should arrive at the airport no sooner than 5:30 a.m.

Daphne

Oh, that's good to know about the 5:30 check-in tip. I would hate to get to the Naples airport in the middle of the night only to sit forever.

Also thanks Steve for the transportation info. I think we'll take a day trip from Positano to Pompeii and Herculaneum (all one day), but not on our last day. The last day we'll just relax on the coast, have a great dinner, and leave for Naples from Positano at 4am, get there by 5:30. Will I have trouble with a car service that early? Anyone who thinks this plan is a bad idea and want to offer another opinion?

Thanks.

wayno

How about a splurge at one of Italy's few Michelin-starred restaurants, if it's open [it may not yet be open this early in the spring]. In St. Agata, south of Sorrento, is Don Alphonso, a restaurant in a gorgeous, secluded location, featuring gardens from which they select their own produce and create fresh, wonderful meals. Plus, the area is nice for hiking around and a pleasant respite from the far more touristy Positano area.

LJ

Doesn't anybody else love Naples? Not that it needs us but surely 2500 years of history, the most beautiful natural harbour in the world and superb, indeed, the original pizza, mean something to somebody besides me. Poor old Naples getting "dissed" as unexciting...and now you don't even have to get up 'til 5am.

Give the old "naughty Naples" a chance to charm you and enjoy your last evening there.

Daphne

LJ, I admit I don't know much about Naples so my lack of excitement may stem from lack of knowledge. Let me clarify how I want our last day to be: a romantic, memorable finale to our first trip to Italy. So I lean toward Wayno's suggestion, if only because I have not heard of anyone describe Naples as pretty or romantic. Based on my goal, will you still vote for Naples or anyone has more suggestions?

ira

Hi Daphne,
I'll go with staying the last night in Naples.
No need to stay in an expensive hotel. Look up Albergo Sansevero in the Fodors guide or "rants and Raves". Under 100E/night.

LJ

I would still vote for Naples as a city with great romance and charm. The quality of the light is truly something. A good guide book (Fodors, Eyewitness, even Rough Guide) can be useful in finding those hidden places or re-post here and ask specfically about the romantic side of Naples. I am sure she has other fans besides me and Ira.