cruzingypsy

Din: My husband and I used to have idealic descriptions like yours of places that we wandered about with no harm coming to us. But guess what it happened to us one day in Spain robbed by gypsies at knifepoint in broad daylight and we thought we were being so cautious.

passantd

Where were you in Spain?

cruzingypsy

We were in Granada heading to I believe it was St. Isabella? Church in the Albacin area,apparently its a very good spot to get a great view of the Alhambra.

lesliec1

Every time I read everyone's stories of woe about Naples I get very nervous! I'm a single mom who will be travelling with 2 teenagers. We'll be in Naples only one night, arriving by train from Rome and staying at Hotel Duomo. We will clearly look like tourists because we will be jetlagged and carrying backpacks. The hotel suggests leaving the train station and taking a bus to the hotel. Sounds easy enough, but is this a safe prospect? Are we better off taking our chances with a possibly dishonest taxi driver? We speak zero Italian. I have been around cities much of my life and am not freaked out by odd characters and street people. But crime scares me, and being robbed or endangering my kids doesn't appeal to me. I'd appreciate any advice. --Leslie

Joelleinitaly04

lesliec1

I don't want to discount all the bad stories, but I took my teenagers to Naples for a daytrip and we walked all over Naples, got lost, went down some dark alleys, I even had my camera around my neck most of the time and none of us felt the least bit threatened. I did get cheated my by a taxi driver who charged me 12 E for a 5 minute ride back to the train station (no meter) but it was still worth it.

If I went to Italy again, I'd stay a few days in Naples, because there were things I didn't get to see that I would have liked.

Still, I'd probably arrange for a driver to your hotel. Not just for saftey, but just less hassle.

Joelle

lesliec1

Thanks Joelle. I've read all your posts about your trip and they have been very helpful, not to mention inspiring! When you say to arrange a driver, how do I do that? Through the hotel? I try not to be the "nervous nellie" type, but this trip is so far beyond anything I've ever done with my kids that I want to be especially sure about what to expect. There are a lot of posts on the internet--on this site and others--that contain hundreds of stories of people being robbed, luggage stolen, stuck in countries without passports, etc. etc. One night I read these disaster tales for 3 hours until I was in quite a state. I went to bed and couldn't sleep--just lay there and trembled for the whole rest of the night. In the morning, I had lost 3 pounds. Move over Atkins, it's the nervous hysteria diet! My son is pretty wise--he said: "Every person who has a bad experience in Italy posts their experience on the internet. That's a couple hundred people out of the hundreds of thousands who visit." I think my kids are more grown up than I give them credit for! Hope to hear from you again. --leslie

ira

Hi Leslie,

"Every person who has a bad experience in Italy posts their experience on the internet. That's a couple hundred people out of the hundreds of thousands who visit."

Excellent advice - heed it.

My wife and I spent 3 nights in Naples last Sept. We did not feel threatened at all.

You are hardly ever out of sight of a policeman - uniformed and plainclothes.

I suggest a cab from the train station to your hotel, too. Mainly because it's a hassle to haul the suitcases.

Go to the official cab stand. Don't go with someone in the station who offers to carry your luggage and get you a cab. You will pay more.

Have the address written down. Ask the driver for a fare quote - (Quanto?). Ask him to write it down (I bring a notepad and pen for this purpose).

Enjoy your day in a most interesting city.

You might find the Naples part of mmy trip report helpful:
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34451044

lesliec1

Thanks Ira. I've been reading your posts and cutting and pasting from them, as well as from the many other helpful posts on this site, for weeks now, creating my own personal trip guide. After my flight plans led to Rome instead of Naples, I had been considering just doing Pompeii as a day trip from Rome, but your enticing description and joelle's successful visit motivated me to book an overnight there. Thanks for writing! --Leslie

MissZiegfeld

well said, ThinGorjus.

if i had a nickle for the number of times i walked in on two men gettin' it on in a public restroom..(yeah, i'm a girl..but you know how quickly public restrooms because unisex, especially in a gay bar!)..likewise for hetero couples. things like this happen in big cities.

when i was on the train going from Sachsenhausen to bath to central berlin, a elderly lady asked us for money. the people i'd been at sachsenhausen with all panicked and were in disbelief when she left..i barely even noticed her. things like this remind me how big cities and small towns differ..

MissZiegfeld

all this only made me want to visit Naples more! it sounds like a very exciting city. next year's italy itinerary is going to be Rome, Florence and Naples (with day trips to Pompeii and Venice [from florence..i know a day probably isn't enough for venice, but it's really not a priority for me, but people tell me it's not to be missed]). would LOVE to go to Sicily as well. My family comes from Sicily and Naples..somebody told me that "i'll understand myself a lot better after i see italy", LOL.

ira

Hi MissZ,

I urge you to do an overnight in Venice. The city is much different after the crowds go home.

Early morning and sunset on the Grand Canal are unforgettable.

sera

We were just in Naples last Friday. And while I've been a big defender of the city, the chaos just really got to us, I think because we were pretty tired from our previous days of touring. Still, we had incredible pizza and enjoyed the waterfront. The city to me in exciting in a "second-world" way. And, I was much more creeped out by the train station in Florence, for some reason.

grace_omalley

Naples was quite an experience! We thought the traffic was bad in Rome but I have never seen such crazy traffic as we did in Naples. The streets in the main part of the city are crammed with little cars with many dents and they are going in all kinds of directions except the right one. Drivers cut right out in front of other vehicles as its probably the only way to get anywhere. We did a big no-no and accepted a ride to Ravello with an independent cab driver named Antonio who was quite a character! We were in for the wild ride of our lives but he was actually honest and charged us a fair price of 120 Euros.

Brahmama

We were there October 03 - had a great time. I was intrigued by the title of this post. I had never thought of Naples as being "scary" - just totally and vibrantly Italian.

We had a taxi/guide pick us up and take us to Pompeii and then spent the rest of the day flying through Naples (that's how it felt!)

Rini took us to some of his favorite spots/views, etc. We ate at a locals place where he had to help us with the ordering (and also 2 ladies from the US who wandered in) The food and wine were very tasty and very inexpensive. Then we went for gelato and other treats at another little spot where HE insisted on treating the four of us.

I guess it was just one of those great days - people smiled, honked horns, waved exuberantly, argued loudly about unimportant things - according to Rini. and we loved every minute of it.

I am still emailing him on ocassion and giving his email to others looking for a local guide-for-the-day.

Can't wait to go back and stay longer.

Astaroth

Know this post has been quiet for a while. But I just need to add my say.

Was there in Napoli on 25/12/1998. It was my first trip to Europe, Italy was my second country. And it was mi third day in Italy. As like everyone else, I read a plethora of horrible stories about the city so believe me I was jumpy. I even left most of my cash with the very trustworthy and helpful B&B lady in Rome (it was a devil and sea thing).

Napoli station didn't strike me as being very seedy then. But the subways certainly did. It was so dark and dirty and full of people just staring at you.

To make it worse, I was stupid enough to go to the Arch museum and obviously it was shut and everyone around it just seemed to be dangerous, suspicious looking characters. I remember the time to be around 2 in the afternoon.

So I tried to gather myself and took a long walk down towards the harbour. It was a 90 minute walk and believe me at the end of the walk, my impression about Naples has totally changed. Maybe it was all that traffic noise and screaming residents and mad drivers and dipilated houses. I suddenly felt what a lot of folks here call the VIBRANCY of the city. The thriving life in it.

Of course, the driver at the red right that beckoned and said WELCOME TO NAPOLI in halting English to me added to that.

As like the bunch of teenagers, who looked like thugs, who yelled at me across the road. FELIZ NATALIE.

Or the bunch of schoolkids at the funicular, blaring FUNICULI FUNICULAR at top volume.

Conclusion: Naples is a tough city. But toughness is where the strongest, i.e. most vibrant of life is seen. To survive and appreciate it, just be alert and observant. It will leave you impressions you can never forget.

tdyls

One of my tourbooks (oddly enough, Fodor's Italy Up Close) says that the Piazza Garibaldi area of Naples -- the main piazza out the front door of the train station -- is not the world's best place to be. Train stations in general aren't the best places either. That being said, I once had a layover in the Naples train station. Looking for something to do, I walked across the piazza and went to the first salumeria that I could find to buy a bottle of water or a panino or something. Other than "looking tough" when I crossed the piazza -- acting like I knew exactly where I was going and walking with a purpose -- I didn't feel particularly unsafe or fearful. I don't recall there being much traffic at the time either (I think it was a Sunday morning, so that might have had something to do with it), so I walked across the streets without getting run over either.

I figured that if I've been able to walk across Piazza Venezia in downtown Rome and survive -- multiple times -- one trek across Piazza Garibaldi in Naples wouldn't be the end of me.

I will be going back to Italy next June and Naples is definitely on the itinerary. While my only experiences with Naples are going through the train station a couple of times and riding the tour bus from Tuscany to the Naples Archaelogical Museum and then on to Pompeii, there was always something intriguing about Naples that I couldn't quite put my finger on at the time. Reading this thread, it struck me what the feeling was: it was the rawness and the edginess of Naples that is not present in most other Italian cities. From all of the tourbooks that I've read, they say that if you're willing to put up with the chaos of Naples, you'll be rewarded.

chardonnay

I have learned the secret to walking across streets in Naples and other big Italian cities. You walk with a purpose and do not hesitate, change directions or your pace. The drivers anticipate from your gait where you will be when they pass you and then zoom on towards you.

I have tried this the last few months and it works every time, as you can see I lived to tell the tale.

I love Napoli too, the rhythm and beat of the city is intoxicating.

Eloise

Your impression of Naples - or your information about Naples in a guide book - will depend a great deal on when you were there or when the guide book was published.

I'm not suggesting that the Piazza Garibaldi in front of the train station is the most pleasant place in Naples, but it was definitely cleaned up considerably in the late 1990s.

Yes, Naples is different from cities in northern Italy; yes, it is better to be careful in Naples; but no, Naples is not a "scary" city.

ira

Hi chardonnay
>... the secret to walking across streets in Naples and other big Italian cities. You walk with a purpose and do not hesitate,...<

This also works in Paris and NYC.

Maintain course and speed.

chardonnay

Or hide behind a nun!