Italy with Teens Trip Report 2008
Jul 10th, 2008, 07:02 AM
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Italy with Teens Trip Report 2008
We just returned from a 14-day trip to Itay...a family of four with two teens...a "young" 13-year-old boy and a 15-year-old girl. I read lots of lots of information on this forum while planning this trip and so thought I'd post the details of our experience here in case it proves useful to someone else.
Our trip was from June 25 - July 8.
Day 1: As in all travel to Europe, day 1 is not real interesting as it is spent in a plane. We flew USAir from North Carolina to Philadelphia and then on to Milan with our final plane destination to be Naples and our final city destination to be Sorrento.
Day 2: We arrived in Milan at about 6:30 in the morning. Clearing customs was easy and painless...took almost no time. Unlike in the US, you don't have to retrieve your luggage and recheck it. This left us with a 3 hour layover in Milan. This was painful as the Milan airport, or at least the part we were in, has nothing to keep your attention...and only snack bar type restaurants. After the long flight over, lingering in the airport was no fun. We did use this opportunity to get Euros from the ATM machine though. We then took a flight to Naples. Our travel agent had originally booked us a private car to transfer us from Naples to Sorrento...but at a cost of about $180, it was one of the items that bit the dust in the name of keeping this trip from bankrupting us.
This decision came back to bite us bad as I will explain in my next post.
Our trip was from June 25 - July 8.
Day 1: As in all travel to Europe, day 1 is not real interesting as it is spent in a plane. We flew USAir from North Carolina to Philadelphia and then on to Milan with our final plane destination to be Naples and our final city destination to be Sorrento.
Day 2: We arrived in Milan at about 6:30 in the morning. Clearing customs was easy and painless...took almost no time. Unlike in the US, you don't have to retrieve your luggage and recheck it. This left us with a 3 hour layover in Milan. This was painful as the Milan airport, or at least the part we were in, has nothing to keep your attention...and only snack bar type restaurants. After the long flight over, lingering in the airport was no fun. We did use this opportunity to get Euros from the ATM machine though. We then took a flight to Naples. Our travel agent had originally booked us a private car to transfer us from Naples to Sorrento...but at a cost of about $180, it was one of the items that bit the dust in the name of keeping this trip from bankrupting us.
This decision came back to bite us bad as I will explain in my next post.
Jul 10th, 2008, 09:45 AM
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Day 1 (continued): We took a bus outside the airport to the Naples train station. The bus cost about 3 Euros a piece I believe. It was easy to find and not that crowded. The bus ride to the train station is not a pretty sight. Naples may have good parts to it...but between the airport and train station, it looks like a desolate and scary place. At the Naples Garibaldi train station, we followed the signs to the Circumvessuviana train which is a fair hike and bought tickets for that...about 5 or so Euros a piece. Rick Steves talks about bypassing these signs and catching the Circumvessuviana train earlier in the station but we were so comatose at this point, following the signs just seemed easier. Catching the train at the earlier stop however would have been wiser. We caught a train about 12:30 in the afternoon to go to Sorrento. When it arrived, it was full...and then a billion more people got on with us. It was a non-airconditioned 1 hour standing up sardine ride...with luggage. It's worth it to note at this point that while the average temperature in Italy at this time of year is in the low to mid-80s, we were unlucky enough to be there in the middle of the heat waves...so temperatures were well into the 90s. Half way through the train ride to Sorrento, my husband said that his wallet was missing. I had read, per Rick Steves, that pickpockets were rampant on the Circumvessuviana train and had money pouches for my husband and I but he thought he would be safe just putting his wallet into his front pants pocket instead of his back one as we had done in other European countries. Not so...TOUGH lesson learned...that men in Italy do not carry purses for fashion. They wear them because nothing is safe in your pockets. And if you look around at all the locals, they are always clutching their handbags tightly.
We were planning on only taking the train to Pompeii, visiting there, and then continuing on to Sorrento after Pompeii. However, we were all just too tired, even before the pickpocket incident to think that we could appreciate Pompeii. The pickpocket incident just sealed it. So we continued on to our hotel in Sorrento...the Villa Santa Maria...and spent the afternoon calling credit card companies to cancel our old cards and get new ones and cash advances issued. In the hour or two between when we got on the train and reached the hotel to call the credit card companies, the thief had already used the credit cards for about $5000. The first night we were able to get a cash advance wired to a Western Union and a promise that new credit cards would be delivered overnight. We thus headed out to track down the Western Union store, had some dinner, and walked down to the Marina Piccola through the historic side of Sorrento. This was a very enjoyable walk and took the edge off the day. The old part of Sorrento was probably my favorite old streets in Italy. They were very narrow and charming.
A note on the hotel Villa Maria. It's conveniently located on the main street in Sorrento, close to restaurants, shops, and the docks. It's a 3-star European hotel which equates to probably 1-star US hotel beds...but the room and beds are fine. The room fronted the main street which was very noisy but at the end of the days there, we were so tired, the traffic just acted like white noise and wasn't problematic. The view out the window was fairly good. The staff at the front desk were not very friendly or helpful. The free continental breakfast in the morning looked good but was only mediocre as the pastries were fairly stale.
Day 2 in the next post. And a P.S. for those who find my trip report depressing so far...it gets better...the start was just inauspicious Hopefully, however, with my account, perhaps I can prevent someone else from having the same inauspicious start.
We were planning on only taking the train to Pompeii, visiting there, and then continuing on to Sorrento after Pompeii. However, we were all just too tired, even before the pickpocket incident to think that we could appreciate Pompeii. The pickpocket incident just sealed it. So we continued on to our hotel in Sorrento...the Villa Santa Maria...and spent the afternoon calling credit card companies to cancel our old cards and get new ones and cash advances issued. In the hour or two between when we got on the train and reached the hotel to call the credit card companies, the thief had already used the credit cards for about $5000. The first night we were able to get a cash advance wired to a Western Union and a promise that new credit cards would be delivered overnight. We thus headed out to track down the Western Union store, had some dinner, and walked down to the Marina Piccola through the historic side of Sorrento. This was a very enjoyable walk and took the edge off the day. The old part of Sorrento was probably my favorite old streets in Italy. They were very narrow and charming.
A note on the hotel Villa Maria. It's conveniently located on the main street in Sorrento, close to restaurants, shops, and the docks. It's a 3-star European hotel which equates to probably 1-star US hotel beds...but the room and beds are fine. The room fronted the main street which was very noisy but at the end of the days there, we were so tired, the traffic just acted like white noise and wasn't problematic. The view out the window was fairly good. The staff at the front desk were not very friendly or helpful. The free continental breakfast in the morning looked good but was only mediocre as the pastries were fairly stale.
Day 2 in the next post. And a P.S. for those who find my trip report depressing so far...it gets better...the start was just inauspicious
Hopefully, however, with my account, perhaps I can prevent someone else from having the same inauspicious start.
Jul 10th, 2008, 09:50 AM
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One other note on the Hotel Villa Maria, while it is convenient to restaurants and the harbors, it's a long hike from the train station..especially with luggage. The alternative is a 15 Euro taxi.
Jul 10th, 2008, 11:32 AM
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Sorry you got nicked!
This trip report underscores that it is a good idea to have someone else in your party carry another credit card from a different credit card company. That includes having a separate ATM account as well, stashed with emergency money, in case your ATM card is stolen as well.
That way, if a wallet gets stolen, all that needs to be done is to call two numbers.
Unless you plan to drive while abroad, the wallet you take with you should only contain one credit card and one ATM card, and a day's worth of cash. Keep your passport separate.
This trip report underscores that it is a good idea to have someone else in your party carry another credit card from a different credit card company. That includes having a separate ATM account as well, stashed with emergency money, in case your ATM card is stolen as well.
That way, if a wallet gets stolen, all that needs to be done is to call two numbers.
Unless you plan to drive while abroad, the wallet you take with you should only contain one credit card and one ATM card, and a day's worth of cash. Keep your passport separate.
Jul 10th, 2008, 12:15 PM
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Hi lammaom,
We just returned from Italy also, we had an incident right outside of the train station in Naples as we got on the bus, two well dressed men had scoped us out and on the bus one attempted to unvelcro my husbands front pocket(only containing a kids camera) but was stopped by another american. I can easily see how it could happen, my husband didn't even notice because the bus was so crowded. The circumvessvumia is even worse, so I can only imagine.
We just returned from Italy also, we had an incident right outside of the train station in Naples as we got on the bus, two well dressed men had scoped us out and on the bus one attempted to unvelcro my husbands front pocket(only containing a kids camera) but was stopped by another american. I can easily see how it could happen, my husband didn't even notice because the bus was so crowded. The circumvessvumia is even worse, so I can only imagine.
Jul 10th, 2008, 12:24 PM
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Day 3: Off to Capri today. Moving a family of 4 in the morning proves challenging so no early starts for us. We took a 10:30 hydrofoil to Capri...the cheaper ferry was booked up. It was a pleasant ride over. The hydrofoil seated a couple of hundred people, had comfortable seats, and snacks were available. It cost about 15 Euros a piece and took about 30 minutes...although my numbers aren't exact.
On Capri, we took a bus to Anacapri and then a bus from there to the Blue Grotto. The Anacapri bus was packed...breathing room only. We walked down the stairs by the Blue
Grotto, and were second in line for a boat. It took us about 5 minutes to get on a boat, a 5 minute ride in the grotto, and then a bus back to Anacapri. 40 Euros for 4 of us to the boat guy. The Blue Grotto was cool enough..but not 40 Euros cool I think. However, since it was something I wanted to see, the bus route was definitely fast and easy and cheaper...as opposed to the sitting in a larger boat waiting for a smaller boat route. If you decide to skip the Blue Grotto, you haven't missed much. But if you want to see it just because, the bus is a good way to go. Ultimately, to see Anacapri, you'll have to take a bus or cab anyway...so the Blue Grotto bus is only 1 more easy step. Also I read before I went that you could swim for free in the Blue Grotto after 6 which would be cool except they told us the last ferry left at 7 from the harbor. So it would be pretty hard to swim, catch 2 buses, and get to the ferry in time. That said, you were allowed to swim from the small grotto boats inside the cave during the day...after paying the small boat fee. Had we known and brought our bathing suits, that would have been a cool thing to do.
Once back in Anacapri, we took the chairlift to the top..about 6-8 Euros a piece. It really is a chair lift and not a "bench" lift like we have. 1 person/1 small seat at a time. Nice view from the top. We took the 1/2 hour hike down the hill. It was a nice walk and refreshingly free from the crowds. After lunch, we took a bus to Capri, looked around a little and then took the funicular back to the harbor to catch the ferry home. A pretty nice day.
On Capri, we took a bus to Anacapri and then a bus from there to the Blue Grotto. The Anacapri bus was packed...breathing room only. We walked down the stairs by the Blue
Grotto, and were second in line for a boat. It took us about 5 minutes to get on a boat, a 5 minute ride in the grotto, and then a bus back to Anacapri. 40 Euros for 4 of us to the boat guy. The Blue Grotto was cool enough..but not 40 Euros cool I think. However, since it was something I wanted to see, the bus route was definitely fast and easy and cheaper...as opposed to the sitting in a larger boat waiting for a smaller boat route. If you decide to skip the Blue Grotto, you haven't missed much. But if you want to see it just because, the bus is a good way to go. Ultimately, to see Anacapri, you'll have to take a bus or cab anyway...so the Blue Grotto bus is only 1 more easy step. Also I read before I went that you could swim for free in the Blue Grotto after 6 which would be cool except they told us the last ferry left at 7 from the harbor. So it would be pretty hard to swim, catch 2 buses, and get to the ferry in time. That said, you were allowed to swim from the small grotto boats inside the cave during the day...after paying the small boat fee. Had we known and brought our bathing suits, that would have been a cool thing to do.
Once back in Anacapri, we took the chairlift to the top..about 6-8 Euros a piece. It really is a chair lift and not a "bench" lift like we have. 1 person/1 small seat at a time. Nice view from the top. We took the 1/2 hour hike down the hill. It was a nice walk and refreshingly free from the crowds. After lunch, we took a bus to Capri, looked around a little and then took the funicular back to the harbor to catch the ferry home. A pretty nice day.
Jul 10th, 2008, 12:29 PM
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zeppole, yes, your comments are right on target about separate credit cards/money. It just never came up as something to consider for me before. Luckily our passports were in a separate place.
Jul 10th, 2008, 01:13 PM
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Day 4: More credit card issues this morning so we got an even later start. We took the Circumvessuviana train reluctantly to Pompeii. By that time, it was noon and we wanted to see Vesuvius and Pompeii. We took a cab to Mount Vesuvius since time was at a premium. It cost 75 Euros....plus there's an entrance fee to hike up the mountain. The drive was about a half hour to get there. We took about an hour to walk up and look around. Not much there but I still think it was cool to see the volcano and the small wisps of steam coming out. Sometimes on big city trips, it feels good to just get somewhere with fewer people and more air. We were back in Pompeii about 2 and had some lunch. Then on to Pompeii. Although it was excruciatingly hot, it was still neat to see. Make sure you get the free map from the information stand, pick out what you want to see and head towards those places. Make sure to check out the theaters and the villas at the edges of Pompeii. We stayed about 3 hours at Pompeii. In lesser heat, it probably would have been interesting to stay even longer.
We were back in Pompeii about 2 and had some lunch. Then on to Pompeii. Although it was excruciatingly hot, it was still neat to see. Make sure you get the free map from the information stand, pick out what you want to see and head towards those places. Make sure to check out the theaters and the villas at the edges of Pompeii. We stayed about 3 hours at Pompeii. In lesser heat, it probably would have been interesting to stay even longer.
Jul 10th, 2008, 01:14 PM
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We have just come back from the Amalfi Coast ourselves, flew into Rome, spent a few days there and then took the train to Naples. We hired a car for the Sorrento drive, part because of what I had read about the crowds on the Circumvesuviana train. My condolences on the inauspicious start to your holiday. I was actually surprised when my DH decided to purchase a neck wallet for this trip, because I have always been concerned about his wallet in the front packet approach to travel. This worked well for him on this trip.
We did take the Circumvesuviana from Sorrento to Pompeii the next day and even tho the cars were not full I could see how it could be a real problem with a lot of luggage and a lot of people. There were some young girls roaming the trains, playing accordion and asking for money. Later in our trip, in Umbrian. we met a couple who had had a wallet experience like yours on a train leaving the Cinque Terre. Look forward to reading the good parts of your adventure.
We did take the Circumvesuviana from Sorrento to Pompeii the next day and even tho the cars were not full I could see how it could be a real problem with a lot of luggage and a lot of people. There were some young girls roaming the trains, playing accordion and asking for money. Later in our trip, in Umbrian. we met a couple who had had a wallet experience like yours on a train leaving the Cinque Terre. Look forward to reading the good parts of your adventure.
Jul 10th, 2008, 01:28 PM
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Day 5: Off to Rome. We took the Circumvessuviana train back to Naples and then caught an AV train to Rome. Compared to the Circumvessuviana train, the AV train makes you feel like the rich and famous. Air-conditioned, reserved comfortable seats, snack car, and no stops. By the way, I should mention that tidbit about the Circumvessuviana train (aka "train from hell"
. The website for it shows about 5 stops. Those are just the main stops. From Naples to Sorrento, I believe we counted about 31 stops.
We arrived in Rome about 1 and headed off to our hotel...the Hotel Romae. It was about 4 blocks from the train station so an easy luggage drag and convenient for catching buses and the metro. The neighborhood was safe and untouristy. This was my favorite hotel room that we stayed at in Europe except for one small problem...the air-conditioning wasn't working. They were booked full so we couldn't change rooms. They gave us a fan which helped but in 90-degree weather, wasn't quite enough. Other than that, the hotel was great. The beds were the most comfortable we had with soft blankets..probably equivalent of 3-star beds in the US. They had bunk beds for the kids which is a novelty for them. Another aside: One thing I liked about Europe was how they did quad rooms: 1 double bed + 2 singles. This works out much better for us than the 2 double bed paradigm in the US. They also had actual places to unpack your clothes...something missing in most hotels. The people at the desk were very nice, friendly, and helpful. The room had cable TV with English channels which my son liked after a long day. And the breakfast, while not fabulous, was the best hotel breakfast we had while in Italy. Continental breakfast was free but you could upgrade to eggs and bacon or an omelet or a few other choices for 1 or 2 euros more. So usually we ate breakfast for about 3 euros and got something closer to a US breakfast.
After checking into the hotel, we walked to the Hard Rock Cafe. This may seem like blasphemy to some of you...but we are used to eating a wide variety of food at home...Italian on Monday, Mexican on Tuesday, American on Wednesday, Chinese on Thursday, etc...so after 3 days of pizza and pasta, we were already ready for a break and thought Rome would be our best bet for that. And the Hard Rock Cafe hit the spot for us.
We then headed to the Spanish Steps and took the Rick Steves' suggested walk from there to the Campo de Fiori, seeing the Trevi Fountain and the Pantheon.
From the Campo de Fiori, we caught a bus back to the Termini for 1.5 Euro a piece and walked the short distance back to the hotel.
. The website for it shows about 5 stops. Those are just the main stops. From Naples to Sorrento, I believe we counted about 31 stops.We arrived in Rome about 1 and headed off to our hotel...the Hotel Romae. It was about 4 blocks from the train station so an easy luggage drag and convenient for catching buses and the metro. The neighborhood was safe and untouristy. This was my favorite hotel room that we stayed at in Europe except for one small problem...the air-conditioning wasn't working. They were booked full so we couldn't change rooms. They gave us a fan which helped but in 90-degree weather, wasn't quite enough. Other than that, the hotel was great. The beds were the most comfortable we had with soft blankets..probably equivalent of 3-star beds in the US. They had bunk beds for the kids which is a novelty for them. Another aside: One thing I liked about Europe was how they did quad rooms: 1 double bed + 2 singles. This works out much better for us than the 2 double bed paradigm in the US. They also had actual places to unpack your clothes...something missing in most hotels. The people at the desk were very nice, friendly, and helpful. The room had cable TV with English channels which my son liked after a long day. And the breakfast, while not fabulous, was the best hotel breakfast we had while in Italy. Continental breakfast was free but you could upgrade to eggs and bacon or an omelet or a few other choices for 1 or 2 euros more. So usually we ate breakfast for about 3 euros and got something closer to a US breakfast.
After checking into the hotel, we walked to the Hard Rock Cafe. This may seem like blasphemy to some of you...but we are used to eating a wide variety of food at home...Italian on Monday, Mexican on Tuesday, American on Wednesday, Chinese on Thursday, etc...so after 3 days of pizza and pasta, we were already ready for a break and thought Rome would be our best bet for that. And the Hard Rock Cafe hit the spot for us.
We then headed to the Spanish Steps and took the Rick Steves' suggested walk from there to the Campo de Fiori, seeing the Trevi Fountain and the Pantheon.
From the Campo de Fiori, we caught a bus back to the Termini for 1.5 Euro a piece and walked the short distance back to the hotel.
Jul 10th, 2008, 01:47 PM
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Day 6: We had reservations for the Vatican Museum/Sistine chapel tour for noon which we booked online at the official site....about 23 Euros a piece. Having not packed 2 weeks of clothes, we took this long morning opportunity to drop some clothes off at a wash and fold place right around the corner from our hotel. We then walked to the Termini and took the metro to the Vatican. We checked out St Peter's square and then walked past hoards of people waiting in line for the Vatican museum. It was supposedly a 2-hour wait in the regular line. Bypassing that line was certainly a blessing. The tour itself was just ok. Although there is a long line waiting for the Museum, it evidently has nothing to do with crowd control but rather with the number of people they can get through security at a time. Once you get into the museum, the same billion people that were on the Circumvessuviana train are in the museum. This is exasperated by the herding effect of a tour itself. That said, the tour operator was fine and gave us some good tidbits. Overall, I'm not a tour person as I like to move at my own rate and see things at my speed. There were several rooms that would have been interesting to see...a carriage room and an Etruscan room that were not on the main tour. You could go back at the end and see these but by that time, you're whipped. My suggestion might actually be to make reservations for the tour so you can bypass the line but to blow off the tour once you're in the building itself. After you go through the main museum, you end up in the Sistine Chapel...which is cool but again not as cool as I had expected. Again, this may be blasphemy to some and it's probably a good statement that as an art connoisseur I'm lacking...but there are a lot of ornate, elaborately painted ceilings in Italy. For me, this one wasn't incredibly exceptional. Also..remember the billion people I've mentioned...they're in the Chapel when you get there too
After leaving the chapel, we exited to St. Peter's and paid to climb the Dome, 5 Euros a piece I think. Again, this gets you a tad away from crowds and is nice. My kids love climbing the ancient stairs. After that, we walked through St Peter's, over to the Castel D'Angelo, checked out the river, and the Piazza de Popolo (probably killing some of these names) and then back home via the Metro. Dinner tonight was Chinese...again in preparation for an onslaught of pizza and pasta in the future.
After leaving the chapel, we exited to St. Peter's and paid to climb the Dome, 5 Euros a piece I think. Again, this gets you a tad away from crowds and is nice. My kids love climbing the ancient stairs. After that, we walked through St Peter's, over to the Castel D'Angelo, checked out the river, and the Piazza de Popolo (probably killing some of these names) and then back home via the Metro. Dinner tonight was Chinese...again in preparation for an onslaught of pizza and pasta in the future.
Jul 10th, 2008, 03:01 PM
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Lammom - I have to say I am cringing while reading your report. It seems like hell to me!
I watched the Rick Steves DVD and had the same impression of the blue grotto - "that was it?" ... I am so so sorry about the wallet.
I am very worried about this happening to dd and I while we travel for 5 weeks in the fall.. I am hoping Oct/November is not as crazy of a time..
Hope that you all managed to have a good time..
I watched the Rick Steves DVD and had the same impression of the blue grotto - "that was it?" ... I am so so sorry about the wallet.
I am very worried about this happening to dd and I while we travel for 5 weeks in the fall.. I am hoping Oct/November is not as crazy of a time..
Hope that you all managed to have a good time..
Jul 10th, 2008, 03:33 PM
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We had some good times and some memorable ones. My teens aren't ones who can sit at a cafe in the square and people watch so the more relaxed "soak up the atmosphere" vacations are probably reserved for just my husband and I in the future. However, if I had it to do over again, there are definitely some things I would change that others might find some value in...and I'll post those thoughts at the end of my report.
Jul 10th, 2008, 05:09 PM
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lammom - I will look forward to reading those. We took our two girls to Europe last summer (07) and I am taking our youngest (11) alone to Europe for a long trip this fall.
I will be curious to read what you would do different as I am looking for all tips!
I will be curious to read what you would do different as I am looking for all tips!
Jul 11th, 2008, 03:40 AM
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Day 7: Off to the coliseum and forum this morning. Walked to the Termini and hopped on the Metro. The Metro trains come about every 5 minutes so they're very convenient. The Coliseum stop was just 1 or 2 stops down from the Termini so a fast trip. When we exited the Metro, we took Rick Steve's advice, bypassed the Coliseum ticket line which was very long, and walked down to the forum ticket office to buy our combined tickets. There was no line there at all. We then toured the Coliseum, Forum, and Palatine Hill...which while they're famous enough to want to see, pale next to Pompeii (at least the Forum and Palatine Hill do). On Palatine Hill, there's a villa called Casa d'Augusta which you have to wait in line to see. If you've been to Pompeii and seen the villa to the far left of the entrance there, skip this one. When we exited the forum, there was a vendor selling frozen water for 1 Euro apiece. Given the 90+ degree weather, I thought he was an angel of God
We then hopped back on the Metro, took it up one stop further away from the Termini, exited, and took the 118 bus out the Appian Way to the San Sebastien catacombs. We got there about 2 o'clock right when they were reopening after their 12-2 lunch break. This caused the tour at that time to be fairly large for all those that had arrived during the break. The tour was 1/2 hour long. The catacombs were neat enough...although the tour guide was kind of robotic in his presentation. If I had to do it again, I think it might be cool to see the catacombs of Priscilla inside the city as they're smaller, you might get a private showing, and the tour is supposedly by flashlight. The size of the catacombs really doesn't matter I think as although the San Sebastien ones are 7 miles long or something, you see only a small fraction of that.
After finishing the catacombs tour, we walked further up the Appian way about a mile or so past the tomb of Cecilia and caught a bus back to the city (I believe it was the 64 bus) and then a Metro home from there.
Several notes on Rome:
1) We found walking Rome very easy and crossing traffic very easy. Most streets have electronic pedestrian crossing signs and motorists seem to respect pedestrian crosswalks. This was the case in Florence also. In Sorrento, not so much...you have to dart across traffic and say a prayer.
2) The piece of Rome we were in seemed very safe.
3) The buses were easy to use and fairly uncrowded. Each bus stop shows what buses come there and what stops they make. Printed bus schedules are harder to come by...and supposedly cost 6 Euros to purchase from the ticket stands. There may not always be sitting room on the buses as they're aren't a lot of seats but there was always breathing room and usually the distance you're riding it is fairly short.
4) The Metro is easy to use. Take Rick Steve's advice and try to get on near the front of the train...the number of people was definitely thinner there.
We then hopped back on the Metro, took it up one stop further away from the Termini, exited, and took the 118 bus out the Appian Way to the San Sebastien catacombs. We got there about 2 o'clock right when they were reopening after their 12-2 lunch break. This caused the tour at that time to be fairly large for all those that had arrived during the break. The tour was 1/2 hour long. The catacombs were neat enough...although the tour guide was kind of robotic in his presentation. If I had to do it again, I think it might be cool to see the catacombs of Priscilla inside the city as they're smaller, you might get a private showing, and the tour is supposedly by flashlight. The size of the catacombs really doesn't matter I think as although the San Sebastien ones are 7 miles long or something, you see only a small fraction of that.
After finishing the catacombs tour, we walked further up the Appian way about a mile or so past the tomb of Cecilia and caught a bus back to the city (I believe it was the 64 bus) and then a Metro home from there.
Several notes on Rome:
1) We found walking Rome very easy and crossing traffic very easy. Most streets have electronic pedestrian crossing signs and motorists seem to respect pedestrian crosswalks. This was the case in Florence also. In Sorrento, not so much...you have to dart across traffic and say a prayer.
2) The piece of Rome we were in seemed very safe.
3) The buses were easy to use and fairly uncrowded. Each bus stop shows what buses come there and what stops they make. Printed bus schedules are harder to come by...and supposedly cost 6 Euros to purchase from the ticket stands. There may not always be sitting room on the buses as they're aren't a lot of seats but there was always breathing room and usually the distance you're riding it is fairly short.
4) The Metro is easy to use. Take Rick Steve's advice and try to get on near the front of the train...the number of people was definitely thinner there.
Jul 11th, 2008, 03:49 AM
#18
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Thanks so much for taking the time to write this. As the mother of 12 and 14 year olds in a travelling family, I value your input. Italy is high on my list of "next trips". And you are motivating me to finally write my trip report from our Spain trip this past May!
Jul 11th, 2008, 04:21 AM
#20
lammom - The bus you wanted from the airport should have been the 7€ Curreri bus. It takes you from the airport to Sorrento so there is no need to fool with the train. The information can be found on the Naples airport website or the Curreri website. Curreri is also now offering door-to-door transfers from the airport to Sorrento for 80€ (1-3 people). www.curreriviaggi.it
I'm confused about the Rick Steves' suggestion of getting on the Circumvesuviana at an earlier stop since the Naples station is a dead end, last stop. The train only runs between Naples and Sorrento. I really don't see how there could be an earlier stop than the one at the Centrale.
For anyone wanting to avoid the CV train, you can take the Marozzi bus from Sorrento to Rome (16.5&euro and you won't have to worry about luggage and transfers.
www.marozzivt.it
I'm confused about the Rick Steves' suggestion of getting on the Circumvesuviana at an earlier stop since the Naples station is a dead end, last stop. The train only runs between Naples and Sorrento. I really don't see how there could be an earlier stop than the one at the Centrale.
For anyone wanting to avoid the CV train, you can take the Marozzi bus from Sorrento to Rome (16.5&euro
and you won't have to worry about luggage and transfers.www.marozzivt.it
