Naples - Please advise
 

I am spending 4 days in Rome and I would like to take one of those days to see Naples. There are a few things I want to see in one day - please advise and suggest other things if you like.

1. I am going to Cappella Sansevero.
2. I want to see Mt Vesuvius -even at a distance (Is this possible from Naples?)
3. Amalfi Coast
4. Pompeii
5.Archeological Museum
6.Sorrento

I believe that all 6 of these in one day is physically impossible.

If you go as far as Naples, #1 is an absolute MUST, we also went to #5 Museo Archeologico Naionale, which is a beautiful museum but I will add the many of artifacts are similar or copies of what you will see in Pompeii. Of the places we have been in Italy, we found Naples to have a very unique style of its own.

#2 and #4 are fantastic. No one had told me the scale of Pompeii was so amazingly huge. This is also really close to Rome.

#3 and #6 are really a combo and are a trip in themselves IMO.

Another option if you are seeking ancient ruins near Rome is Tivoli and Villa Adriana. It is enormous, there many large structures intact and it is a wonderful spot to spend the day.

I can hardly wait to see how your trip shakes out!

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news but seeing all of those things in one day is impossible, even if you were to speedrace all over Campania.

Assuming this is for a summer trip, here is what I suggest and it is still a VERY fast paced, action-packed itinerary:

Catch the earliest train from Rome to Naples that you can. It looks like you can take a EuroStar train (2nd class fare is approximately 22€) that departs from Roma Termini at 6:45am and arrives at Napoli Pza. Garibaldi at 8:38am. Go downstairs and catch the Circumvesuviana commter train to Pompei (you will be on the train for about 45 minutes). You'll probably arrive at Pompei around 10am.
Hire one of the guides at the front to give you a good 2-hour tour (they usually collect a group of 10-20 tourists and it costs 5-10€ per person).

Catch the Circumvesuviana back to Naples around 12:30pm or 1pm... arrive back in Naples about 1:15pm to 1:45pm.

See the Archaeology Museum (2 hours) and the Cappella San Severo church (30 minutes). Allow at least one hour of travel time between the 2 Naples sights (i.e., getting from the train station to the museum, getting from the museum to the church).

Have an early dinner at a pizzeria (Naples is world famous for pizza) and walk around the city to take in the unique ambience.

Catch a train back to Rome. I see one departing at 7:36pm and arriving in Rome at 9:16pm.


Notes:
You can see Mt. Vesuvius from Naples. and from Pompei.
The Archaeology museum is worth at least 2 hours (4 hours is better).
Check train schedules at www.trenitalia.com (English option top right)

P.S. Here is a link to my trip report about Sorrento, Naples, Pompei, and the Amalfi Coast

http://fodors.com/forums/threadselec...p;tid=34625798

Good luck drafting your itinerary!

The archeaological museum of Naples could be combined well with a trip to Pompeii. Y ou could possibly squeeze in Sorrento if you made it a very long day. To do this, I would suggest you took an early train to Naples, visited the museum for an hour or so and then went on to Pompeii. You will need a minium of 2 hours at Pompeii (longer is preferable).
This should bring you to about early / mid afternoon. You could then take the train from Pompeii to Sorrento and spend a couple of hours relaxing.
Hope you have a lot of energy!
Carolena

You already have good advice from all of the above posters. I do think we should clarify the comment:

"Museo Archeologico Naionale, which is a beautiful museum but I will add the many of artifacts are similar or copies of what you will see in Pompeii."

The artifacts on exhibit at the Archeoligcal Museum in Naples are the originals from Pompeii, not copies, and include some unforgetable mosaics.

I read this & assumed it was a troll.

Thanks for the advice guys. This is a trip for next month: 4 days Rome, including day trip to Naples. 4 days Florence including Pisa or trip down Chianti road, and 5 days in Venice - wanted to go to see the Matterhaorn or Alps but we might chill after the intense running in Rome and Florence. I would appreciate any suggestions about day trips from Venice.

5 days in Venice might be a tad too long. I love Venice but I prefer staying for 3 or 4 nights at a time.

In Venice be sure to see:

Frari Church

Basilica San Marco

Correr Museum

Doge's Palace (reserve the Secret Itineraries tour- it's awesome)

Accademia Museum

Rialto bridge and markets

There are many more wonderful sights in Venice but these are my favorites :-) You might consider a daytrip to the nearby islands of Torcello, Burano, and Murano. Verona is also an easy daytrip and the Roman ruins there are wonderful. It has a cute medieval old town as well.

P.S. Since this trip is for next month (March?), you need to check the hours and open days of all the museums and sights. Winter hours are shorter than summer hours

Right. I have done quite a bit of Research, but I need input from experienced travellers like yourself to know if what I want to to do is feasible - time wise. I thought about going to Lake Garda or Milan. I really want to see the Alps.

From Venice. I just hate having to pay for another hotel room for a night when I have one already paid for

Hi Jemappell,

To clarify on my Venice comments...

For a 5 night stay this is my advice (assuming you have never been there before).

Days 1-3: See Venice (I assume that your first day will only be a partial day due to travel)

Day 4: Daytrip to the islands in the Venetian Lagoon (Torcello, Burano, Murano, etc.)

Day 5: Daytrip to Verona and possibly also to Vicenza.

<font color="blue">Is your 5th day a full-day or is it a partial day due to travel?</font>

P.S. I would not try to add the Lakes or Milan into this itinerary. It is pretty jam-packed as is and those areas are not really that close to where you'll be focusing your trip (Rome, Florence, Venice)

If you haven't already booked your hotels, consider paring down Venice by a day and giving yourself a night in Naples. Even doing that you would still have time for a trip to the islands of Torcello, etc. in Venice.

And if you haven't booked your flights, consider flying into Venice and out of Rome (or vice versa).

You can safely skip a trip to Sorrento and trying to cram in the Amalfi Coast would just be too much. Besides in March, the Amalfi coast is not at its best.

If you fly in or out of Milan, you will see the Alps out the window of the plane. But otherwise, March is not the best month to visit either the Dolomites or the Alps, or even Lago di Garda. It is quite chilly.

Unfortunately my itinerary is pretty set. I have three full days in Venice that I can be somewhat flexible with. Gotta fly out of Venice. I arrive in Venice on the 31st and depart on the 5th of April - so that is about 4.75 days. The chill I would expect this time of year, but the beauty of the scenery is what I want to experience. Maybe I will just have to come back again.

I'm planning to do a daytrip to Naples from Ischia on a Monday.

Will shops/trattorie/landmarks be closed on a Monday?

That'll be in the first week of July 2006.

Thanks!

Naples is a very scary City. We arrived at the train station one afternoon on our way to Positano. I would NEVER go to Naples again. Extremely dirty and chaotic. It makes Rome look good.

I would recommend staying Sorrento or Amalfi Coast... absolutely BEAUTIFUL! You can take a tour of Pompeii from either place.

Chao and have a great holiday.

The train station area, like train station areas in America, is one of the worst areas of Naples. It is a very poor introduction to an amazing, fascinating city.

ABENDIGO,

Many things are likely to be closed on a Monday in Naples. My recollection is that the archeology museum is open 7 days a week -- but you better look that up. Likewise Cappella Sansevero ought to be open, but probably with the usual long closing hours between 12-4. You can probably find that information on the web.

As for trattorias and shops, the normal thing is for them to close on Sundays.

Nessundorma- I like your name. I have a neighbor whose dog's name is Pavarotti. Tell all those people on this post that Naples is to be visited and digested leisurely. My wife and I visit Naples at least two months a year, and have been doing so since 1987. Her family (five sisters and three brothers) live there. They are all Italians, but my wife was born in the US. In the years we've been visiting, I still haven't gotten my fill of Naples. I think I know the city as well as anyone, but I have yet to see it all. If someone wants to go to a place just to say they've been there, what is the joy or satisfaction in that? When one wants to go to a place to appreciate it, that person has gotta sit back and drink it in, like a fine wine. So, one day in Naples, even two, is a waste of time. You gotta see it. In my opinion, there is more to see in Naples than there is in Rome.