Can any one give me any advice about sightseeing in Naples/Pompeii. I am planning on being there for 3 days.<BR><BR>Thanks

Unless you are truly brave and/or reckless, don't drive in Naples. We stayed in Sorrento and took the hydrofoil to Naples and the Circumvesuviana train (a commuter rail line) back. Both were easy and convenient. The Circumvesuviana line also goes to Pompeii but be careful, there are two stops in Pompeii - you want Pompeii Scavi for the ruins. If you have a car, driving to Pompeii from either Naples or Sorrento is quick and easy.<BR><BR>Highly recommend that you make time for the Archaeology Museum in Naples before or after your visit to Pompeii. Many of the artifacts unearthed at Pompeii have been moved to the museum. Be sure to check current hours for the museum - when we tried to visit the first time it was closed for a lengthy lunch break. <BR><BR>Pompeii is a big site and tiring if you try to cover everything. At the least, get one of the books that explains the highlights prior to going - you'll find them all over Sorrento and Naples. We found that this was one place a good guide would have been a worthwhile investment.

You might want to take a look at my picture/travelogue page www.costumegoddess.com/naples.htm<BR>which also has a bit about Pompeii and Sorrento. More of an impressionistic montage than specific advice, but you might find it helpful---maybe you can avoid my mistakes!

Pompeii and Naples are great. Naples is not, however, a place where I like to stay. We stayed in Sorrento and used the Circumvesuviana to get to and from Napoli and Pompei. But there are a lot more places to go than Pompei and Napoli.<BR><BR>Herculano is another town, smaller than Pompei, but more recently discovered adn uncovered with more sensitivity. Its a much smaller site and under the modern city. Really diffreent feel from Pompei.<BR><BR>Villa Poppea at Oplontis- huge villa thought maybe to be that of Poppea, the second wife of Nero. Absolutely huge place. They have music festivals in the garden. The Villa has a hundres freschi. Amazing!<BR><BR>Museo Arceological Natzionale in Napoli- simply a must place to see. Many of the most important mosaics, freschi and statues are there. Plus the Farnese collection of statuary much of it dating back to Roman days and some are Roman copies of Greek statues. This is one museum that I will be back to to wander and enjoy more deeply (we visited with out two teen nephews).<BR><BR>Sorrento- funky seaside resort with lots of charm but noisy and a little dirty. We loved it nonetheless. We are going to return for a longer visit "sin Nepote" (without nephews!). Great food especailly at La Vella Bianca for the freshest seafood we have ever had. Much of it was live, not simply fresh!!! Davides has super gelato and the nameless stand across from it has woderful granite and frulatti.<BR><BR>Paestum-- perhaps the best part of our too short visit. Three Greek temples amongst the ruins of Roman Paestum. The Romans captured the town and kept the temples because they worshipped the same gods. But the town is richer and bigger tehm Pompei. And there are very few visitors. We had a great guide we met at teh gate and for $100 he toured the 4 of us for twice the agreed upon time. he had one of those great flip books which showed a ruin today, and then had a plastic cover to show it restores as it would have been in Roman times. These books are the best souvenier you can get and they make your visits so much more complete. You will really need a car to get to Paestum. You can do it by transit but the trip itself is several hours with transfers. Its an hour by car and you can stop at any of the many Mozzerella di Bufala shops on the ss18 and taste real fresh mozzarella. Look for the ABC symbols which mark better producers.<BR><BR>There is so much more we want to return for-- Massa Lubresne, the Amalfi drive agian, Vico Equense, Marina di Catone, Marina di Pouolo, San Agata Due Golfi, Il Deserto and more.

Ron,<BR><BR>If you haven't done a search under NAPLES, do so. There are plenty of people who post who know and love Naples and can help you with a decision.<BR> Christine has given you some good advice on what to see and what to do (and don't, like drive).<BR><BR>M.

We recently spent two days in Naples as part of a trip to Italy. Our hotel arranged for us to have a driver. The first day he took us around Naples and showed us some of the sights of the city. The second day we went in the morning to Pompeii (where we hired a guide) and then we drove to Amalfi, Positano and Sorrento. The drive was beautiful! The area where we stayed in Naples was very nice. We stayed at the Hotel Miramare which faces the Bay of Naples. There is a walkway along the water which was great for early morning walking/jogging. A restaurant we liked quite a bit was Mimi alla Ferrovia. The November/December issue of National Geographic Traveler has a good article on Naples which you might want to read.

Just back from Italy and did a day trip from Rome to Pompeii via fodors travel talk info. If you take the circumvesuviana commuter train, be sure to buy your ticket at its ticket window because american express sold me the wrong ticket. They (Italians)in service jobs act like they understand your request when in some instances they do not. By the way, I was disappointed with Pompeii! It was difficult to walk and little to see for the average tourist unless you are ruins fanatic. One hour in the Gallery Borghese in Rome is worth a day in Pompeii for my taste. You probably need to do the museo in Naples to see what was interesting about Pompeii. Skip Pompeii and go to Rome.

Pompeii is fantastic!! Like the above said, it is somewhat difficult to walk on the uneven paving stones, however. The reason many don't like Pompeii is because they try to see it on their own WITHOUT a guide. Take a guided tour--it is definitely worth it. There is so much going on in Pompeii it really helps if you have an expert pointing things out to you. My guide pointed out so many things that I never, ever would have noticed. The bordello of Pompeii is also extremely interesting for its erotic paintings and statuary.