indiancouple

We will be in the Naples, Sorrento area for 5 days in May. Have heard about the Campania Arte Card Tutte la Regione . Considering buying the 3 day version for E 27 pp. However, I am not very clear about the scope of its availability. Could someone answer the following questions please :
1. Is the card valid on the Circumvesuviana train rides between Naples / Pompeii / Sorrento ? On all modes of transport within Naples, including furniculars ? On the SITA buses from Sorrento to Positano or Amalfi ? On local buses within Sorrento ?

2. I believe the card is valid for free entry into Pompeii ruins, and also for the Certoza di San Martino museum (in Naples Vomero district). I believe it offers some reduction for entry into Capello Sansevero. Is that right ?

Would be obliged if someone could throw some light on this. Can we purchase this card at Naples Central train station ?

kybourbon

>>>Is the card valid on the Circumvesuviana train rides between Naples / Pompeii / Sorrento ? <<<

Yes.

>>>On all modes of transport within Naples, including furniculars ? On the SITA buses from Sorrento to Positano or Amalfi ? <<<

Yes.

>>>On local buses within Sorrento ?<<<

I don't think it covers the bus that goes from the train station or Piazza Tasso down to the port of Sorrento (you can also walk this as I have many times).

>>>2. I believe the card is valid for free entry into Pompeii ruins<<<

You get two free entries (the list is on the website). After your free entries, you get discounts. The card automatically deducts the first two as the free ones so you need to plan your more expensive sites to be the first two if you want to get value for the card. Pompeii and Herculaneum are 11€ each.

Scroll down on this link to get to the list of sites. You can click each one to see admission/discounts, hours and transport needed to reach each.
http://www.campaniartecard.it/#

>>>Can we purchase this card at Naples Central train station ?<<<

Yes. There is a little store front in a line of stores that has them. They wanted cash only last time I bought one (2011). You are also supposed to be able to buy them at the various sites, but that hasn't always been reliable. The 3 day Tutta La Regione is the only one that includes transport down the coast (all the way to Paestum). The 7 day does not. A few other Campania Artecards provide some limited transport depending on card.

kybourbon

It says it's a 50% discount after your first two entries.

Transport info.

The Tutta La Regione ticket allows you to use the airport shuttle ALIBUS that connects Capodichino airport with the centre of the city
(Airport/Central Train Station - Piazza Garibaldi/Port - Piazza
Municipio), and allows you to use the public transport system in the Costiera
as well as on the islands of Procida and Ischia.

http://www.campaniartecard.it/transport.cfm

Keep in mind that if you are traveling during summer, there are often special exhibits at museums which have an extra fee so you may pay a little more than the price listed. If regular admission is 6€ and they have a special exhibit which costs 4€, you will have to pay 5€ for the discounted price (assuming you've already used your free entrances).

indiancouple

Thanks a lot for the comprehensive reply. We do plan to visit Pompeii first, so that would be an automatic choice for the first free entry. The next day we plan to be in Naples. I believe there is no free entry to Capello Sansevero - only reduced entry. So could we first avail of the reduced entry at Sansevero, and then claim the free entry at Certoza di San Martino ? Or would claiming the reduced entry first mean we forgo our right to avail of free entry for the next ?

kybourbon

Yes. Whichever two sites you enter first will be deducted as the free ones. The Capella Sansevero says regular entry is 7€ and with the Artecard it is 5€. The Artecard website seems to say the same thing. Not sure exactly what it means for that entry since it seems to be listed differently than other sites. Ask when you buy the card. Perhaps it's calculated differently.

Scroll down for price:
http://www.museosansevero.it/

http://www.campaniartecard.it/site.cfm?id=38

You might consider stopping at Herculaneum (Ercolano Scavi stop on the Circumvesuviana) on the way back to Naples after Pompeii or visiting the archaeology museum in Naples. Both are higher priced fees so would be better value for a 2nd entry. Most audio guides at sites are a reduced price with your card also.

Depending on what they tell you about Sansevero when you buy the card, you could opt not to scan the card for entry there if it would benefit you more for a higher entrance elsewhere. Just pay the regular 7€ and don't scan the card.

FWIW - I had problems with the card scanning entrance to the Circumvesuviana train in Sorrento. I had to go to the ticket window every time and they pushed a button to open the gate. It wasn't just my card as the person with me had one also.

kybourbon

Here's a picture of where you buy the card in the train station. There is also a station diagram.
http://www.napolicentrale.it/it/info...le-del-turismo

indiancouple

You people are just fantastic ! Thanks a lot for the very helpful information. All doubts cleared.

A_Brit_In_Ischia

If it helps...

When the 'Regione of Campania' authorities set up the Artecard scheme, the largest discounts they could offer were at the area's publicly-owned museums and sites - but they were also able to negotiate reductions at places run by private institutions, the church, etc etc, as well as with stores and other types of service that chose to participate.

See the longest of the lists at the foot of this page, headed "reduction / facility" for them....

http://www.campaniartecard.it/

Going to, or shopping at, any of those won't register as one of your 'free' uses of the card!
...................................

Transport-wise, the 3 day 'Tutta la Regione' card covers public transport lines funded by the Campanian authorities - which excludes a few services in the area; those that come to mind immediately are:

(i) the faster, longer-distance rail services of Trenitalia (marked on their schedules with IC, ES, ESAV etc) and, for completeness, all those of the ItaloTreno line.

(ii) all sea routes, even ones provided and/or 'topped up' by the Regione

(iii) a few privately-owned bus lines - for example, the 'Curreri Viaggi' company, who run a service between Naples airport and Sorrento, and 'Flavio Gioia' who operate in and around Positano and Praiano.

(iii) from the start of this year, the operators of Caserta's local buses withdrew from the "Unico" scheme for shared ticketing. Not all the ramifications of that have been sorted out yet - and their drivers may well not accept the Artecard and the like now. It's perhaps better to use the regional trains if going, for example, to the royal palace there - Campania's second-most popular attraction, and well worth a visit! Those are fine, and the station is very handy for the site:

http://www.pbase.com/isolaverde/caserta

On the other hand, Sorrento's port to town buses are operated by a member of the scheme (the EAVbus group) and all of theirs - and, similarly, the SITA buses that start from there - should accept the Artecard, as do even the two EAVbus-run routes to Vesuvius:

http://www.unicocampania.it/index.ph...action=vesuvio

(If interested, be sure to check the times of those locally - as some departures are only available in high-season!)
..........................

For an idea of what good value that €27 purchase represents, this is the equivalent of its travel side - otherwise, alone, €20....

http://www.unicocampania.it/index.ph...isti&action=3T

Use their "The Companies" link on that page to see all of what's covered by the scheme - give or take those Caserta buses mentioned above!
...........................

Other things possibly worth noting:

- the "staggered" closing days at the various attractions, to relieve the usual Italian problem of what to do on Mondays:

http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic..._Campania.html

- the local "Qui Napoli" magazine, a great source of information and mostly in both Italian and English, that's available as a PDF (to a somewhat haphazard publication schedule!) from:

http://www.inaples.it/eng/home.asp

- May's a great time to be in the Naples area. Just before you arrive, check for the "May of the Monuments" scheme... special openings of places otherwise closed to the public, guided tours and so on. There are 2012 details here:

http://www.napoliunplugged.com/let-t...nts-begin.html

- and if your itinerary still isn't complete, for other local sites and sights, maybe try this stuff of mine:

http://www.pbase.com/isolaverde/tele

Peter

indiancouple

Thanks Peter for the very comprehensive response. I have to study all the links you have sent...will take a while !

kybourbon

I hadn't looked at the Campania Artecard website lately, but it lets you create your own itinerary/guide by individually selecting sites. Select the sites you want to visit by scrolling down to the list and clicking on the site (start with Museo Sansevero and add the others). When the Sansevero page pops up, click on the green down arrow and it will add it on the left side to your personal trip. Scroll back down to the list and add your other sites by clicking the green arrow for each.

When finished selecting sites, click on "your personal travel guide pdf" (on the left at bottom of your selected list). This will create about a 40 page guide with your sites/hours/transport, etc. Somewhere around page 7 or 8 of the guide it creates, it will suggest your optimal use of the sites you selected. It lists Sansevero in separately from the other sites and calls it an affiliated site. It also explains transport (includes transport maps).

I would wait until closer to your trip if you want to print the pdf as some info may change by then.