ChatterBank2 mins ago
Naples, Sorrento Or Pompei?
Am thinking of booking a 4/5 night trip to visit Pompeii, Herculaneum, Mount Vesuvius and Naples (museums, pizza etc). Where would be the best place to stay? We are two women in our 50's. Not bothered about nightlife, just need somewhere decent to eat and maybe a bar (hotel?), but don't want to be anywhere too seedy. Don't want to feel unsafe walking back to the hotel in the evening. We're only there for the culture!
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Pompeii has been described by Mary Beard as one of the worst dumps in Europe and the world. Better buy a book and avoid the place.
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Someone told me good things about this place a while ago http://
Sorrento, without a doubt ! But make sure you are in the resort, rather than in some hotel outside it, as you will be spending time in minibus coming and going to the centre every day.
I have stayed in this place 3 times over the last few years ::
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You will love Pompeii ! Take the train from the station in Sorrento. You will be travelling with lots of locals....kids on their way to school, Mums doing their shopping, etc. The train stops just outside the entrance to Pompeii. If its a hot day, take sunhats and sensible shoes !
take no notice of people that tell you not to go to Pompeii....its an experience of a lifetime !
Make sure you go on the hydrofoil to Capri....probably one of the most beautiful places in the Med. Again, like Pompeii, ignore all the excursions sold by the tour operators....just go down to the Harbour and get on the Hydrofoil.
The journey across the Bay of Naples is wonderful.
I have stayed in this place 3 times over the last few years ::
http://
You will love Pompeii ! Take the train from the station in Sorrento. You will be travelling with lots of locals....kids on their way to school, Mums doing their shopping, etc. The train stops just outside the entrance to Pompeii. If its a hot day, take sunhats and sensible shoes !
take no notice of people that tell you not to go to Pompeii....its an experience of a lifetime !
Make sure you go on the hydrofoil to Capri....probably one of the most beautiful places in the Med. Again, like Pompeii, ignore all the excursions sold by the tour operators....just go down to the Harbour and get on the Hydrofoil.
The journey across the Bay of Naples is wonderful.
We nearly stayed in the Hilton a few years ago Naomi. It is undoubtedly a wonderful hotel, with great views across the Bay. But we decided to stay at the Villagio Verde instead, as this is an easy walk into Piazza Tasso every night.
I can recommend going to the Foreigners Club terrace, for the sunsets.
I can recommend going to the Foreigners Club terrace, for the sunsets.
As well as all of the above - the hidden gem of Ercolano / Herculaneum - a few stops on the local train closer to Naples than Pompeii. Step off the train, trundle down the hill about 300 yards to the site - IMO way more impressive than Pompeii in that you can still see houses complete to roof level, preserved wooden fixtures, and get to appreciate the immense amount of volcanic mud it was all buried under. Also the 'underground' theatre and other features still within the ground, not exposed to the air. Lots of eateries on the road back to the station.
Naples Museum is brilliant and is also easy to reach by train, but you'll need to change to Line 2 of the Naples Metro, get off at Naples Cavour and walk to 'Museo'.
Here's a map of that network:https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/14/Napoli_metropolitani_Trenitalia.png
I've included it as you might find it less stressful to pick up Line 2 outside Naples. When I was last there (2012) the stations in Naples were undergoing lots of renovation and many confused tourists were following advice to leave the Sorrento train at what was effectively a derelict terminus. Knowing how slowly Italian public works proceed, I fully expect this muddle still being in place.
This wouldn't be a problem if it weren't Naples, but sadly the city's reputation for crime is justified especially where tourists are concerned. You will be perfectly safe as long as you behave as if you're in London, not 'on holiday'. So awareness of people walking close behind you / jostling you, valuables firmly attached and hidden out of site, small cash amounts in your pocket. A typical place for being hustled is while you study the ticket machines on the city stations.
I want to come too!
Naples Museum is brilliant and is also easy to reach by train, but you'll need to change to Line 2 of the Naples Metro, get off at Naples Cavour and walk to 'Museo'.
Here's a map of that network:https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/14/Napoli_metropolitani_Trenitalia.png
I've included it as you might find it less stressful to pick up Line 2 outside Naples. When I was last there (2012) the stations in Naples were undergoing lots of renovation and many confused tourists were following advice to leave the Sorrento train at what was effectively a derelict terminus. Knowing how slowly Italian public works proceed, I fully expect this muddle still being in place.
This wouldn't be a problem if it weren't Naples, but sadly the city's reputation for crime is justified especially where tourists are concerned. You will be perfectly safe as long as you behave as if you're in London, not 'on holiday'. So awareness of people walking close behind you / jostling you, valuables firmly attached and hidden out of site, small cash amounts in your pocket. A typical place for being hustled is while you study the ticket machines on the city stations.
I want to come too!
Sorrento is 1950s holiday values still trying to work in the 21st century. So its a day trip place for Neapolitans....my dear, the people.....but has a genteel 'end' for the carriage trade.....souvenir shops selling little boxes encrusted in sea shells; brooches made of millefiori glass; probably even glass animals and cuckoo clocks if you look hard enough. Oh and lemons - lemon fruits, preserves, sweeties, liqueur.... Some people may regard Sorrento as naffly awful due to its love of candy floss and fun. And it is quite pricey, as the businesses know they have a captive audience for the season. Reasonable eatery at Franco's, in the modern shops on main road near the station.
In the height of the season Sorrento is immense fun at street level, safe enough but benefiting from a little of the Neapolitan edge.
Naples on the other hand has suffered not only from its indigenous criminal and civic collapse problem, but from being the landfall for a large number of additional rogues and vagabonds from recent migration waves.
In the height of the season Sorrento is immense fun at street level, safe enough but benefiting from a little of the Neapolitan edge.
Naples on the other hand has suffered not only from its indigenous criminal and civic collapse problem, but from being the landfall for a large number of additional rogues and vagabonds from recent migration waves.
trains from Naples and Sorrento - about half an hour from Sorrento (and I think about 4 euros each way), less from Naples
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Thanks for all your answers everyone. I fancy the hydrofoil, but unfortunately the friend I'm travelling with gets VERY seasick, so it will be trains only for us! Sorrento sounds like it might be a little bit like Rimini, I've been to the area around Rimini quite a lot, so maybe Sorrento is the place. I'll still have to visit Naples though, it sounds like there's quite a lot to see there!
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