Italy for 9 days (Naples and Rome)

Del007

We fly into Naples on 1st of March and leave Rome on the 10th.

We were thinking of doing 4 nights in Naples and doing a few day trips from there. The rest of our time would be spent in Rome.

Has anyone any alternatives on how we should split our time?

Thanks

Brock Turnpike

Be careful in Naples.

Del007

I've read lots of different opinions on Naples so not sure what to expect.

We spent 3 weeks in Colombia and felt perfectly safe everywhere we went

johnire

We’ve been to Naples 3 times and absolutely love it.
There’s tons to see and do....make sure you go to Pompeii and Herculaneum.

Del007 wrote: »

I've read lots of different opinions on Naples so not sure what to expect.

We spent 3 weeks in Colombia and felt perfectly safe everywhere we went

Del007

johnire wrote: »

We’ve been to Naples 3 times and absolutely love it.
There’s tons to see and do....make sure you go to Pompeii and Herculaneum.

Good stuff, I think we're going to base ourselves there.

Could you recommend a hotel/apartment to stay?

Thanks

Fitz*

Naples is a great base for the area. Get ready to eat lots of pizza!

Personally, I did not feel threatened in Naples at all. I walked around alone all of the time as a solo traveller (27 at the time, male) but I do understand why people would feel that way. There are lots of people walking around with chips on their shoulder. I loved Naples myself, it's full of history and culture I thought. I stayed in a hostel down by the Port, but I imagine you don't want the same accommodation experience as me. The Port area is a nice base to stay in though. The place is full of graffiti on the outside, but beautiful inside. LOTS of rubbish just piled outside buildings. lots of Vespa's floating around. You can walk & metro your way around the city most of the time.

I had a couple of hidden gems in Naples, notably the Monastero di Santa Chiara, which is located just across the street from Gesù Nuovo Square. Both are really cool and colourful. The church is free to enter, I can't remember about the monastery but I think it might have been a couple of euro to enter. The Cloister of Santa Chiara is lovely.

Castel Sant'Elmo gives some unreal views of Naples the city from up high, with Vesuvius in the background. I think I went through the grounds of there too but the real highlight was the views of the city. There is a nice steps walkway up from the city level. It's uphill and up steps all of the way. constantly uphill. I enjoyed it anyways, but bring your own water again. There are a couple of houses along the way that sell 20c bottles of water for €2.00 if you get stuck!


I got a guided tour in Pompeii and preferred it to walking around aimlessly. You can get the Circumvesuviana train out there, which is the older local train and is only a couple of euro each way. It's an older train so be prepared for that and also be prepared to stand on it. The train station is basically beside the entrance to the Pompeii site, and you will have plenty of people offering tours there. The stop to get off on is Pompeii Scavi, not Pompeii.

You can get the same train to the base for Vesuvius (about half way between Pompeii & Naples so if you want, it's possible to do both in the one day, if you are able for all the walking). The stop for here is Hercolano Scavi, and again the tour buses are waiting for you right outside the train stop. I can't remember exactly how much but I think it was 20e per person return for the bus to drive you up about 75% of the way to the top of the Volcano and then park in a centre and you walk the rest of the way up yourself. It's a full on path and is easy to walk up. A small bit steep in places but very easily walk up. It's pretty much path all the way. For example Croagh Patrick is about 10 times tougher to walk up. I saw people of all ages walk it. There is a snack cafe near the top, but bring your own water. The view on top of the bay of Naples are lovely, especially on a clear day. The bus brings you back to the train station again.

If you have a spare 2 days, I would recommend going to Sorrento for a(nother) base for 2 days. It's a nice quiet little town, but from there you can go to both Capri for a day trip, but also Positano on the Amalfi Coast. As a solo traveller, one day in Positano was enough but you may want longer there. The views en route to the village and inside the village and extraordinary. The prices there to eat, drink & sleep are extortionate but there are little delis that serve cheap sandwiches, fruit & beer that you can eat outside on benches etc. The bus trip to Positano from Sorrento can be very very very busy in peak season, but March should be ok I would imagine.

Tenzor07

Did 5 days in Rome/Naples a few months ago.

Naples the city, I wouldn't spend more than one full day and one night. Have a pizza or two, walk around the city center tourist area and then hop on a high speed train to Rome.

Allocate your time to Rome, much more in the city to see and do. And it's a bit calmer and cleaner too.

If you feel like more traveling and walking then i'd say allocate a couple more days to Pompei and Sorrento, you won't get much time to relax on a tight schedule though.

Del007

Thannks for the replies lads,

We're thinking about staying here https://www.booking.com/hotel/it/neapolitan-suites-rosaroll-98.en-gb.html

Can anyone comment on the location?

Thanks

Tenzor07

Del007 wrote: »

Can anyone comment on the location?

Looks pretty typical for Napoli, some bars around it, quite central, 10 mins walk from the main railway station too... Don't get put off by the Streetview on Google, all Naples city centre looks the same..

Exiled1

FitzShane wrote: »

Naples is a great base for the area. Get ready to eat lots of pizza!

Personally, I did not feel threatened in Naples at all. I walked around alone all of the time as a solo traveller (27 at the time, male) but I do understand why people would feel that way. There are lots of people walking around with chips on their shoulder. I loved Naples myself, it's full of history and culture I thought. I stayed in a hostel down by the Port, but I imagine you don't want the same accommodation experience as me. The Port area is a nice base to stay in though. The place is full of graffiti on the outside, but beautiful inside. LOTS of rubbish just piled outside buildings. lots of Vespa's floating around. You can walk & metro your way around the city most of the time.

I had a couple of hidden gems in Naples, notably the Monastero di Santa Chiara, which is located just across the street from Gesù Nuovo Square. Both are really cool and colourful. The church is free to enter, I can't remember about the monastery but I think it might have been a couple of euro to enter. The Cloister of Santa Chiara is lovely.

Castel Sant'Elmo gives some unreal views of Naples the city from up high, with Vesuvius in the background. I think I went through the grounds of there too but the real highlight was the views of the city. There is a nice steps walkway up from the city level. It's uphill and up steps all of the way. constantly uphill. I enjoyed it anyways, but bring your own water again. There are a couple of houses along the way that sell 20c bottles of water for €2.00 if you get stuck!


I got a guided tour in Pompeii and preferred it to walking around aimlessly. You can get the Circumvesuviana train out there, which is the older local train and is only a couple of euro each way. It's an older train so be prepared for that and also be prepared to stand on it. The train station is basically beside the entrance to the Pompeii site, and you will have plenty of people offering tours there. The stop to get off on is Pompeii Scavi, not Pompeii.

You can get the same train to the base for Vesuvius (about half way between Pompeii & Naples so if you want, it's possible to do both in the one day, if you are able for all the walking). The stop for here is Hercolano Scavi, and again the tour buses are waiting for you right outside the train stop. I can't remember exactly how much but I think it was 20e per person return for the bus to drive you up about 75% of the way to the top of the Volcano and then park in a centre and you walk the rest of the way up yourself. It's a full on path and is easy to walk up. A small bit steep in places but very easily walk up. It's pretty much path all the way. For example Croagh Patrick is about 10 times tougher to walk up. I saw people of all ages walk it. There is a snack cafe near the top, but bring your own water. The view on top of the bay of Naples are lovely, especially on a clear day. The bus brings you back to the train station again.

If you have a spare 2 days, I would recommend going to Sorrento for a(nother) base for 2 days. It's a nice quiet little town, but from there you can go to both Capri for a day trip, but also Positano on the Amalfi Coast. As a solo traveller, one day in Positano was enough but you may want longer there. The views en route to the village and inside the village and extraordinary. The prices there to eat, drink & sleep are extortionate but there are little delis that serve cheap sandwiches, fruit & beer that you can eat outside on benches etc. The bus trip to Positano from Sorrento can be very very very busy in peak season, but March should be ok I would imagine.

Some great advice above. I would recommend an early morning walk up Vesuvius.... no great effort and stupendous views on a clear day.
Circumvesuviana is a great and cheap way of getting around.
In many ways Herculaneum is better than Pompeii but on a far smaller scale.
If doing day trips from Naples... Capri is fine for some people but based on one visit, I thought it had more reputation than anything else. Again if you are energetic hike up to Tiberius's villa for the best views (and from where he reputedly hurled a poor fisherman who had brought him a massive lobster as a gift!) The plus side of Capri is it will not be crowded in March.

Do your homework before you go because there is so much to see.
Ravello just above Amalfi
Baiae on the north shore of Naples, Paestum south of Amalfi
National Archaeological Museum, Naples if you are into that kind of stuff. Much of what remains of Pompeii is lodged here.
And lots more.....