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Naples region


Stellaboz

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Went on a school trip about 8 years ago, absolutely great.

I would say Sorrento is genuinely one of the best places I've been. Highly recommend.

Also Herculaneum was better than Pompeii for me, it was a small village that was destroyed by boiling mud after Vesuvius' eruption - which meant is was slightly better persevered and you get all lot more access compared to Pompeii and it's a bit quieter. But certainly try to do both.

I quite liked Capri - well worth a boat tour round the island.

Naples has some great food, but it's a bit of toilet and there's certainly areas you should avoid, but is probably worth a short excursion into.

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We are going to Sorrento next week, fly in next Friday. Intend to take the train to one of the roman sites maybe favour Herculaneum. Ive been watching a lot of food vlogs re good pizza in Naples, we thought about taking the train in and just finding one or two not too far away from the station, is the area around there alright? Want to get the wee man a Maradona napoli shirt.  

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Naples is INTENSE as a city.  It's basically a city with untreated ADHD.  I like it, but my wife found it too overwhelming.  Pompeii is a must do, it's totally worth it and you can get a convenient train from the main Railway stations in both Naples and Sorrento.  As mentioned above, Sorrento is amazing, Capri is also lovely (although we didn't go last time, I only went in 2008), also the Amalfi coast is a day trip away.  

Regardless of how mad Naples is as a city, I can guarantee you will eat well

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Near the Pompeii entrance there's a nice wee Cameo museum to have a look round. There's also stalls selling lemon slushies that are the best you'll ever taste. Due to the volcanic minerals in the soil of the area the lemons grow to the size of melons and taste amazing. I really enjoyed Pompeii and would love to go back and do Herculanium as we only had a flying visit due to it being a cruise

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3 hours ago, senorsoupe said:

Naples is INTENSE as a city.  It's basically a city with untreated ADHD.  I like it, but my wife found it too overwhelming.  Pompeii is a must do, it's totally worth it and you can get a convenient train from the main Railway stations in both Naples and Sorrento.  As mentioned above, Sorrento is amazing, Capri is also lovely (although we didn't go last time, I only went in 2008), also the Amalfi coast is a day trip away.  

Regardless of how mad Naples is as a city, I can guarantee you will eat well

Yeh i mean im happy enough with intensity, but just so long as its relatively safe to walk about etc then im happy to visit. We are staying in a wee village above Sorrento called Sant’agata de golfi or something, its got a 2 michelin star restaurant but its not compatible with my budget or having a kid with us, but i have found a wee bib gourmand place in the same village which looks brilliant. Theres also a wee place that specialises in their home made pasta etc almost in a fast food way. We’ll def have a couple of dinners in Sorrento itself. Im all about pizza too, so part of what i’d like to do is visit one of the really famous Naples pizza places, the really famous ones are cheap as f**k too, like €5/7 a pizza.

3 hours ago, Cptn Hooch said:

Near the Pompeii entrance there's a nice wee Cameo museum to have a look round. There's also stalls selling lemon slushies that are the best you'll ever taste. Due to the volcanic minerals in the soil of the area the lemons grow to the size of melons and taste amazing. I really enjoyed Pompeii and would love to go back and do Herculanium as we only had a flying visit due to it being a cruise

Wow the lemon slushies sound worth the trip alone! Thats right up my street. Right ok, since you’ve both said Pompeii that’s what we’ll do. 

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26 minutes ago, Inanimate Carbon Rod said:

Yeh i mean im happy enough with intensity, but just so long as its relatively safe to walk about etc then im happy to visit. We are staying in a wee village above Sorrento called Sant’agata de golfi or something, its got a 2 michelin star restaurant but its not compatible with my budget or having a kid with us, but i have found a wee bib gourmand place in the same village which looks brilliant. Theres also a wee place that specialises in their home made pasta etc almost in a fast food way. We’ll def have a couple of dinners in Sorrento itself. Im all about pizza too, so part of what i’d like to do is visit one of the really famous Naples pizza places, the really famous ones are cheap as f**k too, like €5/7 a pizza.

Wow the lemon slushies sound worth the trip alone! Thats right up my street. Right ok, since you’ve both said Pompeii that’s what we’ll do. 

Yah, if you are with a kid you will probably want to visit Naples during the day, it can get especially chaotic and dangerous at night.  There are some great places to have Pizza for lunch, many of whom are just a couple of Metro stops from the main railway station

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Go to Paestum for a day trip. Maybe an hour and 20 minute train or so from Naples. Has a 2500 year old Greek and Roman city ruin complex which is well worth seeing, farms if you want to try and see some fresh Burrata and the beaches there are good and much more untouched/quiet than you would get in the Amalfi coast.

I really disliked Naples but we were in the area near the veiled christ which was a bit manky and hectic. Supposedly the Spanish quarter is much better so I'd try there first.

Salerno is a great place to stay in that area. Cheaper than Sorrento but you can easily access everything especially by ferry. Clean, good restaurants and a lot less touristy than other places in the Amalfi coast. The tourists there are like all Italians.

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I did Naples a few years back while taking in Napoli V Lazio.  We flew, and then got a bus into the centre, before getting a cab to our hotel (https://www.booking.com/hotel/it/royal-dante.en-gb.html). When we were getting out, the driver said to be careful and make sure we removed any watches etc, and make sure phones were kept in pockets.  

Decided to go for a bit of grub, everyone said to go to Sorbillo for pizza so we set off, dodging the most ridiculous driving I have ever come across. We were following Google Maps, and couldn't find it. Where it said it was , was a building which looked like a bomb had gone off, so went elsewhere. Got back to the hotel, had a look online, and the owner of Sorbillo had pushed back against payments to local Mafia, who then chucked a few firebombs through the windows. 

I can't remember what we did in the evening, but can't have been too bad as no memory. The day of the game (Sunday) was bit of a nightmare, lots of places opening split hours, meaning it was difficult to get a beer. After a while we decided to get a cab to the ground. Without doubt, the most petrified I have been in a car. Fella was asking where we were sat, tried saying in broken Italian, but he just asked for the ticket, which he then studied whilst flying down the motorway just under 100mph. In fairness he took us right to the stand, got in, watched the game then left early to get back into the city. Unfortunately couldn't find a cab, so ended up walking back in the general direction. Couple of lads stopped us who were on motorbikes, no idea what they wanted but a quick cry of "Scozia Scozia"  made them give us a thumbs up and then sod off. Eventually found a pizza shop, went in and spoke to three young lads who rung one of their mates to take us. I have no doubt they ripped the utter c**t out of us, but it got us back into the city, where we proceeded onto one of the best boozes I have ever had. Met a couple of lads from Cardiff and we drunk into the night. Eventually going back to their apartment where we got stuck into the Super T, before leaving around 3 in the morning. We took about 2 hours to walk back, looking for the Maradonna pictures etc. We weren't quiet, and had no issues at all. What topped it off was some lad shouting at us from a window, we went over and his Mum (I assume) had been baking, and gave us a load of bread which we took on our little tour back. Didn't have any issues at all. 

We did Pompei the next day, whilst coping with a horrendous hangover, didn't think much of it at all, but that was purely down to feeling rough as f**k. I'd go back, but probably travel further down the coast. 

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On 24/07/2022 at 15:59, Stellaboz said:

By intense what do you mean?

Traffic is bonkers, especially motorbikes and there is just a general vibe of everyone being in a hurry.  Everything seems to move way faster than anywhere else and in no particular direction or order.  It's hard to describe but once you go there you will understand the vibe I'm talking about 

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18 hours ago, Stellaboz said:

We've booked 2 nights in Naples, followed by 3 in Pozzouli (very central) to be able to do a couple of island visits. Then 5 days down the coast in Erolano to relax, hike the volcano and do some other day trips. 

The second episode of James May's new travelogue about Italy is about Naples, Pompeii etc, the tunnels under Naples look worth a look. It's on Amazon in the UK, probably Germany too..

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Been all over the Amalfi coast over the years, one of my favourite places. Naples itself is tremendous but it's so manic a day or two in a couple of weeks is plenty. Good train network in the area makes it easy to do Herculaneum (way better than Pompeii imo), Pompeii, Sorrento and even up Vesuvius (fantastic on a hot day). It will be hot so pace yourself in the heat if the day. Wee tip for Sorrento, there was a bar called the Banana Split right on the road into town. If it's still there sit on the terrace for an hour in the evening and just marvel at the most bonkers road scenes you will ever see and hear. Capri is beautiful but damn expensive. Positano and Analfi itself are stunning. Get about by ferry as the coast road us crazy too. Food is out if this world. Hard to get a bad meal if you stick to fish, pasta and pizza.

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Went to Naples and the Amalfi coast in 2019. Naples is a great city. It definitely gets a bit dicier the further away from the city centre you get. We did a wee walking tour thing that goes through the underground city and I'd definitely recommend that.

I'd definitely recommend visting the amalfi coast. We stayed in Sorrento and did wee road trips around the peninsula for a couple of days. Also went to Herculamium and Pompeii. If you like that kind of thing, I'd visit both. Well worth it.

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If you go to Capri, don't bother with the blue grotto tour - you get cramped on a boat with loads of other folk and even then might not get into the grotto (and if you do you have to decamp to a rowboat and you only stay in for a few minutes). If they are still going, there are independent little operators that will take you in a smaller boat to see some other grottos that are just as nice and they'll stop off for you to jump in the sea for a dip if you like. We went with Capri Whales by Wendy last time, the old guy was very funny and looked after us well.

Naples is obviously famous for the pizza, just make sure it has the sign outside saying its a traditional pizzeria as there are some rip off tourist places (obviously). I think Da Michele is the one everyone goes to, they have 2 types of pizza and barely any seats but Maradona, Burlesconi, Clinton, etc have all been there and have their picture in the window. 

The museum is very good and has air conditioning if it gets too hot plus there is a metro station right outside. The metro itself is a bit of a work of art (at least the new bits are) although it doesn't really go very far. There are funicular railways to get up to the higher parts of the city that are worth a ride to get a view over the Bay of Naples and Vesuvius etc. 

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Im on day 6/7 in a wee village above Sorrento called Sant Agata Due Golfi. Booked with Jet2 for £1600 for b&b for the three of us from Glasgow. Nice wee family run 4 star hotel. Sant Agata is a decent quiet village with some really nice restaurants a few bars and a great view over the Gulf of Naples. We take the Sud bus into Sorrento most days, the town is lovely, the pedestrian bit beside the main square is good fun, no dodgy characters, very clean, cool wee shops and very little in the way of rip off type shops (ive compared prices of wine and gifts ive bought for folks back home and theres not a huge mark up on anything). The food is superb, agree with the idea of stick to pasta, pizza and sea food and you’ll be winning. Almost everywhere makes their own pasta and the simplest sounding dishes are often the best! 
We took the train to Herculaneum and Pompeii over the last two days. Now its cheap for train fares, but there is no AC and its melting on the train journey, especially when it stopped at a point for about 30 min on the journey to Herculaneum. For the two sites, Herculaneum is by far the best in terms of what you see and experience, its also about 50 mtrs from the Napoli SC shop where the prices are decent, loads of Maradona stuff. Pompeii is vast and full of tour groups who think that because they are part of a group they can barge past you or block the way constantly. Someone recommended the lemon slushes they sell near Pompeii and id concur they are superb. Basically i’d go see both, but dont take any shite from the tour groups, dont let them push you out the way etc. also dont feel pressured to join one of the tours they punt in the lines either. They sell ‘skip the line’ tickets for Pompeii but you still have to queue. 
Also the Gelato in Sorrento is superb. 
I’d return here in a heartbeat. 
Prices for day trips to Capri etc are extortionate though, cheapest we saw was a boat trip for €80 per person, its all aimed at the American’s who have watched eat pray love and think they are on a journey of self discovery. You can take the local transport to these places cheaper, same for Positano and Amalfi. 

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Anyone been to Salerno? Off to Sicily next month for 3 weeks, got a flat booked in Catania but intend to do a bit of travelling around. There's a fairly inexpensive ferry from Palermo to Salerno and reasonable flights back from Naples to Catania. There's obviously plenty to see in Sicily but I like boat trips.

P.S. Alternatively I see the bus from Naples airport to Sorrento is 10 euros and takes 70 mins, so might just fly both ways and find another boat trip.

Edited by welshbairn
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