Naples to Pompeii, Pompeii to Capri, Capri to Naples

Hello everyone!!! My boyfriend & I are looking at sailing on the Star Princess in November & we will be in Naples on November 22nd. We are considering 2 options. Our ship gets into port at 7:00 am, so I figure we could be off by 7:30 & into Pompeii by 8:30. We depart at 7:00 pm.

Option1:

Starting about 8:30, we would like to tour Pompeii for 2 - 3 hours, catch the train up to Sorrento (around 11:00), then take a ferry over to Capri & do a tour of the Blue Grotto (approx 2 hours), and then grab a ferry back to Naples. If there is time, we would like visit the museum in Naples & see some of the highlights (Pompeii Artifacts).

Option 2:

Start at about 8:30, tour Pompeii, but spend a few more hours there...maybe until noon or 1:00. Then head back to Naples & go to the Museum & spend more time at the Museum (see it more in depth).

My questions:

Would it be worth it to go to Capri just to see the Blue Grotto or would it be more worth our time to spend more time in Pompeii / the Museum?

Is seeing Pompeii, the Blue Grotto (on Capri), AND the Museum too much for one day...is it even feasible??? :eek:

Does anyone know where the hydrofoils leave from out of Sorrento in relation to where the Circumvesuviana train station??? Is it within walking distance, or would you have to catch a cab, bus, etc???

What "port" does the hydrofoil go to from Sorrento (as ther seems to be more than one on Capri)???

How long is the trip from Sorrento to Capri???

How long is the trip from Capri to Naples???

Thank you in advance for all your help!!!

Ann =)

I would recommend your option 2.

With option 1 you spent to much time with transportation and take a lot of risk of missing one of the trains/ships/hydrofoils involved. On Capri there might be a wait for the boats to the Grotto and two hours might not even be enough time. Even when spending a whole day on Capri other parts of the island might be considered more worthwhile to visit. There is probbaly no way you could include the museum in this plan.

In Pompeii on the other hand you should spent more than two hours. It is a vast area and option 2 gives you more time to discover and experience. The combination of excavations and museum is an ideal one.

I can only make a few recommendations. I am not sure where the Circumvesuviana train station is in Naples, but the train runs often between Naples/Pompeii/Sorrento. The stop for Pompeii is almost at the gates for the site - very convenient. The train station for Sorrento is right in the middle of the city, and buses to Positano and Amalfi are right outside. To get to the wharf area, you can either walk less than a mile (all downhill) or take a cab. The walk takes you through town and is very scenic. All of the ferries leave from the wharf area.

We did not visit Capri, but we did take the bus to Amalfi and the ferry back to Sorrento. Great scenery and views! You can get the ferry schedules online at this site http://www.metrodelmare.com/

Here is a link to the Naples Port Authority. You can access information about the Naples trains and buses. Note that the ferries to Capri/Sorrento/etc. leave close to the cruise ship pier. http://www.porto.napoli.it/en/

Good luck with your plans, and enjoy your cruise.

We did not visit the archeological

The train station in Naples is about 1 1/4 miles from the ship and you can either do the long walk (figure about 30 min), grab a taxi (if you can find one willing to do the short haul) or take the local bus. As to your plan for Capri, yes its possible, but IMHO its hard to justify the expense and time to go out to Capri just to see the Blue Grotto (not high on my list in Capri). Personally, taking the chair lift from Anacapri up to the top of the mountain is a more spectacular journey. As to the Blue Grotto, you run the risk of getting out to Capri and not even being able to go because the water level is too high or its too rough (happens quite often). But I do have a suggestion. There is no reason for you to make a firm itinerary. You already are learning about all your options (a smart thing to do) so just take the train to Pompeii and see how it goes. If you decide to stay there a very long time, than you can simply go back to Naples, perhaps stop at Herculaium, or even go to Sorrento where you could catch a boat back to Naples. My point is that you do not need reservations for any of this stuff, so just make your plans on the spot and be flexible.

Hank

I second the thought of perhaps stopping at Herculanium and then going to Naples. I am one of the few people who actually liked the city and if loved searching out DaMichele for pizza.

Being flexable also lets the weather conditions and how tired you are of touring determine what you do that day.

Hi Ann

We are on the Star Princess on Oct 4 2007. We are planning to do exactly what you are but in reverse order. Get the hydrofoil over to Capri, go to the Blue Grotto (We have been before and think it is worth the visit), then up the funicular to the town. Ferry across to Sorrento and walk up the hill. It is a challenge because there are many steep steps but if you are young you will have no problem. We are in our mid fifties and coped well. Have a snack in Sorrento which is a lovely town and walk to the train station and get the train to Pompeii and then on to Naples.

I agree with the others that you need to be flexible because if the seas are rough and we can't get to Capri we will just go on down to Pompeii and Sorrento. One word of warning if you only have the day be careful of getting the bus around the Amalfi Coast. It is a magnificent spot but last time when we did this the buses were packed, they only went part of the way and we had to change buses twice and there were long delays in between. We also went back to Sorrento by the ferry. We were staying in Sorrento so delays were only an annoyance and not a major problem.

Have a great trip

I just got back from the Galaxy cruise where we stopped in Naples/Capri. We were told that the Blue Grotto can only be seen when weather conditions are right. They make you pay up front and take you to the grotto. If they determine the conditions are not conducive, you get another ticket to come back at a later date. NO REFUND. Be wary.:mad:

I just got back from the Galaxy cruise where we stopped in Naples/Capri. We were told that the Blue Grotto can only be seen when weather conditions are right. They make you pay up front and take you to the grotto. If they determine the conditions are not conducive, you get another ticket to come back at a later date. NO REFUND. Be wary.:mad:

Not sure where you heard this, but it would be a very rare occurance. If you want to take the boat from the marina to the grotto (an alternative is to take a taxi to near the grotto where you than get on the small boats) the boats from the Marina do not normally even run if there is a weather or water level problem. In fact, I have never heard of anyone who actually paid, got on a boat, went around the island to the Blue Grotto, and than could not get into the Blue Grotto. They do all have cell phones and if there is a problem the boats just do not make the trip. Could what you heard happen? Sure. But it would not be a norm. If you heard this on your ship it sounds more like the cruise line wanted you to buy an overpriced tour and did their best to discourage you from going off on your own.

Hank

Thank you for all your advice. We are still up in the air about what activities we will do after Pompeii. Good to hear some other people's feedback.

New_horizon - Could you please post on here when you get back from your cruise & let me know what you thought of doing Capri & Pompeii time wise??? Also any feedback on the Star would be appreciated, too. Have a great trip!!!

Ann =)

We did this last year. The only thing you haven't factored in is enough travel time. If you take the metro train, it stops a lot. It took about 40 min to get from Naples to Pompeii and then another 40-45 min to get from Pompeii to Sorrento. Plus, figure the time to catch the train, you don't have enough time for option 1 unless you are extremely lucky with the timing. Your plan is good, but not realistic if anything goes just a little wrong.

We had enough time to spend about an hour in Naples, catch the train to Pompeii and spend a few hours there, catch the train to Sorrento and spend a few hours there and make it back to the ship via the hydrofoil. We did have some extra dead time in there just in case, but I don't think we could have made it to Capri and back in time.

Hi Ann!

We took a Med Cruise in May 2002, and the Naples stop was the only ship excursion we took the whole trip (the rest on our own) since I was unsure of taking the hydrofoil ourselves; turned out to be completely doable without a tour. It took us to Capri in the morning, lunch in Sorrento and afternoon at Pompeii. It was fine, but as is typical with ship tours, there is a lot of wasted time and one tends to feel like part of the herd. We prefer to do things on our own.

We are going on another Med Cruise in Nov (Oceania Nautica) and will again stop in Naples. I'm planning on probably spending the whole day in Capri, which is one of the most spectacular places on earth to me. Last time, I was sorry to leave after just a few short hours. If we have time, we'll take the ferry to Sorrento and find a way to Amalfi or Positano and do some walking there. But if we're short on time in Capri, we'll just go straight back to the ship at Naples. Pompeii is definitely worth it, but we won't be returning since we'll have already seen plenty of ruins by then at Athens, Ephesus and Crete.

Good Luck!

(And this is my first post at CC. What a great place! I'm getting a wealth of information from you guys. Thanks!)

Hi Ann

Yes we arrive home on Oct 21 as we are staying a couple of days in Venice and would be happy to let you know how it goes timewise. The Star has quite a long stay in Naples probably not leaving until about 7 pm so hopefully we will be ok on time. We decided to try and do Capri first because we read that sometimes there can be problems getting back down the funicular and also because of lots of people wanting to get back by hydrofoil. We thought if we did Capri first there would be less likelihood of change of weather conditions early in the day and we would know how long we could spend at Pompeii and it is also a shorter trip to Sorrento from Capri. If you are on land and there is a time problem you at least have some alternatives.

Dianne

Dianne - I will eagerly be awaiting your post as to how things go for you. I hope you have a wonderful trip in a couple weeks - wow - now I'm jealous!!! :eek: Have a safe journey & enjoy!!!

29pearls - Thanks for your thoughts. We, too, only have 2 tours booked through the ship (Istanbul & Delos - Mykonos, Greece). The rest we have arranged privately with other couples on the Cruise Critic Boards. WELCOME ABOARD this wonderful travel asset!!!

Happy travels to all,

Ann =)

Gosh! Some of you lot make me feel tired even thinking how much you are packing into one day.

We're planning on doing the Herculanium only on our forthcoming Naples visit.

I'd be careful about seeing Capri on a day trip. It can get very, very busy. It very much depends on how many ships are in port that day, but you'll also have to recognise that it is a regular day out for Naples residents. My own view is that it is a place to visit for a few days, but then I recognise that coming from North America the travel to it isn't quite as easy!

Capri is wonderful though - we honeymooned there.

Matthew