Salerno to Paestum

Anyone done this DIY via the train,

always wanted to see these temples after seeing jason and the argonaults film as a child

We did it earlier this year. It's very easy and cheap from Salerno, you just need to be aware of the timings of the trains as they don't seem to run to a regular pattern. Look up the timings on the Trenitalia website http://www.trenitalia.com/ and click on the English page then just search from Salerno to Paestum

The station is about 10 minutes walk from the station and clearly signposted - in fact the station is really in the middle of nowhere :) When you get to the site there are several shops and restaurants and the museum outside the site itself and also look out for signs to several buffalo mozarella farms which are close by. There is also a nice beach a further 10-15 minute walk away.

The trains take just over half an hour. We caught a train at about 9.30, had a good wander around the site and also visited a buffalo mozarella farm and had lunch there then caught the train back around 3pm. It makes a really nice day out from Salerno.

Thanks for the info just the confirmation I was looking for.

How did you get rom the ship to the station in Salerno, is it walkable?

What did you see do at the farm?

do these times sound about right

9:09 from Salerno to Paestum arrive 9:39

09:31 --- 10:00

09:55 10:30

and coming back

13:57 arrive 14:43

14:39 ---15:15

16:02 --- 16:35

Thanks for the info just the confirmation I was looking for.

 

How did you get rom the ship to the station in Salerno, is it walkable?

 

What did you see do at the farm?

 

do these times sound about right

9:09 from Salerno to Paestum arrive 9:39

 

09:31 --- 10:00

09:55 10:30

 

and coming back

 

13:57 arrive 14:43

14:39 ---15:15

 

16:02 --- 16:35

Yes, those times are exactly the same as when we were there.

We were staying overnight in Salerno as our son was living there so we left the ship the day before (in Civitavecchia) and stayed in town and picked up the ship the next day. However, that's the second time we've had a cruise stop in Salerno and the port bus stopped at a different place.

The first time we stopped there, the bus dropped us just a few minutes walk from the station. However earlier this year port buses were stopping at the other end of town, which I believe may be the permanent stopping place now. If so, it's about 20 minutes walk from the port bus stop to the station. Just walk along the seafront keeping the sea to your left. There will be a local bus which you can catch if you don't want to walk and the tourist information desk in the port will be able to help you with that.

be sure to either buy a return ticket in Salerno or go to the "bar,tabac" in Paestum to purchase a return ticket---the Paestum station is unmanned--very relaxing place and good museum

Paul

We did this trip in October 2012 from our Azamara Quest cruise. We took a taxi from the ship with some friends for six Euros each and caught the 9:23 AM train, arriving around 10 AM. Tickets cost 6.50 Euros RT. The train ride was fast and pretty, and then we walked about 10 minutes west to Paestum itself, which truly is a magnificent setting. The small museum is good, but the site itself is glorious: three gorgeous temples and a lot of remains of the buildings around them. We spent about four hours at Paestum, taking the 2:08 train back to Salerno.

We caught the ship's shuttle bus service back from town; the stop was one block from the train station.

A wonderful day, especially appreciated because on the same cruise we had stopped near Agrigento and also visited Syracusa and Malta. A ruins cruise par excellence!

 

A wonderful day, especially appreciated because on the same cruise we had stopped near Agrigento and also visited Syracusa and Malta. A ruins cruise par excellence!

My kind of cruise! ;)

My kind of cruise! ;)

That was our first Azamara cruise. I had to cancel an Oceania cruise because our daughter scheduled her wedding for the end of September 2012. I then looked at all the October 2012 Oceania and Azamara cruises and found this one, which had four ports in Sicily, Malta and Salerno, as well as Sorrento. I never had seen a regular cruise line cruise itinerary with so many archaeological ruin opportunities. I signed us up immediately.

I found out much later that two of the Sicily stops had been added after Azamara decided to cancel two stops in Libya.

We did it earlier this year. It's very easy and cheap from Salerno, you just need to be aware of the timings of the trains as they don't seem to run to a regular pattern. Look up the timings on the Trenitalia website http://www.trenitalia.com/ and click on the English page then just search from Salerno to Paestum

 

The station is about 10 minutes walk from the station and clearly signposted - in fact the station is really in the middle of nowhere :) When you get to the site there are several shops and restaurants and the museum outside the site itself and also look out for signs to several buffalo mozarella farms which are close by. There is also a nice beach a further 10-15 minute walk away.

I agree I found the same thing DIY from Salerno to Paestum. We got the bus there from near the train station in Salerno. We planned on getting the train back but there is literally nothing to keep you occupied in Paestum while waiting for the next train (in our case a three hour wait). So instead we looked at the train timetable and waited the three hours out in a little seaside town a few mikes along the track (Agropoli). On the way back to Salerno the train broke down and there was a bus replacement service. We got back late but it didn't matter as we weren't on a cruise.

I think the trains are timed for peak travel only, hence the lack of daytime services.

P.s. I always stay in Maiori when visiting the Amalfi Coast. There are some lovely walks in that area and it is only a 40 min trip from Salerno on the coastal bus.

You can walk to Minori. You can walk down from Ravello to Maiori. Minori is a famous foodie town (Jamie Oliver's friend Gennaro is from the town). Maiori has a fantastic beach - the largest on the coast. Loads of great restaurants including Torre Normanna which is exceptional and has the most amazing view.

It's all very Italian around these parts- not many cruise shippers make it to these towns (exception is Ravello) and there's little tourist tat!!

Might be of interest to you if you don't make it to Paestum.

Where is the buffalo mozzarella farm in relation to the train station or the ruins?

Where is the buffalo mozzarella farm in relation to the train station or the ruins?

There are several farms in the Paestum area which are clearly signposted - all within 5 or 10 minutes walk of the site.

Thanks

My kind of cruise! ;)

We spent about four hours at Paestum, taking the 2:08 train back to Salerno.

CintiPam and cruisemom42, through my "travels" on Cruise Critic, I know you are into visiting ancient archaelogy ruins as are we. We are planning to go to Paestum and a buffalo mozzarella farm from Salerno with 2-3 Cruise Critic couples on a spring cruise, using pre-arranged transportation to expedite our time and give us a little time for lunch or in Salerno afterwards. Dh and I want to maximize our time at Paestum by skipping the farm visit and instead walking (or driver will take us) to Paestum from the farm while the others visit the farm and then later meet at Paestum. If actually visiting the farm first, we would only have 2 to 2.25 hours at Paestum. If dh and I skip the farm, we would have an additional 20-30 minutes at Paestum (after walking) for a total of around 2.25 to 2.75 hours.

I see that CintiPam spent 4 hours at Paestum. What would you consider the minimum amount of time most people would consider adequate at Paestum including the museum? And the same question but for those who are more interested in Greek and Roman ruins, such as yourselves? If helpful to you, you could compare to Herculaneum, any of Rome's Roman sites, Delos, or Athens Acropolis (I mention these specific sites because we have been to them and I expect that Pompeii, Ephesus, and Delphi and likely Ancient Corinth and Mycenae are much more expansive than Paestum).

I appreciate your thoughts or anyone else's thoughts.

Thanks!

Kathy

I see that CintiPam spent 4 hours at Paestum. What would you consider the minimum amount of time most people would consider adequate at Paestum including the museum? And the same question but for those who are more interested in Greek and Roman ruins, such as yourselves? If helpful to you, you could compare to Herculaneum, any of Rome's Roman sites, Delos, or Athens Acropolis (I mention these specific sites because we have been to them and I expect that Pompeii, Ephesus, and Delphi and likely Ancient Corinth and Mycenae are much more expansive than Paestum).

 

I appreciate your thoughts or anyone else's thoughts.

 

Thanks!

Kathy

Hi, Kathy,

That really is a tough question to answer because my husband likes to take his time at museums and I like to immerse myself into the actual site itself, and Paestum has both an excellent museum and the most glorious site above the sea. We were there on a gorgeous day, and I really think you need about three hours to take it all in. Using some detailed materials just about Paestum we copied from our local library and our Rick Steves' guidebook information, we had a very nice walking tour starting first with our visit to the museum then walking south through the entire area, then very brief souvenir shopping.

We spent about three hours at Delos and I think about the same at the Acropolis. Comparing it to Herculaneum is tough because we traveled to Herculaneum from Sorrento and thought we also would visit the Archaeological Museum in Naples the same day. We were so fascinated by Herculaneum that we probably spent about five hours there and saved Naples for another visit. We are glad we did because the Archaeological Museum in Naples is so fantastic that again we spent more time there than expected.

Of course, you would gain 30 minutes with your private tour, because it is about a leisurely 15-minute stroll to and from the train station in Paestum to the archeological site. Definitely have the private driver drop you off right at the museum, and you will gain a lot of extra time. Also, you can save time by cruising faster through the museum in favor of the actual ruins, which you should do if you are time limited IMO.

Do not worry too much about your time. Gerry and I notorious are very, very slow sightseers. In even just two hours, you really will get a nice sense of life at Paestum. There only are a few must-see objects at the museum; spend you time at the site itself.

Pam, this is really good information, which will help to plan our time more effectively and gives me an excellent frame of reference since we spent less time at the places you mentioned and could have stood the extra time you spent. We combined Herculaneum and the Archaeology Museum (only looked at Roman artifacts including Secret Room) in one day, and that is a lot! This archaeology museum remains our favorite museum after the British Museum although it is hard to compare as the Naples museum is terrifically interesting because of our Roman archaeology interest.

Judging from what you said, I think we will be fine with under 3 hours at Paestum, especially if we do more research on what is in the museum and the details of the site and to follow your suggestion for being dropped off at the museum first. We definitely want to see the Tomb Diver fresco in the museum after all the times seeing it on tv programs!

Thanks for your very helpful information,

Kathy

We definitely want to see the Tomb Diver fresco in the museum after all the times seeing it on tv programs!

 

Thanks for your very helpful information,

Kathy

You're welcome. The Tomb Diver definitely is the highlight of the museum, really astonishing.

Paestum has one of the most beautiful locations of any temple site we ever have visited. Enjoy!

We will enjoy it, Pam. I'm planning to buy a book from Amazon on Paestum today, so that I can study and be prepared to identify the most important pieces in the museum and gain more details about the site. This is my effort to maximize our time there, since we will only have less than 3 hours there. We are slow sightseers too and like to read museum information, understand what we are looking at, and take lots of photos in the museum and especially outside.

I have found that my advanced preparation really increases my appreciation and knowledge and can expedite my seeing sites. It also helps others (especially dh) too because I can answer questions and point out and emphasize the highlights.

Thanks again for your information!

Kathy