Sorrento to Naples

We are sailing on Azamara in September. The ship is offering transportation to Naples for a yearly festival. Does anyone know about how long of a ride that woukd be ? Thank you

About an hour each way, but traffic can be a problem. What is the festival?

About an hour each way, but traffic can be a problem. What is the festival?

...................... and is Azamara including anything in addition to the transportation, like hard-to-get tickets or venue-hopping?

The half-hourly direct Circumvesuviana train takes an hour, round-trip fare about €10.

Your ship won't be alongside the pier, it's a tender port.

If the transportation arranged by Azamara is direct by boat from ship to Naples, that has its advantages.

But if it's by tender into Sorrento and then by bus, do consider the train as a cheap and simple alternative.

JB :)

Just take the ferry, it departs from the same pier your tender will arrive to.

There are fast ferries from Sorrento to Naples departing at 8:10 and 10 AM. The trip takes 45 minutes and costs 12,30 euro each way.

There are return ferries at 1:00, 3:10, and 5:15 PM.

The train takes over an hour, plus the time to get from the port up to the main part of town and the station.

I looked on the Azamara website, apparently it's an evening excursion to check out the Piedigrotta Festival. They don't specify the type of transport, but the strange thing is that the duration of the excursion is listed as 2.5 hours. I'm guessing that's why the OP posted this question.

I looked on the Azamara website, apparently it's an evening excursion to check out the Piedigrotta Festival. They don't specify the type of transport, but the strange thing is that the duration of the excursion is listed as 2.5 hours. I'm guessing that's why the OP posted this question.

Won't be the ferry then.

Or the train.

Or a bus.

Must be a helicopter :D

JB :)

I looked on the Azamara website, apparently it's an evening excursion to check out the Piedigrotta Festival. They don't specify the type of transport, but the strange thing is that the duration of the excursion is listed as 2.5 hours. I'm guessing that's why the OP posted this question.

Can't see how that would be correct -- hard to do any justice to any event in Naples from Sorrento in that timeframe...

The idea sounds intriguing. For those who don't know, the Piedigrotta Festival grew out of a medieval mix of pageantry associated with both the Madonna of Piedigrotta, whose church is located in an area of Naples settled by the Romans and boasting a Roman tunnel through the steep hill right behind, and with Vergil (of Aeneid fame) who is said to be buried near the church. I've visited the Church, the Tomb, and the tunnel and they are fascinating in their own right.

However, the Festival came to be associated later with traditional Neapolitan song (e.g. like O Sole Mio, which gondola riders in Venice incongruously request :confused:) and later still became a large performing arts festival that takes place in venues throughout Naples. Events include a concert in Piazza Plebiscito; a grand parade of allegorical floats going from the Palazzo Reale to the basilica; and a competition showcasing new songs that takes place during the week of the Festival.