Naples excursions....need advise

We will be arriving Naples 29 Nov. (7am to 6pm) on board Solstice. Narrowed it down to 2 excursions: 1. Hydro from Naples port to Capri/Sorrento to check out scenery, shopping, restaurants then back to Naples (hope this can be accomplished in late Nov?).2. Hire a private tour of Pompeii/Amalfi coast. Any recommendations/comments? Also, given the time at port, could we combine the 2 in some fashion? Guess we need to get the logistics down, huh?

Thanks...

We will be arriving Naples 29 Nov. (7am to 6pm) on board Solstice. Narrowed it down to 2 excursions: 1. Hydro from Naples port to Capri/Sorrento to check out scenery, shopping, restaurants then back to Naples (hope this can be accomplished in late Nov?).2. Hire a private tour of Pompeii/Amalfi coast. Any recommendations/comments? Also, given the time at port, could we combine the 2 in some fashion? Guess we need to get the logistics down, huh?

Thanks...

We used Gennaro at Sorrento Limo www.sorrentolimo.com for tour of Positano, Amalfi Coast and Pompeii. There were 8 of us and the cost of the tour including Pompeii guide was 630 Euros. Pompeii entrance fee 11 Euros extra PP. We were very pleased with the tour and can highly recommend Sorrento Limo.

We have visited both places, but on separate cruises. I don't think that you could do both in one day. The boat ride, if I remember correctly is about 45 minutes each way. We spent a whole day on Capri. When we went to Pompeii, we were there for several hours, but I don't remember how long the drive was. We did not go to Amalfi. When we returned from Pmpeii, we did have time to walk around Naples, eat pizza and pastries, get lost and take a taxi back to the ship.

November should be a nice time for both of these places. Cooler weather and smaller crowds.

Have fun!!

We will be arriving Naples 29 Nov. (7am to 6pm) on board Solstice. Narrowed it down to 2 excursions: 1. Hydro from Naples port to Capri/Sorrento to check out scenery, shopping, restaurants then back to Naples (hope this can be accomplished in late Nov?).2. Hire a private tour of Pompeii/Amalfi coast. Any recommendations/comments? Also, given the time at port, could we combine the 2 in some fashion? Guess we need to get the logistics down, huh?

Thanks...

Does your cruise line offer an excursion to Capri, Sorrento, and Pompeii? From what I've read here, it's really hard to do all 3 on your own and if you really want to do all 3, it's best to use the cruise line because they've got the timing down plus you don't have to worry about missing the ship. Royal Caribbean offers this excursion so we're going through them.

thanks all.....we usually try to stay away from the ship's cattle calls. I e mailed several touring companies (recommended by members of CC)and I got (I think) good rates on the Pompeii/Amalfi/Positano tour. Probably leaning in that direction. Has any one been successful at negotiating the quoted rates down any? Late November, crappy economy seems like good reasons for these companies to be a bit more competitive. Also, will the negotiated final price be jacked up by the 17% VAT? Or are these tours exempt from VAT?

Thanks....

thanks all.....we usually try to stay away from the ship's cattle calls. I e mailed several touring companies (recommended by members of CC)and I got (I think) good rates on the Pompeii/Amalfi/Positano tour. Probably leaning in that direction. Has any one been successful at negotiating the quoted rates down any? Late November, crappy economy seems like good reasons for these companies to be a bit more competitive. Also, will the negotiated final price be jacked up by the 17% VAT? Or are these tours exempt from VAT?

Thanks....

Yeah. I know what you mean about the ship's cattle calls. This is the only excursion we booked through them.

If you decide to forego Capri, and just do the Pompeii/Amalfi/Positano tour, try Romeinlimo.com. They have a lot of recommendations here. Good luck!

We will be arriving Naples 29 Nov. (7am to 6pm) on board Solstice. Narrowed it down to 2 excursions: 1. Hydro from Naples port to Capri/Sorrento to check out scenery, shopping, restaurants then back to Naples (hope this can be accomplished in late Nov?).2. Hire a private tour of Pompeii/Amalfi coast. Any recommendations/comments? Also, given the time at port, could we combine the 2 in some fashion? Guess we need to get the logistics down, huh?

Thanks...

No question in my mind, do Pompeii/Amalfi coast, an amazing historical site unlike anyplace else you will ever visit and gorgeous scenery. Then do Capri/Sorrento next cruise!

Was there any free time in the Pompeii/Amalfi coast tour? We would love to do both, but don't want to cram too much in. We were hoping to have lunch at a cafe in Positano.

We used All around Italy (http://www.allarounditaly.net) for our tour in the Naples area. We were picked up ship side by our driver, Mariano, and then we went to Sorrento, Positano, Ravello, and other towns on the Amalfi coast. We stopped for lunch in a great trattoria in Ravello and then went to Pompeii. At Pompeii, we had arranged for a private guide who took our group of 6 on a 2 hour tour of the ruins. Because we had the private guide we were allowed into some areas that others were not.

We also used this operator in Rome & Florence/Pisa and were very happy with their service & knowledge. The price was very competitive and I highly recommend them.

Lisa

Hello! We will also be on the Solstice at the same time. Have you taken a look at the ship's roll call here on Cruise Critic yet? I've got room for two more on our Amalfi Coast tour but it doesn't stop at Pompeii. Since you've never been to the area before, I would highly recommend taking a tour that stops in Pompeii and spending the little bit extra to get a guide. (They can be arranged ahead of time with your tour co. to make sure you get one that speaks clear English - or whatever language your group prefers).

We were here in Oct. '07 and used RomeInLimo.com just like the previous poster mentioned. Our driver lived in Positano and was a delight. In fact, we actually saw his wife and small son crossing the street when we were in that town! I've attached my full review of the tour below if you are interested in the details, but we had plenty of time in the cities to enjoy ourselves with some shopping and a very long and wonderful lunch. You simply can't go wrong with this company. I know there are others on our roll call with this exact tour & I think they still have availability so check them out. BTW, I have a friend living in Rome and she says it would be very difficult to accomplish Capri, Pompeii, and the Amalfi Coast on the same day...sorry! ~ Tami

We chose Rome In Limo for our tour out of Naples to Pompeii, Amalfi Coast, Sorrento, and Positano. One of the things I particularly like about them is, even though their name is Rome in Limo (not to be confused with Limo in Rome) their drivers are all from the area you are touring. We used them in Rome, out of Naples, and out of Livorno and our drivers were all locals from the area each time. Our Amalfi Coast driver, Rosario, actually grew up and lived in Positano. He shared a love of the area you can't get from a big tour or from drivers who aren't from the region you are visiting. He brought the area alive for us and showed it to us from a local’s perspective.

Sure we got to see the famous stuff you see on travel shows, but we also got to see the daily life of the people who lived there. We didn't have to waste our time by going to certain factories or shops were our driver got a kickback for our purchases. Rosario took us to a local family-owned restaurant for lunch in Positano overlooking the sea. It was magnificent...the view, the food, the service, everything! Of course he asked our group if we wanted to, even though it would take over an hour, and we all said yes and couldn't have made a better choice.

For our Pompeii tour, we arrived 15 minutes before opening and Rome In Limo had arranged for a private tour guide to meet us there. We got our tickets and were the first ones in. It was the most amazing experience we had our entire vacation because we were the only ones there. We toured Pompeii for over an hour before seeing another soul, except for the adorable dogs that followed us around. We never saw large groups of people until we were leaving and we saw just enough of them to know we had gotten more than our money's worth that day! What a treasure to see Pompeii on a quiet misty morning without tons of people and really be able to imagine what the city must have been like so many years ago.

All of our tours with Rome in Limo were this way. They made us feel like royalty even though we paid the standard price. I know the tour expenses can add up with the US to Euro conversion, but please do what ever you can to budget them in...they make all the difference in the value of your vacation and the magical memories and photos you take home with you. Don't you deserve to see the REAL Italy and not the hyped-up touristy version? You will get the real Italy if you book with RomeinLimo.com

If you need to save money, go on the ship’s roll call and ask others to join your group or see if anyone would like to join yours. We are a couple without children and were able to get two other couples to join us. This dropped our per person rate for the tours lower than what we would have paid for the huge cruise-line sponsored tours where we wouldn’t have gotten to see or do near as much. This is especially important along the Amalfi Coast because standard cars and vans can go so many more places than tour buses can and you get to spend your time doing the things you really want to do instead of following along with 40 or more other people who all have their own priorities and don’t mind making everyone else wait on them if they can’t make it back to the bus on time. Good luck and enjoy your time along the Amalfi...it's every bit as amazing as you imagine!

We did Capri on our cruise in August, we did the trip from Celebrity but we we on our own all day in Capri. We went on a slower boat and we saw the Hydro go past us and wished we were on it. Capri was really nice with incredible views great shopping (very expensive)but a lot of cool things. We had friends on the ship that went to Pompeii and loved it. Wish there was time to do it all but that's why we are going back.

We did Capri on our cruise in August, we did the trip from Celebrity but we we on our own all day in Capri. We went on a slower boat and we saw the Hydro go past us and wished we were on it. Capri was really nice with incredible views great shopping (very expensive)but a lot of cool things. We had friends on the ship that went to Pompeii and loved it. Wish there was time to do it all but that's why we are going back.

Hi,

You do realise that this thread is over 7 years old? ;)

In all honesty, this is by far my favourite port. I never thought in a million years it would be but I booked my first Naples tour through italytoursharing.com aka joe banana limos and they took us to Sorrento, Positano and Ravello. We stopped for lunch at La taggliano which is amazing. The views are too die for and the food is amazing. The wine flows freely and it was the first time I tasted Lemonchello.

Last year (well june 16) I actually stayed on Capri and in Sorrento to get more of a feel of the places. I have to tell you, even after staying in Capri for a couple days, I would rather go on that tour. You get a piece of everything. Don't get me wrong Capri is very nice (expensive). Too me, also, enjoying the local food of places always appeals to me. I love going on food tours all over the world. I have actually taken the same tour by italytoursharing.com 3x now and have it booked again this summer. I am also staying in Positano this time for a week after my cruise.