Paestrum

[islandwoman]

Can anyone recommend an independent shore excursion from Naples cruise port to Paestrum?

or

Will someone please tell me how to get from the port to Paestrum by train or bus?

[euro cruiser]

It takes about an hour and a quarter, by direct train from Napoli Centrale to Paestum.  There are trains departing at 7:35, 7:50, and 8:50 (seven days a week).  The fare is 7,60 euro.  These are regional trains, which means they cannot sell out and there are no seat assignments, so there's no point in purchasing the tickets in advance.

 

EN - Trenitalia

 

From the Paestum train station to the ruins and the museum (which is excellent, don't miss it) is an easy, flat walk of 1 km/six-tenths of a mile.

 

museopaestum.cultura.gov.it

 

The simplest way to get to Napoli Centrale from the cruise port is the metro.  The new entrance to the Municipio/Porto station is directly in front of the cruise port.

 

 

[islandwoman]

Our ship is not scheduled to dock in Naples until 10 AM and it departs at 6 PM.  Are there direct trains later than 8:50 AM? 

[euro cruiser]

Yes, there are.  I only listed the early ones because most ships are in port well before 10.

 

There is a slightly more expensive and slightly faster (1 hour) train at 11:45, that's the first one after 10 AM.  This train is an IC, which means you get assigned seats, and it only makes two stops between Naples and Paestum.  The price of this train does go up a bit, the advance purchase price is 9,90 euro while the last minute price is 12,50.

 

For the return there is a regional train at 15:21 (3:21 PM) that arrives to Napoli Centrale at 16:38 (4:38 PM).  

 

It's unfortunate that your arrival is so late, it means that you'd only have two and a half hours at the ruins and the museum.

 

Perhaps you can find others from your sailing who'd be willing to split the cost of a car service in the morning, then you can use the train to get back.

[cruisemom42]

I've been to Paestum several times and it would be a shame to try to do the (rather large) site and museum in only 2+ hours. I don't have a solution to offer but I'm sure there must be private drivers available. I like euro cruiser's idea of trying to find someone to share with you. 

 

I checked the Napoli "fixed tariff" card for taxis, just to see if there was a fixed rate for Paestum, but it's not listed. 

 

 

[Hlitner]

This is a rare case will I must disagree with my fellow travel friends :).  Paestum is a fascinating place to visit, especially for those of us who are interested in history and ruins.  But (and this is a big "But") with a 10-6 port visit I would first shoot the person who came up with that itinerary, and second not go to Paestum!  With that short port day (you will likely need to be back aboard by 5:30) we would stay in Naples or perhaps visit Pompeii or Herculaneum.  

 

Save Paestum for your next visit, and choose a cruise that gives you a full day in Naples!

 

Hank

[islandwoman]

55 minutes ago, Hlitner said:

This is a rare case will I must disagree with my fellow travel friends :).  Paestum is a fascinating place to visit, especially for those of us who are interested in history and ruins.  But (and this is a big "But") with a 10-6 port visit I would first shoot the person who came up with that itinerary, and second not go to Paestum!  With that short port day (you will likely need to be back aboard by 5:30) we would stay in Naples or perhaps visit Pompeii or Herculaneum.  

 

Save Paestum for your next visit, and choose a cruise that gives you a full day in Naples!

 

Hank

We've been to Pompeii and Herculaneum previously.  Originally our ship had more time in port and we had booked a ship's excursion to Paestum. But then they changed their itinerary and cancelled that excursion. We were counting on Paestum and don't want to give it up 😒  Who knows if we'll ever get to Italy again.

[Hlitner]

24 minutes ago, islandwoman said:

We've been to Pompeii and Herculaneum previously.  Originally our ship had more time in port and we had booked a ship's excursion to Paestum. But then they changed their itinerary and cancelled that excursion. We were counting on Paestum and don't want to give it up 😒  Who knows if we'll ever get to Italy again.

You can certainly get to Paestum, but the shortened time is a bummer.   As the other posters explain, it can be done with the trains although the schedule can be an issue.  We did it via rental car, but do not generally suggest folks rent cars in Italy unless they are comfortable driving in that country where there are some crazy drivers and one has to deal with frustrating parking rules and ZTLs (Limited Driving Zones).

 

Sharing a private tour with some others might be a good option and you might try posting on your CC Roll Call to see if there is some interest.

 

Hank

[islandwoman]

Are there private tours or private drivers you all would recommend? 

In Egypt, we used My Day Trip and were very happy with them.  For a trip from Naples port to Paestum they're asking at least 174 Euros for two people.  HAL wants US$649 for a 4 hour private vehicle (that's not enough time).  When I compare these prices with the train, the difference in price is amazing and google maps is telling me that the trip by car takes over an hour and a half each way.  That doesn't seem like a good value to me.

Are there any private tours or private drivers you all would recommend?

[islandwoman]

Earth Trekkers https://www.earthtrekkers.com/how-to-visit-paestum-italy/

says "To walk through the archaeological site and visit the museum, plan on spending two to three hours at Paestum"

Do you agree? .

[euro cruiser]

Yes.  We spent well over an hour in the museum and could have used more time.