A Naples question for Hank or other experienced travelers:

[Looking for Sunshine]

We will be on Carnival's Liberty ship and arriving in Naples on 6/25. We stayed in Positano a few years ago and while there visited Pompeii and Capri.

 

We bypassed Naples (too scared to go) and didn't see Sorento, Amalfi or Ravello.

 

We REALLY want to avoid a ship excursion, so we booked a private driver (Marcello) that we learned about on these boards to take us to Herculaneum and then onto the typical Amalfi coast drive. We are only a group of 3 so I posted the option of having some folks join us for the day to help defray the cost. However, no-one has replied to this post and to take the van ourselves at 550E....would be a whopping $715 dollars. It's just way too expensive!!

 

So here is my question.....What would be your suggestion for a great day on our own (without a private driver). We want to see Herculaneam for sure can/should we visit Naples/Sorrento or both in addition? If so, how should we get there and what should we do? We'll have 11 hours in port.

 

We are a family of 3. Mom, Dad & 16 yr old son. We are active, adventurous and not fond of shopping or museums (unless it is a must see).

 

This port is the most difficult one for me to decide what to do. I thank you for your help in advance!

[fern]

You could use the circumvesuviana train to Ercolano(herculaneum) then walk down the street right into the site. Took me & Mum about 15 minutes. Later you could go back to the station and go onto Sorrento. Herculaneum and Sorrento are both easy to see from Naples as is Pompeii.

Amalfi is more difficult as it is much more time consuming the road there is , well dare I say horrendous!!!

There is nothing to be scared of in Naples. In fact the hop on hop offbus is great and it is quite an enjoyable town. Just like any other big city you have to take the normal precautions

[Jana White]

You will find many taxis waiting to whisk you where you want to go. And you should be able to negotiate no more than 100 euro for the 3 of you for the day. Only problem is most of the taxi drivers do not speak English. We had no problem, went to Pompei, Herculaneum and Sorrento and had a good day. The driver waited for us wherever we went

[Andym]

Looking for Sunshine,

 

You can take the bus to Herculaneum. The news stand over the road from where you get off the ship sells the tickets. The bus stop is right off the ship so no wories with walking about. The bus drops you right outside the gate at Herculaneum and picks up there for the return journey. The bus was about 4 euros each return, plus 10 euros each entry, plus 10 euros each to join a guided tour, giving a total of 72 euros, or you can skip the tour and look around youself using the excellent guide book and map that you get free. (in the room opposite the ticket booth.

 

I have some photos of herculaneum here.

 

http://community.webshots.com/user/andym888

[varisian]

I have 2 suggestions 1 take the train direct to Herculaneum, directions below or take a jet boat from the quay adjacent to the ship's berth to Sorrento and having walked around Sorrento take the Circumvesuviana train and get off at Ercalano.

How to get to Herculaneum from Naples

(Trains in Italy can be quite unreliable so don’t leave return to the ship to the last minute)

Cross the dual carriageway from the cruise terminal and, at the newsagent stand, buy a return ticket to Ercalano. Cost is 3.50 Euros.

Cross back across the road to the tram stand for trams going east, ie away from the square and get on a number 1 or 152. Stay on the tram until after it makes a left turn and get off at the bus station. It is the first stop after the left turn.

The Circumvesuviana train station is behind the bus station. Go down the steps at the right hand side of the station and take a Sorrento train.

It is about 20 minutes on the train to Ercalano, the name of the station. Some trains have a map on them which shows the station names.

From the station it is a short walk down hill to the ruins. It costs 10 euros to get in and takes about 2 hours to walk around

To return to the ship reverse the directions above.

[cusyl]

My husband has signed up for the ships tour to Herculeum, I believe it was $45. I am taking the EZNaples bus tour which is $45 as well.

This is a very busy port, many commercial ships and ferries.

Sofar our cruise from Naples to Barcelona has been marvelous.:D :D

[Looking for Sunshine]

Thank you for taking the time to post such detailed instructions! We've decided to go to Sorrento in addition to Herculaneum. We thought we would take the hydrofoil from the pier to Sorrento, then a train to Ercolano and then onto Naples.

 

Would you recommend this...or should I take a train both ways?

 

P.S. Thanks to everyone for helping me out

[GeorgiaPeach]

Thank you for taking the time to post such detailed instructions! We've decided to go to Sorrento in addition to Herculaneum. We thought we would take the hydrofoil from the pier to Sorrento, then a train to Ercolano and then onto Naples.

 

Would you recommend this...or should I take a train both ways?

 

P.S. Thanks to everyone for helping me out

 

We just got back from the Jewel and did this except we went to Pompei instead of Herculaneum. The only problem with the hydrofoil is that after we bought tickets for the 9am departure, they must have cancelled the sailing. Several of us figured out something wasn't quite right and after some investigation determined that we needed to go to a different departure spot(right next to the first one-no problem!) and take a regular ferry that left at 920am instead. It just took a bit longer but the boat ride to Sorrento was very scenic. I also think you are doing the right thing with your timing. The shops in Sorrento tend to close up for part of the afternoon so you will be able to enjoy them if you so choose by arriving earlier. There was a city bus that took us up to the city from the area the ferry let us off for 1euro, btw.