Naples Italy Excursion

[IRdoc]

Traveling on Symphony of Sea this summer. We stop in Naples and are looking for advice on making the most of shore excursion for the day.

 

Never been to this part of Italy.

 

Is it too much to do tour of Isle of Capri and Pompeii?

 

Alternative is we focus on Capri and make another future trip to Pompeii and Amalfi Coast?

 

 

 

 

 

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[Clarea]

Also check the port of call forum: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=595

[aubreyc1988]

Traveling on Symphony of Sea this summer. We stop in Naples and are looking for advice on making the most of shore excursion for the day.

 

Never been to this part of Italy.

 

Is it too much to do tour of Isle of Capri and Pompeii?

 

Alternative is we focus on Capri and make another future trip to Pompeii and Amalfi Coast?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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I did a similar itinerary, here is my review:https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2542814

 

We did Amalfi Coast by Land and Sea RCI excursion and it was well worth the money. Great guide, got to see a lot of the amalfi coast AND pompeii! The tour we booked included lunch and was an all day excursion. If your cruise planner has something like this, I would recommend doing it...totally awesome! I never felt really "Rushed"

 

Have a great cruise!

[yoj13]

To get the most of Capri and Pompeii, in my experience it would be impossible to do both in 1 day.

The terminal for the ferry/hovercraft to the Isle of Capri is literally minutes from where your ship will be docked. Tickets are bookable on-line and you will be across to Capri in no time. It is a lovely trip.

 

Pompeii is the other way although it is also very doable on your own. Once you get to the railway station, it is a short train ride away. Pay the entrance fee and wander to your hearts content.

 

Both are very interesting places to visit in very different ways

[Keith1010]

aubreyc1988, I wanted to complement you on your thread. It is amazing between the narrative and photos.

 

My feeling is the same as Yoj13. Having sailed the mediterranean I have two beliefs. First is to allow for some down time because if one goes non-stop on these fairly port intensive cruises it will be very tiring and at one point exhausting. So if you have a full day of touring one day on the next don't do all day of touring. The other belief is to smell the roses. Too often I see people running from place to place but doing it so quickly that they don't smell the roses which means they don't take the time to appreciate all they are seeing. If this was me I would do Capri or Pompeii and I agree they are two totally different experiences.

 

Whatever you do, one or both I hope you have an amazing cruise and visit to each place on the itinerary.

 

Keith

[aubreyc1988]

aubreyc1988, I wanted to complement you on your thread. It is amazing between the narrative and photos.

 

My feeling is the same as Yoj13. Having sailed the mediterranean I have two beliefs. First is to allow for some down time because if one goes non-stop on these fairly port intensive cruises it will be very tiring and at one point exhausting. So if you have a full day of touring one day on the next don't do all day of touring. The other belief is to smell the roses. Too often I see people running from place to place but doing it so quickly that they don't smell the roses which means they don't take the time to appreciate all they are seeing. If this was me I would do Capri or Pompeii and I agree they are two totally different experiences.

 

Whatever you do, one or both I hope you have an amazing cruise and visit to each place on the itinerary.

 

Keith

 

Thanks Keith!

 

Yes, it's important not to bite off more than you can chew. I say this as I always bite off more than I can chew, haha! If the OP decides not to do a RCI sponsored excursion, I would stick to doing ONE main thing! If I were the OP, I'd not to Capri and try to do a drive along the Amalfi Coast and spend a few hrs in Pompeii. While Capri looks great, it's nature and you can see a lot of that elsewhere. When I was deciding what do to, I picked Pompeii as the ONE thing I really wanted to do, and then found the Land and Sea excursion. I was worried 2 hrs in Pompeii wasn't enough but it was ample time, especially because it was really hot and if we had spent much longer there, my attention span would have been done for. OP, if you want to make the MOST of your time in port, usually the RCI tours would be best for that in my opinion :) We were normally the last people back on the ship, and weren't sweating about it because we were with RCI

[robtulipe]

On our first cruise port stop in Naples we did a private taxi tour, with another couple, of the Amalfi coast with a quick stop to just view Pompeii from outside as it was on the way back to the ship. We did a inside visit there on another stop at Naples taking the local train there on our own and we were glad we devoted a whole day there. Both could be done on the same tour.

The Isle of Capri was also done by us, on our own taking the ferry and using the local bus on the island, on a third stop to Naples. It was a whole day trip also. I can't imagine doing both Capri and Amalfi including Pompeii without the feeling of being rushed to see it all on the same day.

[IRdoc]

Thank you all for the responses. Seems several recommendations for Amalfi Coast and Pompeii. Think we should definitely try to arrange a tour on this go around and save Isle of Capri for another.

 

 

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[Keith1010]

IRdoc, the amalfi coast is pretty much a one day trip although if done privately you can cut it back a little.

 

Please keep in mind that the other poster said they went to Pompeii to only see the outside. NIce but I would not cut back on Amalfi do that IMHO. It is worth at least two hours inside if not another hour.

 

Just my two cents.

 

Keith

[Merly]

To do both would be very difficult,if not impossible. You can get the ferry, a few minutes walk from the cruise ship. Each time we have been to Naples on a ship we have never managed to get the ferry because of the times. Also, if you do get it, book and buy your return tickets at the same time as they can get booked up. I have been to Capri before, DH hasn’t, and we will be doing an overnight in Sorrento in May, ( on Silversea), so thinking of doing it then when I won’t worry about missing the ship.

Pompeii is doable by train. Just a thought, have you looked at Herculaneum, a much better preserved sight than Pompeii, a bit smaller and easier to get around. Lots of people, me included, prefer it.

[utopiahereicome]

We did Pompeii and Amalfi coast (Positano and Sorrento) last November through RomeinLimo - awesome experience, small group (8) in a Mercedes van, and for less money than ship tour - highly recommend!

[Clarea]

We did Pompeii and Amalfi coast (Positano and Sorrento) last November through RomeinLimo - awesome experience, small group (8) in a Mercedes van, and for less money than ship tour - highly recommend!

We've also had very good luck with RomeinLimo.:)

[Keith1010]

We did Pompeii and Amalfi coast (Positano and Sorrento) last November through RomeinLimo - awesome experience, small group (8) in a Mercedes van, and for less money than ship tour - highly recommend!

 

I agree they do a terrific job

 

Another one I also recommend is Joe Banana Limo at http://www.joebananalimo.com

 

Both do terrific tours.

 

Keith

[grapau27]

Traveling on Symphony of Sea this summer. We stop in Naples and are looking for advice on making the most of shore excursion for the day.

 

Never been to this part of Italy.

 

Is it too much to do tour of Isle of Capri and Pompeii?

 

Alternative is we focus on Capri and make another future trip to Pompeii and Amalfi Coast?

 

 

 

 

 

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Capri is lovely but the excursions usually last 8-11 hours and you need to get on a hydrfoil or ferry to get there.

Pompeii is only 35 minutes away.

A trip down the Amalfi coast is breathtaking but scary.

A 5 hour tour to Sorrento is good although you only get 2 hours to walk around Sorrento.

Naples centre is half a mile up a hill and has a miriad of backstreet shops but watch out for scooters and muggers.

[TNCruzer56]

Thank you all for the responses. Seems several recommendations for Amalfi Coast and Pompeii. Think we should definitely try to arrange a tour on this go around and save Isle of Capri for another.

Without a doubt YES!!!

We used Umberto-7 of us. Get a guide for Pompeii-Umberto can arrange-SOOOO many lit`s things to learn. And then on to the coast-My God , it is spectacular! We stopped at a mountainside restaurant, where he knows the folks there. 25 Euros all you can eat and drink. They grow all the vegetables next to the place and make their own wine (it just kept coming) and their own limoncello.

The meal and view was spectacular.

We still think it ranks in the top 1 to 2 excursions ever!!! Umberto speaks excellent English.

BTW skip Naples-dirty and as far as the birthplace of Pizza-no big deal!

[crzndeb]

And this is the reason I did a B2B Med and then TA. There was just so much to see and do on the Med cruises, I wanted to do as much as I could.

 

If it’s a choice, I would definitely go with Amalfi Coast/Pompeii. I loved Capri, but you can’t do both in one stop.

[George C]

Both are great, I would do Pompeii , also loved the food and pizza in Naples

[Norwich Cruiser]

We have done the Pompeii and the Amalfi Coast tour with Romeinlimo they are a fantastic company and can highly recommend them

Capri you can do on your own just get off the ship and get the high speed ferry / hydrofoil.

You honestly need all day to do each trip and we would never consider trying to do all in the same day.

To see visit and enjoy each properly we would say it's impossible to do in a day.

[IRdoc]

On the same hand...what are OPs thoughts on Rome? We are thinking of doing an “essentials” type tour that goes inside the Vatican, Colosseum and other major sites.

 

 

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[griffy116]

We did Pompeii and Amalfi coast (Positano and Sorrento) last November through RomeinLimo - awesome experience, small group (8) in a Mercedes van, and for less money than ship tour - highly recommend!

 

We did the same and had a private guide meet us in Pompeii. Worth EVERY penny. He was able to help us understand what we were seeing. By using a private limo we were also able to see the Amalfi coast with Positano and Sorrento. It was an incredible day.

[BermudaBound2014]

I also vote for Pompeii and the Amalfi coast. It was a great day. We too had a tour guide for Pompeii and I’d recommend that as Pompeii has quite a few nuances that need to be pointed out. Emily

 

 

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[AF-1]

I also have used Romeinlimo. Excellent service and you can see a lot more using them than the ships excursions

[AnnetteSC]

We used joebananalimos, aka Italytoursharing.com, last June while cruising on Azamara and had a great time!! Price was half what the cruise ships charge and service was impeccable!

I am Italian from Italy and I agree that you cannot do Capri and Pompeii in one day. I also agree that you should do Pompeii and Amalfi coast.

Don't forget to have a freshly squeezed lemonade in that region. Amalfi coast lemons are the BEST!! Enjoy!

[George C]

Pompeii requires lots of walking

[AF-1]

George C. how long would you say it takes to see Pompeii? Would you say 2-3 hours without being rushed?