Naples in the Afternoon!

[Lindancer]

So, I've been to Pompei and want to go to Herculaneum this time when our cruise stops in Naples, on July 27.  I will probably resort to the ship's tour, which goes to Herculaneum in the morning and lasts about 3 hours.  This prevents us from doing other things, such as a day in Capri or Amalfi, and a lot of the tours of Naples itself also go out in the morning.  (I'm sure the heat of the day might factor in).   Nonetheless, I don't want to waste a minute in this wonderful port and am looking for suggestions on what to do with the rest of our day. The ship is in port until 7:00 pm.

Thanks in advance!

Linda

[euro cruiser]

Why limit yourself to the ship's tour to Herculaneum?  It's so easy to get there on your own and not be limited.

[euro cruiser]

What time does your ship arrive in Naples?

[MeHeartCruising]

@Lindancer On one of my cruises I got off the ship in Naples as soon as possible and walked to the Circumvesuviana train station (there are faster ways to get there, but I wanted to soak in some of Naples and I wasn’t rushed).  I bought a ticket to Herculaneum (I too had already been to Pompeii — a couple times).  From the train, it is a short downhill walk (10 minutes or so) to the entrance of Herculaneum.   I spent maybe 3 or 4 hours exploring the site, which was about all I needed.  Then I took the train back into central Naples.  From the station, I took a taxi back to the ship.  But instead of getting on the ship, I explored the waterfront and areas around that part of town.  Piazza del Plebiscito is worth a visit.  I mostly just walked around for a couple more hours till it was time to return to the ship. 
 

You could also go to Herculaneum in the morning and then visit the Archealogical Museum back in central Naples, if you haven’t already been.  It contains much of the recovered treasures from both Pompeii and Herculaneum. 

[euro cruiser]

Just a heads-up about the museum, many of the key pieces of the collection are out on loan to the Tokyo museum through the end of 2022.  A Japanese media company is paying for the restoration of the Alexander mosaic and the exhibition is part of the deal.

 

Il MANN arriva in Giappone con una grande mostra su Pompei - Arte Magazine

[Lindancer]

13 hours ago, euro cruiser said:

What time does your ship arrive in Naples?

Ship arrives 8 a.m.  Personally, having seen Pompei, I could skip Herculaneum and just take a day boat trip to Capri.  But we are with our 18-year old grandson, and I think he should do something educational.  He enjoys history anyway.

[euro cruiser]

It's so easy to get to Herculeneum on your own.   You can get on the #1 tram on the street directly in front of the cruise port, this tram drops you right in front of the Porta Nolana starting point for the Circumvesuviana regional rail line.  

 

You can take any train going to either Poggiomarino or Sorrento, both lines stop at Ercolano Scavi, the stop for Herculeneum.  The walk from the station to the park ticket office is about a half mile in a dead straight line.  It's very easy.

 

Just reverse the process to return to Naples, but get off the train at the penultimate stop, Garibaldi, and switch to the #1 metro line to get quickly to the historic center of town.  

 

You'll likely get back to Naples at lunchtime, perfect to enjoy a pizza in its home town.

[edinburgher]

Should you decide to visit Herculaneum, the other great thing to do there is to go up Mt Vesuvius.  it is the same train stop.  When we went, there were shared taxis outside Herculaneum Scavi train station, which drove up to the Vesuvius car park, gave you time to go up to the crater on foot and return to the car park, then drive you back down to the train station, where we paid.  We asked the driver to stop on the way down for a photo op as the views of Naples were staggering from there.

 

It should be easy enough to find out if the taxis still offer that service from the station by going online.

 

Do not pay the driver until you are back at the train station.

 

And if you decide to do this, when you exit the train station, look up, and if you can see the top of Vesuvius go there first.  If it is hidden in cloud,walk the few minutes to Herculaneum first in the hope the cloud will clear later.

 

Thinking that your grandson and yourselves would love this easy DIY trip.  Pompeii has pros and cons, as does Herculanem.  P. is huge and merits a long if somewhat  tiring day.  H is more compact but also more built up so easier to imagine more of the homes and shops. And a half day is enough time to see it all.  We returned there in 2018 or therabouts, having first visited many years previously, and found that, in the intervening years more areas had been excavated and opened to the public.

[Lindancer]

46 minutes ago, edinburgher said:

Should you decide to visit Herculaneum, the other great thing to do there is to go up Mt Vesuvius.  it is the same train stop.  When we went, there were shared taxis outside Herculaneum Scavi train station, which drove up to the Vesuvius car park, gave you time to go up to the crater on foot and return to the car park, then drive you back down to the train station, where we paid.  We asked the driver to stop on the way down for a photo op as the views of Naples were staggering from there.

 

It should be easy enough to find out if the taxis still offer that service from the station by going online.

 

Do not pay the driver until you are back at the train station.

 

And if you decide to do this, when you exit the train station, look up, and if you can see the top of Vesuvius go there first.  If it is hidden in cloud,walk the few minutes to Herculaneum first in the hope the cloud will clear later.

 

Thinking that your grandson and yourselves would love this easy DIY trip.  Pompeii has pros and cons, as does Herculanem.  P. is huge and merits a long if somewhat  tiring day.  H is more compact but also more built up so easier to imagine more of the homes and shops. And a half day is enough time to see it all.  We returned there in 2018 or therabouts, having first visited many years previously, and found that, in the intervening years more areas had been excavated and opened to the public.

Great idea!  Thanks.

[euro cruiser]

The taxi and bus service to Vesuvio is located in the piazza in front of the Ercolano Scavi Circumvesuviana station.  Here is their web site:  Vesuvio Express Bus shuttle per il Vesuvio | Visita al Vesuvio | Gran Cono del Vesuvio |Visita al Cratere del Vesuvio |

[carlmm]

If you do the ship's tour and look for afternoon activities, there are many museums, churches and more in Naples. The most easiest sights to reach are right at the port: the castle nuovo and the Palazzo Reale, one medieval, the other from the 17the century.

[edinburgher]

Thanks euro cruiser.  Interesting link.  It appears that the shared taxi option may no longer be a possibility, perhaps due to lack of business for the drivers during the pandemic. As visitor numbers increase, there may still be some at the station, but a bit risky if there are none as the buses may have sold out for the preferred time. Looking at the website link, it also appears that the bus transfer may be the better option as Vesuvius tickets can be supplied by them and they now need to be bought before arrival at the ticket office.

 

Lindancer, there are Trip advisor reviews for both Vesuvius crater and for the bus company.  Lots of helpful info  on the pros and cons if you read them.

 

It is actually quite an experience to walk around the crater rim and to  peer down inside it, especially if one has  visited Pompeii and/or Herculaneum  before Vesuvius,meaning that the story also has a start and a finish.

Edited May 20, 2022 by edinburgher