Shore excursion from Naples

[dancedemon]

Hi. I'm quite concerned about all the recent discussion of crowds everywhere in Europe, and in Italy in particular. Even the cruise ship's shore excursion page warns that we should expect crowds.   I have been to the Amalfi coast before, but my husband has not.  We will be on NCL Breakaway in October of 2025, docking for one day in Naples.  Any suggestions for how to avoid crowds? I have not been to Capri or Ischia.  Could any one share some pros and cons of each?  Is Ischia less crowded, given that the cruise line doesn't list it as a shore excursion?  Yet, I see elsewhere on the internet that Ischia is indeed crowded.  Ugh.  Ischia seems to have the advantage of thermal baths.  Thanks in advance. 

[euro cruiser]

Capri is overwhelmed with tourists, it is absolutely not the place to go if you're looking for a little peace. 

 

Ischia much less crowded, and Procida even less than that.  It's easy to get to the islands from the cruise port on your own because the high-speed ferry dock is adjacent to the cruise port.

 

Some reading material:  Visit Ischia - Official Tourist board

 

Places to visit in Procida – Visita Procida, le migliori cose da vedere e fare nel 2024 (visitprocida.com)

[edinburgher]

17 hours ago, dancedemon said:

We will be on NCL Breakaway in October of 2025, docking for one day in Naples.  Any suggestions for how to avoid crowds?

Europe is not the area to visit if you want to avoid crowds who are there in large numbers even during what used to be considered "low season". At least the heat in October will be more comfortable than it would be in August for example.

 

Herculaneum would, I think be less crowded than Pompeii and an easier  day than Pompeii which is huge and can be quite exhausting to walk around. Herculaneum actually has much to offer and interesting in its own way, but have you considered spending your day in Naples itself?

 

The city has much to offer and most visitors would find more than enough sights and attractions to fill a port day, and with ships docking in town, independent sightseeing is quite easy. And there is excellent pizza everywhere, no surprise given that this is the city where it was first created.

 

And do read some past threads for info.

 

Herculaneum

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/search/?q=herculaneum&quick=1&type=forums_topic&nodes=464

 

Naples

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/search/?q=naples&quick=1&type=forums_topic&nodes=464

 

Edited May 14 by edinburgher

[dancedemon]

Hi, there Edindurgher. We are from Chicago and I love Edinburgh, btw. Yes, it's a matter of crowd management, I suppose.  The only other option is to bail out on the cruise completely.  When I do land vacations, I avoid visiting attractions on cruise days, so I know how it goes.

 

What do you think of hiking Mt. Vesuvius? Would we be looking at hours of waiting for train to bus, etc, to get there as well? 

 

My research of Naples made it sound like there is very little green space.  We are interested in gardens and birds.  Is there very little of that as well? 

 

I did find the cloisters, San Martino certosa and museum, along with the underground city to be of interest.   

[euro cruiser]

There are several large gardens in Naples, including:

 

Real Bosco di Capodimonte, located up on the hill where the Capodimonte art museum is located inside the former royal palace.  It was formerly a hunting preserve for King Charles of Bourbon and today features an English garden.

 

Parco Virgiliano, up on another hill overlooking the city and built into terraces, on a clear day you can see Sorrento, Capri, Ischia and Procida from here.

 

Villa Floridiana, on yet another hill this park features lots of walking paths and large lawns, as well as a ceramics museum., 

 

Parco Urbano dei Camaldoli, a little further out from downtown and on another hill, this one the highest in the area, this is a more "natural" park, not as groomed as the others but with amazing views.

 

Villa Comunale, this is the parkland that runs along the waterfront in Chiaia, quite close to the port.

 

There are more, but these are the main ones that I can think of.  All of these are easily reached from the port using public transportation.

[euro cruiser]

Climbing Vesuvio has become a bit more complicated in the past couple of years since they instituted a timed ticket system, but this also limits the number of people there at any given time so the experience is more enjoyable.

 

You can purchase tickets on your own or you can pay extra to have the transfer service buy them for you.  While I generally avoid doing the later, in this case when you're only in town for one day it may be worth the extra to let them do it, so you know you have a ticket for the time you can be there.

 

Vesuvio Express is the company that provides the bus service from Naples to Vesuvio and back:  Vesuvio Express Transfer For the Vesuvio

[dancedemon]

That bus service to Vesuvio definitely looks better than the one I was looking at yesterday, wherein the meeting point noted online doesn't match the real meeting point.  I can't figure out how we would know the ticket time, given that we don't know how long it will take for us to get off the tub. 

 

I'm curious if anyone has seen much in the way of birds in the parks?  I saw pics of some nice pigeons in various blogs. 

Finally, what do you think of the zoological foundation, or aquarium at the Villa Comunale? 

[euro cruiser]

Well, Vesuvio Express only offers two times, 9:30 AM or 1 PM.  I'd go for the earlier one, to be on the safe side.

 

I'm not a birder so I can't comment on what can be seen.  I've walked by the zoo and the aquarium but I've never been tempted to go in, so can't help you there either.

[edinburgher]

21 hours ago, dancedemon said:

My research of Naples made it sound like there is very little green space.  We are interested in gardens and birds.  Is there very little of that as well? 

Have you tried internet searching for birding areas in or near Naples, also additional parks and gardens? It may be that some of your wish list can be found not too far away.

 

I n Naples itself, i can also recommend going up to the viewpoint in front of the Castel St Elmo as the views are actually breathtaking. You can get there by public bus, taxi or funicular.  We took the funicular which took us closet to the viewpoint.  And "Christmas St" is a bit cheesy but quite fun too.

 

We are from Chicago and I love Edinburgh

Very kind of you to say so. We like it here too.😀

 

we don't know how long it will take for us to get off the tub. 

 

As ships dock in Naples, pax are usually off once the ship is cleared, usually no more than 30 minutes after arrival.

[Hlitner]

Booking a 4000 passenger ship is certainly not a good way to avoid crowds :).  Overtourism is a problem, and when you take a cruise to popular tourist destinations there is no avoiding the hoards.  We just returned (Sunday) from Europe, and after our cruise, rented a car to drive through Slovenia and Austria (far from cruise ships).  There were plenty of folks everywhere, tourism is doing well, and that is simply the way it is!  

 

While you can try to minimize the crowd issue by going to less popular places, the reality is that most travelers (especially those who do not spend a lot of time in Europe) want to see the popular spots.  So go with a positive attitude, accept that many places will be crowded, and just make the best of the situation.  

 

As to Capri and Ischia (we have been to both places, DIY, several times) I would suggest going to Capri (even with crowds) for those who have never been to this island.  Yes, it will be crowded, but it is crowded because it is a decent tourist destination.  One can get away from some of the crowds by taking the bus (or a taxi) up to the more residential Anacapri (where you can get the single chair lift to the top of the mountain).  But even when its crowded, we enjoy walking the streets of Capri Town, browsing the shops, and enjoying the food/drink.

 

Hank

[SoBaycruiser]

On 5/14/2024 at 7:39 AM, edinburgher said:

Europe is not the area to visit if you want to avoid crowds who are there in large numbers even during what used to be considered "low season". At least the heat in October will be more comfortable than it would be in August for example.

 

 

 

We will be in southern Italy the last week of October and my understanding is that the coastal city temperatures average from 19-22 C that time of year.  It’s hard to pack for that because it’s right between hot and cold …if the temps vary by more than a few degrees.  I was surprised to see you mention the “ heat in October”.  What would you expect people to be wearing at the end of October?  I understand there are no guarantees.  But there are recorded temperatures and there are “feels like temperatures”.  Your comment has me questioning what I should pack.

 

Just noticed you are from Edinburgh.  You probably think all those temperatures are warm!😅

[euro cruiser]

The only safe option is layers, with a waterproof outer layer.  It will be cooler at night but can be quite warm during the middle of the day.

 

My first trip to Italy was for about six weeks, all of October and the beginning of November.  I packed for fall and wound up washing and re-wearing the few lighter weight things I had with me until the last couple of weeks.

 

Interestingly (to me, anyway) Italians going to work every morning wore fall clothing, including leather jackets, regardless of the heat.  I walked away assuming that they were dressing for the season, not necessarily the weather.

[edinburgher]

11 hours ago, SoBaycruiser said:

Just noticed you are from Edinburgh.  You probably think all those temperatures are warm!😅

Absolutely, especially in the most recent days as we have been inundated with rain causing some flooding closures.