Naples excursions???? (merged)

[amanda blake]

hey come with us...the price for our cruise just dropped like a stone...

 

yes I am getting all these ports confused...lol...

[nask]

Cindy, we also booked with Mariano and pleasant travels. We are cruising in May. I was a little concerned because he sounds too good to be true. We will be using him from Naples on the same tour you went on. We are also using him in Rome. There will be seven of us. I've looked through these threads and can't find much about him.

[cindilouwho]

Cindy, we also booked with Mariano and pleasant travels. We are cruising in May. I was a little concerned because he sounds too good to be true. We will be using him from Naples on the same tour you went on. We are also using him in Rome. There will be seven of us. I've looked through these threads and can't find much about him.

 

I have used him before - I am going again in april and in October. We found him on CC 2 years ago. He is very popular and you won't be disappointed! Several folks are using him on our roll call too. They also have used him before.

 

NO FEAR!

[cardamon]

LRDR01- thank you for the coments on thetour to Pompei and Amalfi Drive. I think we are doing the same tour in May. We booked the tour because we have never ben to the area. It is good to know we made the right decision. Any suggestions on using our free time in Amalfi?

[babs11740]

To CindyLou,

Can you tell me about Mariano Fiorientino? We booked him for Naples during our July cruise. Is it difficult to understand his accent? I have some trouble understanding anything other than an american accent because of a hearing loss. Also, I would love more details about your tour. He did mention taking us to his farm as part of the tour and I wanted to know more! You can e-mail me at babs11740@yahoo.com

[Dona March]

We went to Capri in June 2006. We did a guided ship's excursion; about 5 and a half hours, and we enjoyed it. The big advantage in doing an official excursion to Capri is that they will get you back by hook or by crook.

 

Here's a link to some pictures I took that day:

http://www.*****/travelpage/aspgallery/view_ad.asp?Ad_ID=2514

Tom I just saw the pictures you took they are amazing, I will be going in Oct, Thank you for the great pics.

[Sugar&Buddy]

Some other things to consider: When do you visit Naples (temperature)? What day do you visit Naples (go to Cruisecal.com and determine how many cruise ships are in port on "your" day). In our case, we will be in Naples on Wednesday 28 May as will be two other very large cruise ships. What will we do? We joined a private tour group early on and we have 16 passengers in 2 vans going directly to Pompeii to obtain a guide as the site opens and spend 2 hours there in the "cool" of the morning while we are rested. We will then spend the day driving Amalfi and visiting towns mentioned, lunching in Ravello at a small restaurant. I wonder about another posting with a ship's tour with lunch in a small restaurant. By my calculations, thousands of tourists are going to have lunch at Sorrento. Sorrento must have some large catering operations! For us, if we wanted to experience Capri (as something different than Catalina, etc.) I would first want to visualize what Capri looks like with 1000s of tourists (and nowhere to sit). Am concerned enough re Amalfi drive jamed with dozens of tour buses.

 

An aside re Pompeii: I'm in a suburb of Houston (4th largest city in US). We have a world-class fine arts museum. What is opening here in days through 22 June? A exhibit on Pompeii and other Vesuvius sites. Our thoughts are that we will appreciate the 100s of choice artifacts more once we have the actual background experienced. Yes, we are very excited about Pompeii and Ephesus as well!

 

Those of you with actual experience in the Amalfi towns, how would you rank them? If you would take the time to walk around two of them, which two would they be and why?

 

David

 

How did you find private tour company with 8 passengers/van? Would love to do Pompeii in the early morning Sept.1.

[10july86]

We'll be in Naples for the day on our cruise. Any special things to do that anyone can suggest? If so, did you do them on your own or did you get a guide for the day? Any suggestions for a guide?

 

Thanks.

[Whippets]

We will be traveling to Naples also and are open for all suggestions. Will be there in November and expect it to be cool that time of year.

 

10July86- I must reply to your name. My granddaughter was born on that day! She is a senior in college now.

[10july86]

Whippets-

 

That's actually my anniversary date. It's very speical for both of us, but for different reasons!

[agabbymama]

We are going to Naples too, and usually folks go to the Amalfi Coast and Pompeii when in Naples. Circumvesuviana (sp?) Railroad goes to Pompeii and Sorrento at a reasonable rate. I'm sure others will post tour guides too, as it is quite a drive to Sorrento, Positano, Capri, etc.

 

I plan to take the train to Pompeii, then do the Ho/Ho bus in Naples, as I'm trying to keep costs down, and tour guides are very expensive.

 

http://www.napoli.city-sightseeing.it/eng/index.htm

[Susan-M]

We did a private tour so that we could tour the Amalfi Coast and go to Pompeii (which seems to be the two top picks among CC members for a first visit to Naples.) We did it with Salvatore of DriveAmalfi and I would highly recommend him.

 

If you connect with others on your roll call, you can share the cost of a private driver & van for 6-8 people (usually around 600-650E for the day). This is the best way to see the coast (well...maybe a motorcycle would be more fun on these roads, but slightly more dangerous.)

 

This is a good site with photos, to get a general idea of what the area has to offer:

 

http://www.europeportreviews.com/Naples.htm

 

Scroll down to "Special Reports" for links to instructions for "on your own" tours.

[janellmartin]

If you're at all interested in history and archaeology, go to Pompeii. We caught a taxi at the ship that took us to the Circavesuvium train. The taxi driver spent the whole 10 minute trip trying to talk us into letting him drive us to Pompeii for only 125 Euros. The train cost $6 for the entire day. Don't waste your time with Herculaneum. It's in the middle of a Naples suburb and the walk from the train station to the Herculaneum excavation site was not at all nice. At the site, a good number of the buildings were closed and we saw it all in under an hour. At Pompeii, however, you get off the train right at the entrance to the scavi. The site is huge; you could spend most of the day there...

[Jade0308]

Earlier this month, we used Sorrento Limo to see the Amalfi Coast and Pompei. Owner Gennaro has an 8 person van and we all very much enjoyed the tour he gave us. It was his job to worry about the timing (depending on traffic and crowds) and our job to tell him where we wanted to go. He could also certainly give recommendations. We all found him affordable and great.

To the person who said they have no desire to go to Pompei- I may be alone, but I say don't go then. It's not as if there is nothing else to see in the area, and while I found Pompei impressive, I would have been happy seeing something else. Truth is, we see many incredible ruins on these cruises and I personally did not find Pompei more moving than Ephesus, Rome or Athens. For a shorter trip with fewer crowds, I've heard Herculean is better preserved. Or, skip the ruins and see more wonderful scenery of the Amalfi coast or spend a little time in Naples. I myself get carsick, but with Gennaro at the wheel, I think even those in the car who had not taken dramamine faired well.

[texancruzer]

How did you find private tour company with 8 passengers/van? Would love to do Pompeii in the early morning Sept.1.

 

 

We used www.aptours.it as our driver to Pomeii, Ravello, Amalfi, Positano and Sorrento.

 

We had a brand new shiny 9 person van. 8 passengers and a driver. They also arranged a private guide for Pompeii for us.

[JLC@SD]

We'll be in Naples for the day on our cruise. Any special things to do that anyone can suggest? If so, did you do them on your own or did you get a guide for the day? Any suggestions for a guide?

 

Thanks.

 

As it was explained to me one time.....Naples is the place you leave to see something else.

 

Go to Capri, Pompeii, Amalfi Coast or Sorrento......;)

[jlines]

Although we enjoyed the ruins at Pompeii we found them less spectacular than some of the other ports. So depending where else you are going and if Pompeii is not a must do for you I would definately suggest seeing the Amalfi coast. We had originally thought we would rent a car but are glad we didn't. The views are beautiful but the drive is rather dangerous. We usually do things on our own but hired Sorrento Limos for this. We had Genarro, the owner, himself and really enjoyed our day. I highly recommend him.

[rrobynec]

We did a private tour so that we could tour the Amalfi Coast and go to Pompeii (which seems to be the two top picks among CC members for a first visit to Naples.) We did it with Salvatore of DriveAmalfi and I would highly recommend him.

 

If you connect with others on your roll call, you can share the cost of a private driver & van for 6-8 people (usually around 600-650E for the day). This is the best way to see the coast (well...maybe a motorcycle would be more fun on these roads, but slightly more dangerous.)

 

This is a good site with photos, to get a general idea of what the area has to offer:

 

http://www.europeportreviews.com/Naples.htm

 

Scroll down to "Special Reports" for links to instructions for "on your own" tours.

 

This link is absolutely awesome!!!---THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!!

[luvcdays]

Janell,

 

Can you please tell me how much the taxi cost from the port to the train station?

 

Thank you.

 

Luvcdays

[s73645]

Much more to Naples than the amalfi coast:

Sansevero chapel has the awesome marble "veiled christ"

It is near the national museum which has a lot of items from Herculaneum and Pompeii plus some cool giant statues.

Pompeii is a must see, in my opinion, for first timers to Naples ( and it will take all day to see most of the site, you may not be able to see it all in a limited time frame.)

If you do not care for art, ancient ruins, or cool old cities then a drive down the Amalfi coast may be more your cup of tea. The scenery is awesome, cliffs and ocean.

If you do not care for art, etc; and are not interested in dodging giant tourist buses along the edge of cliffs with multiple hairpin turns, then a chaise on a balcony in Sorrento sipping lemoncello is also an excellent way to pass the time.

Any way you choose.... it's a wonderful place.:D

[Duff Man]

We found Pompeii fascinating. I could have spent an entire day there.

 

:)

[hezzy]

If I could go only once, I would see Pompeii. Besides being so historically interesting, it is beautiful. We were on a 3 hour tour and it was no way near long enough. I had cousins who lived near there late 50's early 60's and we had studied their pictures from that period. There was an amazing amount of excavation since that time. Really A highlight of our trip.

[PersistenzaretiniKa]

if it will be the first and the last time u go to naples go to pompei. naples it's not an easy city to understand for us italians , guess for foreigners. it has been the third most important and richest city in europe before garibaldi and savoia invaded her and spoiled her. she is more than 3000 years old, she deserves definetly. but u need to be really really open minded and clever to understand her.

[PersistenzaretiniKa]

in naples and in all the area around, shops usually open at 10 in the morning and close at 13.30 and open again at 16.30 and close at 20/20.30. some shops don't close for lunch time. pharmacies open earlier and if they are on their shift they close at 22 ore more. of course they close for lunch time

[dsfischer]

My husband and I plan to tour Pompeii during the morning of our stop in Naples, then return to the ship and bring my 81 year old mother ashore for lunch, shopping and/or something easy so that she will feel like she has seen Naples. Does anyone have suggestions for a restaurant and an easy afternoon for her? We originally planned a drive along the Amalfi coast, but she isn't up to a long day.

 

Thanks for any suggestions!

 

Debbie