THURSDAY, OCTOBER 8TH, 2015
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| Pompeii |
We pulled into the port of Naples as the
sun was rising and we were enjoying breakfast on the aft deck. The ship took a while to get clearance so we did
not disembark until around 8:15am.
I had done a lot of research on getting
around the area via trams and trains and figured we could self-tour everything
that we wanted to see. The first thing
we did was exit the terminal and cross the street to a small stand-alone newsstand kiosk where we
were able to buy a Ticket Integrato Campania (TIC NA-3)
for €3,20 per person, each way. You need to ask specifically for this type of ticket or they may sell you just tram tickets. The
integrato ticket gives you access to the trams, buses and the local train that will get you to Pompeii. You can buy other types of tickets for other locations. Read here for more details: http://www.napoliunplugged.com/naples-unicocampania-fares. You can buy your train tickets at the train station as not all newsstands will sell the NA-3 ticket. However, you will also have to purchase tram and bus tickets separately which you can buy at newstands, as well.
The tram station was very close by and we
caught the #1 tram that takes you from the port area up to Porta Nolana
station, where we were looking to catch the Circumvesuviana train to Pompeii. "Circumvesuviana" is on the outside of the
building but signs for Porta Nolana are not as prominent.
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| I did not get a photo of the front of the station but you can just see the corner of the station, with the start of the Circumvesuviana sign, on the right of the photo above the blue sign. |
The train station situation can be quite
confusing in Naples. Porta Nolana
station is where the Circumvesuviana train line starts and ends. It is the local line that services the area
east of Naples including Pompeii, the Herculaneum (Ercolana) and Sorrento and is the only
train that operates out of Porta Nolana station. All regional and national trains operate from
Napoli Central Station (Stazione Centrale). To make things even more confusing, the Circumvesuviana platforms within
Napoli Central are called the Garibaldi Station. You are technically still at Napoli Central
but the Circumvesuviana platforms are located in a separate area so you need to
follow the signs to get to the Garibaldi Station if you are travelling to Pompeii,
the Herculaneum or Sorrento. It is best
to get on the train at the terminus in Porta Nolana as the next stop is
Garibaldi and whatever seats remaining can fill up quickly and you may have to stand
for the journey.
NOTE: Italian information boards
list trains in order of time of departure and their FINAL destination, but do
not list or reference stops in between.
So that means that you need to look for trains to Sorrento, not Pompeii, as Sorrento is
the end of the line.
After a bit of a delay and a problem with
the train that required us to switch to another train, we were off to
Pompeii. It was a little over half an
hour travel time with quite a few stops along the way. The trains are very basic with hard, plastic
seats and a good amount of wear and tear but they get you where you’re going.
We exited the train at the “Pompeii Scavi”
station and it was a very short walk to get to the Scavi di Pompei Porta Marina entrance.
Upon entering, the ticket line formed to the
left and we paid the €13,00 per person entry fee (they did accept credit cards) and made our way into the
actual excavation site. There is an
information window near the ticket line where you can request a map of the
ruins but they can tend to run out as the day progresses. We found that we got enough history and information
from our Rick Steves’ travel guide and we were able to take turns being the
tour guide for our little group of six :-)
FYI - You can also hire a guide at the
entrance, if you choose. There will be
people trolling about for customers but spend some time talking to them to get a feel for how well you will be able to understand their accent and their background and knowledge to provide such a tour. I think you can also rent an audio tour at one of the entry windows. Since we had a lot of information in our travel guide, we decided not to
get a guide as we also wanted the freedom to make our way around as we wished
and not be slowed down by a tour group.
We spent a couple of hours touring around
the excavation but could easily have been there for a couple more hours. It really was quite
different than I expected. I thought it
would be a big dusty area with a bunch of ruins but it was quite nicely laid out with ancient rocks inlaid on the streets and little gardens here and
there. It was really incredible to see
how intact some things were and how many buildings you can actually walk
through. My favorite spots were The Baths
and The House of the Tragic Poet.
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| Basilica |
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| Stones on roadway - the small white pieces of marble were illuminated by lamplight or the moon at night to help guide pedestrians at night |
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| The caldarium at the Baths |
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| The dining room in the House of the Tragic Poet |
A couple of tips: bring lots of water as it
can get quite hot as the day goes on. We
were there in October and it still was very warm. I cannot imagine the heat in the spring and
summer! Second, in lieu of a guide or buying an audio tour, you can download Rick
Steves’ audio tour of Pompeii to your Ipod or phone and listen to it at double or triple speed to
have your own personal tour guide along with you. I know it sounds like I am sponsored by Rick
but it is just that we so appreciated how useful and informative his
Mediterranean Cruise Ports book was and just have to share when something comes
in so useful on our travels. It
frequently saved us time and often saved us money as well!
We left the excavation around 12:30pm and
had a bit of an issue trying to figure out how to get across to the other side
of the tracks to catch the inbound train.
We eventually discovered that you had to go down the stairs inside the
small station and walk through an underground tunnel that would take you to another
set of stairs leading up to the platform on the other side of the tracks. We caught the 12:40pm train and when we got
back to Naples, we caught bus 151 back to the port area so we could have lunch
on the ship and leave our parents to relax for the afternoon.
The four of us got back off the ship after
a good lunch and made our way to Castel Nuovo, which is pretty much across the
street and a bit to the left of the port area.
We had picked up a big (free) map of Naples at the visitor centre inside
the cruise terminal and enjoyed the view of the castle while we got oriented. We wanted to go to the Archeological Museum
to see if entry was included in our Pompeii ticket (it wasn’t) so we headed up
Via Toledo, which is one of the main shopping streets in Naples. We had heard that you really had to beware of
pickpockets and scooters that drove by and pulled the purse or backpack right
off your shoulder so we just used some common sense and paid attention to our
surrounding but we never felt unsafe.
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| Outside Castel Nuovo |
It was a good walk to the museum and when
we found out that our Pompeii ticket did not include entry, we debated if we were
going to go through the museum. At this point, it was
getting late in the afternoon and our energy was starting to flag so we decided
to head back to the ship but take some other streets on the return trip. We came across a lovely little gelateria called Il Gelato Mennella and
enjoyed a nice cool treat. Then we found a little café (Marsui Cafe) to have some tea and a wee
snack and enjoy the surroundings…and wifi!
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| Via Toledo |
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| Picturesque side street |
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| Old walkway...modern graffiti |
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| ...and there was always gelato and sorbet! |
Naples is a city that is a bit rough around
the edges yet has an appealing charm at the same time. It was the one stop that had the most
graffiti and garbage-strewn alleys of any place we had seen. It was noisy and smoky with exhaust from cars
and wildly careening scooters. Walk
lights were just a suggestion. Locals
simply stepped into the street at any break in traffic…or even if there was no
break! Somehow, we did not see anyone
get hit but it always seemed like it could happen at any moment. Sometimes we just followed the lead of the crowd
and other times we held back until the actual walk light came on.
We enjoyed our time in Naples. It is always an adventure to explore a place
that you have never been to before and to enjoy the full experience of a place
without pretension or artifice. There is
no perfection when traveling and every place has something new to teach
me. I am a willing student!!
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