This post is intended to be more of an informational/technical guide for study abroad students (and other basic travellers) who want to visit Naples from Rome. In case you've landed on this page from another land, you should note that I've already detailed my weekend trip there with three separate, photo-laden entries: Naples, Ercolano/Herculaneum, and Pompeii. Feel free to take a look over there if you want to read more about my actual experience; otherwise, here we go!
Disclaimer: I'm not being paid or compensated in any way by anyone for this blog post. If you found it helpful, feel free to donate to my GoFundMe page to help fund more travels around Italy so I can write more informative posts. :)
HOW TO GET TO NAPLES FROM ROME
The most cost-effective and convenient way to travel to Naples from Rome is by train, from Termini station. Termini train station is one of two available in Rome (the other is Tiburtina) and is easily accessible via the Metro. (The Rome metro has only two lines, Linea A and Linea B; Termini is on Linea A.) Metro tickets are 1.50 Euro from anywhere to anywhere, per single trip.
Our group booked our one-way departing train tickets through Trenitalia's English website for 19 Euro each a few days prior. These were the cheapest available for the time we wanted to go: 6:26 AM on a Saturday. It's perfectly possible to just show up to the station and buy your tickets from the kiosks there shortly before departure, and by doing so you may be able to get an even cheaper fare. However, we wanted the guarantee. (Most of us didn't book return tickets for the exact opposite reason--we wanted to leave the trip open ended in case we wanted to stay another night. Those who booked their return in advance paid 26 Euro; those who bought at kiosks in the Napoli Centrale station for a return train at the same time paid 11 Euro.) You can pay online on Trenitalia using a credit card.
Note: make sure to check the "strike schedules" for Trenitalia before you book--transit employees in Italy strike regularly, and you don't want to find yourself stranded. We used this site.
Try to arrive to Termini about 20 minutes before you train departs. When you're standing in the station staring up open-mouthed at the departure board trying to figure out which platform your train is leaving from, DO NOT TRY AND DIVINE THIS INFORMATION BY USING THE FINAL DESTINATION. That means don't look for trains based on "Napoli Centrale", even though that's what it might say on your ticket. Chances are, your train has another final destination. Look for the departure TIME and the TRAIN NUMBER, and go to that platform. Also listen for the departure announcements on the overhead speakers, which come in both Italian and English. Our ride on an Intercity train took about 2.5 hours with some pretty views along the way (once the sun came up).
WHERE TO STAY IN NAPLES
Our accommodation of choice was the most highly-rated hostel in the city, called Hostel of the Sun. You can book directly on their website, or use Hostel World to read reviews and book through them. If you book directly through their website they'll charge you a 1 Euro reservation fee, and you pay the rest when you check out after your stay. The cheapest rooms came in at only 16 Euro per night (for an 8 bed mixed dorm), plus free breakfast and WiFi. It was a STEAL, and the staff was super friendly and helpful, assisting us with all kinds of insider information and tips for planning our sightseeing. I'd absolutely stay here again. In your booking confirmation e-mail they'll give very helpful directions on how to get to their building from the Napoli Centrale train station. This involves exiting Napoli Centrale and walking across the street to the Metro, where you will buy a metro ticket for 1 Euro from a ticket agent and travel one stop (getting off at Universita), walking a few more blocks to the hostel.
Once you're checked in, if your room isn't yet available (check in is at noon, check out at 10:30 AM) the staff will allow you to leave your belongings in a storage closet just off the kitchen while you go exploring. Lockers with locks on them are only available in the rooms themselves, so I'd recommend you take your valuables with you or better yet, don't bring them to Naples at all. Since we were a large group, most of us locked up our individual bags with combination locks on the zippers and then used a bike lock to string all 9 bags together. There was no reason to expect that anything would go missing in the hostel; this is just good standard behaviour.
WHERE TO EAT THE BEST PIZZA IN NAPLES
During our stay in Naples we ate at three different restaurants, only two of which I will recommend. The first is the famous L'Antica Pizzeria da Michele--yes, the same one in Eat, Pray, Love.
The second place that I'd recommend, even more so than Da Michele, is a nice place right next to the Universita metro stop called Il Pomodorino. Best pizza on the PLANET. For a more in-depth review of our experiences stuffing our faces at both restaurants, check out my Naples post.
Pizza at Il Pomodorino
WHERE TO FIND THE BEST COFFEE IN NAPLES
Since you're doing your research for this trip, you might have also found out that Napoli is known for coffee just as much as it is pizza. We stumbled onto Caffe Ciorfito where I enjoyed the best cappuccino I've had in my entire life--and believe me, I've drunk a LOT of coffee.
If coffee is not your thing but you still need to satisfy a sweet tooth, grab a "baba" (pronounced bah-BAH) from any coffee shop or bakery. It's basically a white cake (close to Angel Food cake) soaked in rum. It's delicious.
HOW TO GET TO MOUNT VESUVIUS FROM NAPLES
To get to Mount Vesuvius (and Herculaneum, called "Ercolano" in Italian, and Pompeii itself) you have to take a specific train called the Circumvesuviana that leaves from the main Napoli Centrale train station. Follow the signs in the train station to the ticket office, and make sure you speak to an actual ticket agent to confirm you're buying the right tickets. Typically it's cheaper to buy just a one way ticket and buy your return later. I believe we paid 2.50 Euro to get to Ercolano, which is the same stop you get off at for Mt. Vesuvius. Keep a sharp eye on your pockets and purses on the train--there are pickpockets watching.
So, you want to hike up Mount Vesuvius? Good luck. The summit is only open when the weather is fine, which it was not for our visit. It costs 8 Euro to get in and hike the 30 minutes to the crater. Regrettably, as I mentioned it wasn't open and so we couldn't have the full experience. However, we had elected to hire a taxi company just outside the Ercolano train station (as you exit the station, turn left and you'll see the office at the end of the courtyard; otherwise there are usually drivers standing around right outside the exit waiting to entice visitors) to drive us up the mountain as far as we could go, for 10 Euro a head roundtrip. It was a 20 minute winding drive and interesting with some nice views, but I definitely wouldn't do it again for the price. How to avoid that disappointment? ASK THE TAXI DRIVER IF THE SUMMIT IS OPEN BEFORE YOU COMMIT. If it's open, they'll say so, because then they're basically ensured your business. If it's not open, they will waffle about not knowing, not being sure, not being able to guarantee, etc, etc. Don't fall for it (like I did). You can see photos of the view from the top in my Ercolano post and save yourself the 10 Euro.
HOW TO VISIT ERCOLANO/HERCULANEUM
Did you know that most museums and archeological sites in Italy are free to enter on the first Sunday of every month? Yup! So if you can arrange your visit around then, great. Otherwise, it's a 20 Euro combination ticket to get into both Ercolano AND Pompeii, along with a few other smaller sites I believe. (If I'm remembering correctly it's 11 or 12 Euro to enter just the one or the other separately.) Tickets are available for purchase at the entrance. You can walk to the entrance gate of Ercolano from the train station, though we struck a deal with our erstwhile Vesuvius cab driver to take us directly there from Vesuvius and then onwards to Pompeii for an extra 5 Euro a head because were were running out of daylight. I would suggest that you spring for the audio guide to Ercolano; we didn't, and wished we had. Make sure to take advantage of the fact that you can explore inside the buildings themselves; you'll see the most beautiful frescoes and mosaics that way. (Photos to entice you found here!)
HOW TO VISIT POMPEII
Pompeii and Ercolano are not right next to each other; you'll have to either take a cab or hop back onto the Circumvesuviana to get there. Make sure to grab a map at the ticket office because the place is huge, and download the free 19 minute Rick Steves Audio Europe tour on your phone before you go to save on an audio guide. Photos and more information about our experience exploring Pompeii found here.
And that about wraps it up, ragazzi! If you have any questions, leave it in the comments and I'll do my best to answer. Ciao!
Disclaimer: Please note that all photos are mine, and are not to be used for any purpose, commercial or otherwise, without my express written consent.
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