Castel Nuovo, from the Roof of the Renaissance
Oh Naples. It was our first time to Naples, and actually my first time to Italy. Thanks to the crazywebs (internet), if anything I had relatively low expectations for Naples.
You can’t possibly read the TripAdvisor forums without reading about how horrible the pickpockets are in Naples, particularly on the Circumvesuviana (the train from Naples to Pompeii, that continues all the way to Sorrento). Considering I dressed up as a pickpocket (don’t ask) in 3rd grade, I was almost disappointed that we didn’t see any potential pickpocketing action in Naples. Kidding.
You can’t possibly read the TripAdvisor forums without reading about how horrible the pickpockets are in Naples, particularly on the Circumvesuviana (the train from Naples to Pompeii, that continues all the way to Sorrento). Considering I dressed up as a pickpocket (don’t ask) in 3rd grade, I was almost disappointed that we didn’t see any potential pickpocketing action in Naples. Kidding.
First, I can see how when the Circumvesuviana trains are busy you could get into trouble and be pushed/crushed to the point where it’s easy for someone to get into a purse or pocket. Second, I’m sure tourists are probably targeted. They do stick out, and Italian women we saw on the train left their purses wide open and rummaged around in them constantly. Third, it might be worse during high season. But seriously, we saw no one that even eyed us in a way that made us feel uneasy; no one that even bothered or distracted a tourist on the train looking for an opportunity to use their sticky hands. We took the Circumvesuviana to both Pompeii and Herculaneum (stop at Ercolano-Scavi) and felt completely comfortable.
I am an err on the side of caution type person, and I did purchase one of the small Pacsafe bags to go to Naples (and for future trips), after the many stories of “I’m so careful and I’ve traveled the world and I got robbed in Naples!”. Was it needed for safety/security? Probably not. Did it work well as a bag? Yes. It was the perfect size for my camera, guide book, credit cards, and my trusty wet wipes. I would have been fine with the other bag (a compressible Patagonia crossbody), but the Pacsafe was nice to have. I did appreciate having the RFID pockets that I could just stick my credit cards in (and my passport when in transit, though I don’t carry that with me during the day). I’ll use it again for future trips because of its size and functionality.
Naples is a city. There are the drug addicts near the subway stations, there are homeless people asking for money/food, etc. I repeat, this is a city. I see the same things in my city, nearly every day. I mind my own business, smile if needed, don’t aggravate or escalate, and generally nothing happens. I think I’ve been able to put these issues in much more perspective after moving to a city myself.
Besides taking a cab from the airport, we walked everywhere within the cities, though their subway/metro seems to be user-friendly enough. I’m a big fan of walking in cities—you get to see so much more, you never know what you’ll find, and it’s good exercise (I also get motion-sickness, so there’s that...). If you plan on going to Pompeii or Herculaneum, I’d advise walking—albeit through a bit of a seedy area—to the main station (Napoli Centrale) instead of Garibaldi—because it’s easier to get a seat for the 40-or-so minute ride to the sites if you get on at the first station on the route. The main station is only about 5 minutes farther.
GET A MAP. If you’ve not gotten lost in Naples, you must have amazing internal GPS. Good for you. I do not. And I also hate being one of the tourists pulling out my trusty map in areas where I don’t think that’s a great idea…look like you know where you are going at all times, right? Yea well, we got lost. There are like a million streets that only exist for a few blocks. I’m not saying it’s worse than many other European cities (cities can’t all be built on a perfect grid, I know). The toughest part is that because of the million little streets, sometimes we had a hard time (in the dark) even locating ourselves on the map. But we made it back to our hotel, un-mugged and a bit exhausted.
I had the Eyewitness Travel book “Naples and the Amalfi Coast”. It had some useful tidbits on the city, as well as on Vesuvius, Herculaneum, Pompeii, and Capri. Their city map was excellent, once we could find ourselves (literally, not figuratively). Maybe one day I’ll get lost enough overseas to convince myself that paying for data on my iphone is a good idea. Until then…it’s part of the experience.
But as for the trash…and the dog poop…you’ve been warned. I was warned, and I’m glad. I’m a flip flops everywhere type person, and I was thrilled to have shoes, closed-toed as they were, at all times. If you can block out the trash and distracting graffiti, Naples is really a beautiful city, and one I wish we had a bit more time to explore. It certainly has character.
I am an err on the side of caution type person, and I did purchase one of the small Pacsafe bags to go to Naples (and for future trips), after the many stories of “I’m so careful and I’ve traveled the world and I got robbed in Naples!”. Was it needed for safety/security? Probably not. Did it work well as a bag? Yes. It was the perfect size for my camera, guide book, credit cards, and my trusty wet wipes. I would have been fine with the other bag (a compressible Patagonia crossbody), but the Pacsafe was nice to have. I did appreciate having the RFID pockets that I could just stick my credit cards in (and my passport when in transit, though I don’t carry that with me during the day). I’ll use it again for future trips because of its size and functionality.
Naples is a city. There are the drug addicts near the subway stations, there are homeless people asking for money/food, etc. I repeat, this is a city. I see the same things in my city, nearly every day. I mind my own business, smile if needed, don’t aggravate or escalate, and generally nothing happens. I think I’ve been able to put these issues in much more perspective after moving to a city myself.
Besides taking a cab from the airport, we walked everywhere within the cities, though their subway/metro seems to be user-friendly enough. I’m a big fan of walking in cities—you get to see so much more, you never know what you’ll find, and it’s good exercise (I also get motion-sickness, so there’s that...). If you plan on going to Pompeii or Herculaneum, I’d advise walking—albeit through a bit of a seedy area—to the main station (Napoli Centrale) instead of Garibaldi—because it’s easier to get a seat for the 40-or-so minute ride to the sites if you get on at the first station on the route. The main station is only about 5 minutes farther.
GET A MAP. If you’ve not gotten lost in Naples, you must have amazing internal GPS. Good for you. I do not. And I also hate being one of the tourists pulling out my trusty map in areas where I don’t think that’s a great idea…look like you know where you are going at all times, right? Yea well, we got lost. There are like a million streets that only exist for a few blocks. I’m not saying it’s worse than many other European cities (cities can’t all be built on a perfect grid, I know). The toughest part is that because of the million little streets, sometimes we had a hard time (in the dark) even locating ourselves on the map. But we made it back to our hotel, un-mugged and a bit exhausted.
I had the Eyewitness Travel book “Naples and the Amalfi Coast”. It had some useful tidbits on the city, as well as on Vesuvius, Herculaneum, Pompeii, and Capri. Their city map was excellent, once we could find ourselves (literally, not figuratively). Maybe one day I’ll get lost enough overseas to convince myself that paying for data on my iphone is a good idea. Until then…it’s part of the experience.
But as for the trash…and the dog poop…you’ve been warned. I was warned, and I’m glad. I’m a flip flops everywhere type person, and I was thrilled to have shoes, closed-toed as they were, at all times. If you can block out the trash and distracting graffiti, Naples is really a beautiful city, and one I wish we had a bit more time to explore. It certainly has character.
