DIY Salerno

[mausie777]

Thinking of exploring the city of Salerno itself, any suggestions or ideas appreciated. :)

[Courier95]

There is a nice promenade for walks beside the sea. We visited the old quarter including the cathedral. Near the cathedral there is a small but excellent archaeological museum which has the added benefit of clean and free restrooms! It is possible to visit the castle ruins which overlook the city but the heat on the day we were there put us off doing this.

[Bobal]

I have to confess to a fondness for Salerno since my son lived there for a year and we visited a few times. It doesn't have 'big' attractions like many of the towns along the coast but is a charming and friendly town which we grew fond of. It's not a 'touristy' place and all the better for it.

 

The old town is lovely, with many side streets and attractive buildings. I would recommend strolling around there, visit the Duomo - which is a lovely building - and don't miss the Gardens of Minerva for a lovely peaceful spot with great views http://www.giardinodellaminerva.it/

 

The castle has amazing views over the city and you can catch a bus there or find a taxi to take you there http://www.ilcastellodiarechi.it/

 

A stroll along the seafront (lungomare) is really pleasant and you'll find plenty of nice cafes and restaurants.

 

Another very easy side trip from Salerno is to visit the village of Vietri which is the next village along the coast and famous for its ceramics. There is a tram from Salerno to Vietri but we actually walked between the two when we were there. The ship actually docks almost half way between the centre of Salerno and Vietri which is a pleasant little town with a nice beach and easily doable from Salerno.

Edited August 16, 2015 by Bobal

[AVAD]

Thanks for the info on Salerno. We are docking in Salerno next month and it is a completely new port for us. I haven't been able to find much info. We have been to Naples several times and seen the popular attractions in the area, so we are interested in Salerno or Vietri DIY.

Bobal said, "The ship actually docks almost half way between the centre of Salerno and Vietri", so does anyone know if both are walkable from where the ship docks or is there a shuttle bus? Is there a good beach within walking distance?

Thanks for any info.

[Bobal]

Bobal said, "The ship actually docks almost half way between the centre of Salerno and Vietri", so does anyone know if both are walkable from where the ship docks or is there a shuttle bus? Is there a good beach within walking distance?

Thanks for any info.

 

Unfortunately because of the nature of the port - large industrial port - you cannot walk out of the port but will need to get the port bus which drops you on the edge of town and away from Vietri. When we were last on a cruise they were building a new terminal which I believe is now finished. If you look on Googlemaps at Salerno this new area is called Piazza della Liberta. The port bus will drop you here. You can also see where the ship docks, in relation to Salerno town and Vietri. There is a public bus stop right outside which will take you to Vietri - the tourist information in the port building will tell you how to do it. The walk would take around 40 minutes.

 

Vietri itself has a big wide beach with facilities which could be combined with a visit to the town. The beach in Salerno is not nice.

 

It's also possible to get a ferry from Salerno to Amalfi and Positano, these run on a regular basis.

[suec12]

We are not docking in Salerno until 2016 - MAYBE the new terminal will be functional? But assuming things have not changed - I am thinking the port to catch the ferries is not the same as the construction port used for docking the big cruise ships now - how far to the ferry port from the port bus drop off? Thanks!

[Bobal]

We are not docking in Salerno until 2016 - MAYBE the new terminal will be functional? But assuming things have not changed - I am thinking the port to catch the ferries is not the same as the construction port used for docking the big cruise ships now - how far to the ferry port from the port bus drop off? Thanks!

 

You are correct that the port to catch the ferries is not the same. The best way to describe it is to suggest that you look on googlemaps and search for Salerno . The place where the port bus will drop you is by Piazza della Liberta. The place to catch the ferries is by Piazza Concordia. On googlemaps it is labelled 'Porto Turistico Masuccio Salernitano'. It's a 20 minute walk along a pleasant seafront - or you could probably catch a bus.

 

The port bus used to drop you right by Piazza Concordia, close to the ferry port and railway station but there has been big investment in creating this new area Piazza della Liberta which is aimed at cruise ship passengers. We met up with a friend from Salerno when we were recently in Naples and he said it's now open, although I think it's just a shopping area with some eating places and not of any cultural or historical interest.

[suec12]

Thank you Bobal, very helpful but honestly annoying. It seems like more and more different ports are intent on waylaying passengers than actually helping. Why do I have the thougt that if I asked a taxi driver to take me on a short ride to the ferry port, I would be baraged with offers for a day tour instead of a ride. I know, I know, everyone needs to make a buck or euro but after about 10 years of pleasant cruise experiences, I'm thinking of returning to slow travel on land.

[AVAD]

Thank you Bobal, very helpful but honestly annoying. It seems like more and more different ports are intent on waylaying passengers than actually helping. Why do I have the thougt that if I asked a taxi driver to take me on a short ride to the ferry port, I would be baraged with offers for a day tour instead of a ride. I know, I know, everyone needs to make a buck or euro but after about 10 years of pleasant cruise experiences, I'm thinking of returning to slow travel on land.

 

I could not agree with you more. Not only that, the cruise lines make it more and more difficult for DIY passengers because of the places the ships dock, needing shuttles everywhere. They do it it push their expensive shore excursions, I believe.

[jb12]

How is the weather in Salerno in the midOctober?

[Bobal]

It's difficult to say absolutely since October is the month when the weather starts to get mixed - could be glorious sunshine, could be rain. It will generally be pleasantly warm but cooler in the evenings - around 72 deg F/22 deg C. I was there a couple of years ago for my birthday which is mid-October and we had gorgeous sunny warm weather all weekend :)

[euro cruiser]

I could not agree with you more. Not only that, the cruise lines make it more and more difficult for DIY passengers because of the places the ships dock, needing shuttles everywhere. They do it it push their expensive shore excursions, I believe.

To be fair, once they choose a port the lines don't have a lot of influence over where they dock.

 

They do have a choice of Naples vs. Salerno in most cases (the exception would be if all berths in Naples are already accounted for) and Salerno is gaining popularity with cruise lines because it's less expensive for them to dock there. There is a tradeoff for them, however, as many experienced cruisers will avoid an itinerary that uses Salerno rather than Naples.