do it yourself... mount vesuvius

[butty]

Wanting to go to Mount Vesuvius independantly this summer, any tips and ideas please, ie buses, taxis at port side willing to take you.

[Eileen G]

In May we hiked up Mt. Vesuvius. We took the bus to the train and the train to Ercolono scavi station. We got off the ship at 9:10 and walked out of the port area to the tobacco shop across the street and got a bus ticket. Took the # 1 bus to the train station. Caught the 10:09 train to Sorrento and got off at the Ercolano Scavi station. From there it was easy to get a van for 16.50 euros to the mountain. Once you leave the train station look to the left and you will see the Vesuvius shuttle. The van waits for 90 minutes for you to climb to the top, walk the rim, and climb down. The van dropped us off at 11:30 and we had until 1 to get back. We were up above the clouds. It was a little hazy but you could still see Naples OK. Up at the top are clean porta potties and several souvenir shops that sell cold drinks. The walk to the top is a bit strenuous so bring plenty of water and good shoes if you go there.

We took the train back to Naples and walked back to the ship down the Spaccanappli which is a pedestrian’s only street. It was a real challenge to find the Scappanapoli from the station since there is no direct street that connects it. We bought some pizza at a streetside pizza stand and some gelato. Then headed back to the ship. Naples is not a very clean city. There is a lot of traffic and it was quite an experience navigating through her streets.

[wildcruisers]

We picked up a taxi at the port and there are loads of excited and rather pushy taxi drivers waiting to take you. We chose one with good English and rather less pushy and he drove us around for the day for 200 euros which, as there were five of us, was much better value than booking cruise excursions. He was excellent, very knowledgeable about his country and very trustworthy - we left all our belongings in his taxi while we climbed Mount Vesuvius. It was well worth while, the kids (teenagers) loved it and the view was amazing from the top. There's a shop at two places on the way up selling drinks and postcards/souvenirs made from lava rock. We did succumb and buy a lava rock ornament because my son thought it was rather cool to buy it at the top of a volcano. As previously said, do take good shoes, it's like walking in sand as it's ash all the way so it's tough on the calf muscles and very dusty. I saw a few people in sandals and they spent their whole time taking them off and shaking out the ash/stones. The taxi driver then took us to Pompeii which was also superb and collected us when done, going on then to Sorrento which was very sweet.

[2+3Cruisers]

Wildcruisers- I'm intrigued by your post. We are sailing in September and will be in Naples 7-6. We want to do Pompeii and Sorrento and hoping on the way back to have time to do Mt. Vesuvius as well. We are planning on using the trains for transportation. We were hoping to leave the schedule a little flexible since we're not sure how long we will feel the desire to stay at Pompeii and Sorrento. I'm glad to hear you were able to fit all three in one day. Can I ask about how long you were at each spot? Do you think we could do this in the different order. I was thinking Mt. Vesuvius last so we wouldn't be so dusty in Sorrento. Also thinking I would like to get that much closer back to port rather than being at the farthest point at the end of the day. I would appreciate your thoughts (or others!) on this.