Below is the itinerary we took to discover Naples. We arrived on a Saturday evening after missing a flight and started our journeys the next morning. We spent our mornings and afternoons at historic sites and our evenings wandering the streets and neighborhoods of Naples.
Naples is a walking city, we averaged about 9 miles a day walking. It is a loud city with traffic zooming all around you and scooters weaving in and out of narrow streets. A lot of people say that Naples is not safe. We felt safe everywhere we went. My husband even dropped his phone onto the subway tracks while getting onto the metro and didn’t notice as it slipped from his pocket. When we got off, we noticed his phone was missing. He went back to the station and it had fallen onto the tracks, set off a safety alarm, and been retrieved by the workmen there. It was unharmed, phew!
Day One
Castel Nuovo – A 13th Century Medieval Castle located on the Naples waterfront.
Palazzo Reale di Napoli – The Royal Palace of Naples was built in the 17th Century. There is a lot of art, tapestries, sculptures, some very cool clocks, and more to check out here. You can spend a couple of hours here as there is a lot to see.
Fountain of Neptune – Stop by and view the 1600s Fountain.
Galleria Umberto I – Shopping area of Naples with cool architecture and the tiled Zodiac signs on the floor.
Toledo Station – Metro station in Napoles with cool art design.
Day Two
Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Napoli – Naples National Archaeological Museum. This museum is awesome and houses artifacts from Pompeii and Herculaneum, Greek artifacts from BC, as well as a lot of other cool art. The basement also includes an Egyptian collection. There is a cafeteria on-site to eat at, which is convenient if you would like to spend all day at the museum.
Day Three
We could not figure out which city bus ran to Pompeii from Garabaldi station (travel mistakes happen). The police directed us to the bus station Centrale which is across the street from Garibaldi station, but when we got to the bus station there was not anyone to ask, so eventually, we happened upon the newsstand located outside Garibaldi station and asked there. He sold us two tickets on a private charter bus with various stops, called Tram Via. I don’t know if it would be better or worse to take the public bus, but the Tram Via buses did have air conditioning and padded seating and while we were there, were not crowded. Air conditioning is hard to come by, so that was a nice change.
Pompeii – We had previously been to Ostia Antica in Rome which is recommended by Rick Steves as an alternative to Pompeii. I had heard that Pompeii was crowded with tourists, and hot for most of the year without shade. I will say it is the most disappointing thing we did. Pompeii suffers from over-tourism. There are buses upon buses unloading people by the hundreds, some on guided tours and some not. It was near 90 degrees the day we were there in May and there is little shade to be found. There is not a spot to pop off for a quiet sit for a picnic lunch, only restaurants located outside the venue. The other thing that bothered me about Pompeii is the site has been excavated over the years by various entities and they’ve put up metal gates all over that look modern and detract from the original layout of Pompeii. My advice is to skip Pompeii, perhaps try Hurculaneum or visit Ostia Antica while in Rome. The other thing to note is that the artifacts are mostly housed in the Naples National Archaeological Museum, a great way to view the artifacts without the heat and crowds.
Tram Via – Tour Bus
Day Four
Reale Cappella del Tesoro di San Gennaro – Cathedral of Naples, Chapel of St. Januarius
Chiostro di Santa Chiara – Cloisters of Santa Chiara. This place is breathtakingly beautiful and a must on see on any visit to Naples. The courtyard is peaceful and there is also a museum and walkway over Roman bath ruins.
Napoli Sotterranea Percorso Ufficiale – Underground Naples + Roman Theater of Neapolis – Teatro Romano di Neapolis. This is a tour of the Naples Underground tunnels, once Roman aqueducts, that were used during WWII to shield the neighborhood from the constant bombing. Today there are also research projects underground, researching the humidity underground and its ability to keep plants hydrated. The final stop on this tour visits sections of an old Roman theatre and some of Naples’ famous nativity displays.
Day Five
The Mediterranean Sea – Lido Marechiaro. We had made a reservation with a company to go kayaking, but after we took two buses, and 45 minutes to get there, they canceled on us. So we asked around and found some guys that rented us two busted-looking kayaks for 10 Euro each, for all day. They didn’t come with lifejackets, which made me nervous, but we’re both really strong swimmers and we kayak at home. We had no idea what we were doing, but they pointed us in the direction of Gaiola Underwater Park and told us to stay within the buoys, and gave us his cell phone number. We also had dry sacks with us and snorkeling gear that we had brought from home and they lent us one dry sack.
We ended up finding a protected fishing area surrounded by floating barrels, which we thought was the underwater park, but it turned out to be an area for crab traps and such as one of the boaters told us. We also were able to beach ourselves in a little cove for a while to eat lunch with no one around. We did finally find the park, but the lifeguard on shore said we couldn’t get out of the kayaks and kept blowing the whistle at us. We weren’t sure where we could get out, so we saw some of the ruins from above the water. It was an adventure for sure. I’m happy that we did it, but it probably would have been better if we’d had a guided tour instead of us fumbling around in the Mediterranean.
It was incredibly beautiful. The one thing to note is that Lido Marechiaro is a cliff area and there are very steep staircases that lead down to various cove areas. If you choose the wrong one, you have to walk all the way back up to find the correct beach cove. Be prepared to burn off a lot of calories. You definitely need to be physically fit to be here. Lesson learned, go with the flow even when your tour gets canceled.
Day Six
Museo e Real Bosco di Capodimonte – Capodimonte Museum. Apparently, a lot of tourists to Naples never make it here. It’s on the top of a hill, above Naples with some great views. It’s also a big public park. The day we were there was not crowded but some former prime minister or something was visiting so there were hundreds of police, like the secret service everywhere we went and they weren’t very nice. Most of the time we had each gallery to ourselves, minus weird police staring at their phones. I would highly recommend a visit and there’s a lot of cool art to see, including Caravaggio and his followers. There is also a cafe on-site if you need a snack.
Day Seven
Pio Monte della Misericordia -Most people go to this chapel to see the Caravaggio. There is also a neat museum upstairs with some other interesting art. You purchase tickets across the street from the church.
Getting There
You can take the Alibus which is 5 Euro per person, and you can purchase tickets on the bus with cash or use an app to pre-purchase. You can also take a cab at the airport for around 21 Euro. On the evening we arrived at 10 PM all of the ATMs at the airport were out of money and we had no Euro. We were able to find a cab driver that took us to the ATM on the way to our hotel, so don’t panic if the ATMs are empty. We also took the Alibus to the airport to get our return to the USA covid tests the day before we left. There is a covid testing site at the airport that was fast and efficient and 15 Euro. They give you a piece of paper to board your departing flights back to the USA.
Where to Eat
We ate amazing food every night. Below were our three favorite restaurants. We are vegetarians and in Italy, you can eat pretty much anywhere. The three restaurants below we ate at more than once because they were all awesome.
Oven – This place is owned by a husband and wife team. It is on one of the main streets for evening passeggiata, hanging out, and having food. There are a couple of outdoor tables. You can order 4 different items for 10 Euro. The food is so good, try everything!
Un Sorriso Integrale Amico Bio – This restaurant is set back from the main street in a quiet courtyard. The ambiance is really nice. They have a large menu with a lot of choices. There is also a kitty that hangs around for food and pets.
Monsù – I saved the best for last. This place has rave reviews and for good reason. They have seafood, and meat, and can go vegetarian and vegan as well. Ask for the vegan Genovese! The staff is amazing. You should make reservations in advance, we used the FORK app to do that. We had wine, appetizers, two main dishes, and a lot of tiramisu for under $65.00! It’s just so good. Don’t miss it.
Street Food & Pizza – All of the above restaurants are located in a main walking area with tons of restaurants to choose from. There is also street food everywhere, we generally would walk in this area and grab street food for lunch, just asking which items were vegetarian (vegetariano). There is pizza everywhere. There are famous pizza places with lines out the door, but we found you could have great Naples pizza pretty much everywhere.
Where to Stay
We stayed at the Piazza Bovio 22 Guest House. We had a small room with a balcony and bathroom overlooking Piazza Bovio. The location was amazing. You can walk to everything and hop right on the metro as well. A short walk up the hill in the evening takes you into the thick of street food and amazing restaurants. The one thing is that the room key controls all the power, so when you’re not in the room there is no electricity to charge your devices or to keep the AC on. This was not a problem for us, but just something to keep in mind. It is the main traffic area and you will hear traffic noise. We used a white noise app on Spotify to sleep each night.
Final thoughts
We really enjoyed our time in Naples. Nothing we went to besides Pompeii had crowds. Masks mandates had only recently been lifted when we arrived (May 2022) and most places we went still preferred masks be worn, which was fine. While some Americans and Brits chose not to wear masks, we respected whatever the Italians were doing at each location. Food costs were far lower than in America. A meal at a restaurant of quality like Monsu would be hundreds of dollars in the states and was only 60 Euro. I used the pharmacy to purchase Allegra that I forgot to bring by just using Google translate and stating the items I needed. Ladies, you can get maxi pads and tampons at larger grocery stores or the pharmacy. I had packed a special dress to wear to churches that covered my shoulders and knees, but in Naples, many of the school children on field trips at the churches were wearing short shorts and half shirts, so there was not a dress code like in Rome. Also, we lost one of our bus tickets during travel, but there was no one checking bus tickets on any of the buses we were on, like in Rome. We also dropped off a load of laundry at a laundromat around the corner from our hotel for 30 euros, which just made it easier than hand-washing items. The other thing to keep in mind is that a lot of sites are closed on Tuesdays, so check the schedules ahead of time.
