Help me feel better about Naples

[flitwit99]

We are going to Naples in a few weeks, mainly so we can visit Pompeii and the like. We are staying for 4 nights. I had thought we might stay somewhere else but dh has booked Naples. He said it was fine when he stayed there in 1988.
Everyone I have spoken to says Naples is horrible, dangerous, unsafe. We will have 3 kids with us, does that mean people will be nicer to us or be more likely to pickpocket us?
I have travelled all over the world and have never been this paranoid but I honestly have not heard anyone say a single good thing about Naples. Surely it can't be that bad? We'll be out and about most of the day but it sounds like there are lots of areas you wouldn't want to be in in the evenings.
Please help me feel better.

I’m trying to remember our hotel. It was called The Romeo or Romeo hotel or something equally cheesy but was lovely.
I have felt more unsafe in Calais.

Been going to Naples since mid 60s as a child. Just sorting through mymrecenlty departed ma’s stuff and yes it has changed hugely but not at all as much as eg Barcelona or Cadiz other port cities. Went last year and still felt different, not identikit Euro city breakoynlove it for that. Wonderful food. Have fun.

We loved it - ate along the strip near Castel Ovo each evening and had a wonderful time
the drivers are mental but the people were lovely

Well all the posters saying how great it is have made me want to go. I have just been looking at Airbnb and hotels.

Maybe we will just go for 2 or 3 days just in case we feel unsafe although I don't honestly think that is likely.

I know people who think London feels unsafe. I lived there for 40 years and now go back at least once a month and have never ever felt unsafe in any area in London

Went to Naples a couple of times a few year ago and it was fine. We weren’t staying so weren’t out and about at night, but did lots of walking about - getting rather lost on occasion. It is lively and can be a bit grotty but didn’t feel unsafe.

Having said that I would take precautions, I decided not to take pictures so I didn’t have my ( big and expensive) camera on show. Keep your belongings in a tightly fastened shoulder bag and watch for sometimes very young pick pockets.

Great pizza though and the archeological museum is fab!

I've been to Naples twice and absolutely loved it. It's not glossy and something like out of La Dolce Vita movie but it's beautiful in it's faded grandeur, layers of history spanning thousands of years and it's just so alive. Just keep your twits about you, it's not any worse than London!

I really think you will miss out if you head out of the city everyday, look up a local tour guide through trip advisor and book them for one day. Make sure to walk through Spaccanapoli.

There are always people rushing in to say how much they hated Naples but it always turns out they didn't head out far from the main train station or had unrealistic expectations. FWIW I've been scammed by the taxi drivers in Sorrento and Milan (yeah I know), it's just unfortunately part of the travel in Italy. And Sorrento is dull, Brits on Hols type of place.

@flitfit99

I just had a look for the Foreign Office says about the travel to Italy. There is a lot of advice, taking care in Rome, Milan and Venice comes up a lot, Naples is only mentioned once - where the advice is to be careful with your luggage when coming out of the train and ferries.

I wish you'd take on board all the positive comments here.

I live in the south of Italy. Naples is no more dangerous than any big cosmopolitan city.
I was mugged in Florence and Manchester, had a knife pulled on me in Manchester, and was groped physically twice, in different places in the middle of Brussels. One of which was a crowded station platform and everyone pretended not to see.
The only thing to happen to me in Naples was a nice man carried my suitcase from the station to the hotel opposite.
Yes, it's dirty in some areas.
So is most of Italy.
Yes there is organised crime as in most of Italy. Unlikely to affect tourists but is the reason for the rubbish on the streets (it's complicated but basically rubbish disposal and landfills etc are all in the hands of organised crime groups)
Bits of it remind me of Paris. Big wide boulevards.
Most of our school trips go to Naples at least once. It's not Damascus.

I haven't been to Sorrento in years, but agree with pp's comments. Blackpool by the med, loads of Brit pubs with those plastic menus showing chips and advertising the Arsenal matches.
My Mum had been in the 60s and was horrified by what it's become.

I've never been but my son went there on a school trip and loved every second. Plenty to see and do.

This thread has awakened a desire to go to Naples, it sounds ace!

I was in Sorrento about 18 months ago and certainly wasn’t anything like Blackpool, I didn’t see one British pub and we were there for two weeks, it was a base for visiting other places. If anything it was a little subdued, apart from the chaos of the narrow side street markets. We had a lovely hotel with a walkway out to sea and ate out most evenings. The one restaurant we were not keen on was the foreigners club, only went there as my parents used to visit it years ago.

I went 8 years ago and loved it

Definitely go to Pompeii and Herculaneum and the Vesuvius - but also get the ferry to Capri

I really really loved Capri

The catacombs and the 'bill clinton' pizza place were also good in actual naples.

it is dirty
it has beggars and pickpockets, but so does Florence and Rome and every other place in Italy...

just be aware of your bags and pockets and stuff don't act all touristy

I am going , for the second time, this summer. Doing 3 nights and then onto other places. I’m quite excited. Have done versuvias and small part of Pompei, looking forward to doing the rest .

@hooleywhipper - Don't miss the underground Naples tour and the museum.

Same as Rome, really. Which I also love love love.

The advice is to have your wits about you with your handbag but I never felt at risk, so just enjoy beautiful Italy.

I’m a 40yo old female and spent 4 days there last year. Before I went someone told me I was mad, due to it’s reputation. I loved it! Keep your wits about you in terms of keeping money and valuables in a safe place, wear a cross body bag and I found that keeping to the side of the streets made me less concerned about a bag snatch. A wonderfully vibrant, if shabby city. The people are friendly, the sights, sounds and food are awesome and you can just wander for hours. There’s a constant noise from the mopeds but I loved how you could just cross a street without fear of being run over as they’re so used to stopping quickly!

Well we are in Naples right now. Been here 3 days, leaving tomorrow.
I haven't felt unsafe or threatened at all but I do find it very stressful. The streets all look the same, I can't seem to get my bearings at all. I keep thinking that just round the corner I'll find some big open centre but there doesn't seem to be a centre at all. So much of it looks like a building site. There is traffic everywhere. I have no idea whether we should just step out into the road or wait. And the noise, it never stops. We've got 3 kids with us, one is only 5 and one is very impulsive so I find keeping track of them really hard. I will breathe a big sigh of relief when we are all on the plane back home tomorrow and no-one has been run over by a moped.
Food is lovely though, views are lovely, Pompeii was easy to get to, Capri was lovely. But the city itself is way too stressful for me. I can see why other people love it though. I'm glad we've been but I won't be back any time soon.

I am going to Naples next week, how much are the taxis roughly from the airport? I've just checked and it says 80euro one way for a 22 minute journey!

Having been to both Barcelona and Naples, I can honestly say I love Barcelona. It's nothing like Naples, which I wouldn't chose to visit again. I didn't feel unsafe as such, and I also used thr train station, but I just didn't find it that nice a place in comparison to many other locations you could stay at instead,

I certainly wouldn't consider it a holiday destination.

@Bluntness100 I loved Barcelona too, it was great. Did you visit any of the sites?

@Bluntness100 I mean, did you visit any of the sites in Naples?