I have questions about going to Naples

[3sthemagicnumber]

Considering booking a short break for myself and my 17yr old DD next Easter. I have always wanted to go to Naples, and she is massively into ancient history, so it's high on our list. Second-guessing myself a bit because of a conversation with DS' 19 yr old girlfriend, who says she felt really unsafe there. So, if you've been, was that your experience? Would you recommend Naples as a short-break (and if you would, give me tips)? Info about trips to Pompeii especially welcome (would prefer not to hire a car, but I could do).
Despite how this might read, I'm a pretty competent and confident traveller, but DD is quite anxious and I want her to have a nice time. Berlin is our other option (I know it pretty well and could design a very happy itinerary for the two of us, but we are tempted by Naples).

Herculaneum was much more interesting than Pompeii - a lot of the items from Pompeii have been taken to the museum. The circumvesuviana is a fab train that takes you from Naples and stops at Pompeii, Herculaneum and ends in Sorrento. Lovely part of the world!

Wow, so many responses so quickly. Thank you all so much.
I think we will most likely go for it - great to hear how easy the train makes visiting the sights - and I've been to plenty of cities (including several in India) as a lone female traveller. I'm not sure why I've let the nerves get to me a bit about this one!
So, if you're still here - good areas/places to stay (probably in Naples itself). I'm thinking four nights - day trip to Pompeii, day trip to Herculaneum, day trip to Ischia, day in Naples - sounds like maybe five nights, doesn't it?!

Good point. I mean Easter in the school-holidays sense, so I think we'd avoid the actual Easter weekend.

Catacombs of San Genaro are well worth a visit, very centrally located. I did that then went for pizza at Sorbillo just up the street, with a spritz from a nearby cocktail cart while I waited in the queue outside.

It's a shit hole, avoid it and do day trips. I visited many years ago with a girlfriend and were harassed from the moment we arrived. Didn't feel safe, were followed, constantly propositioned by sleezy men and the place is filthy & graffiti everywhere. Apologies to anyone from Naples, just my personal experience.

I loved the Sorbillo pizza ☺️

I think stations are generally awful aren’t they!

Possibly. hour and a half train, couple of hours at pompei then the same back. Our entrance time at Pompei is 1pm so not sure getting a train at ten constitutes a long day? It’s all relative though, I’ve gone to London from Preston for a meeting at half four in the afternoon and come back the same night so it’s not as bad as that , or submitting Mount Kilimanjaro!

A couple of hours is nothing at Pompeii though. It’s a huge site.

Naples is fabulous but very full on! I found it very different to the many other places I have been to in Italy. The history is fabulous though (fellow history buff here) as is the food!

I went with my then-18yo dd and I will say that the open meeting at her was off the scale. I spent quite a lot of time glaring at men.

The railway to Sorrento and Pompei that PP’s have described is, in my experience, extremely unreliable and prone to breakdowns. It is what I can only describe as rickety. A good alternative is the ferry - fast and reliable with terrific views of Vesuvius and the bay.

Definitely don’t hire a car - the driving is absolutely crazy!

I went with DH and 2 teen ds in Feb half term this year. We stayed in Sorrento and had a day in Pompei, a day in herculaneum/climbed vesuvius, a bus trip along the Amalfi coast. We also had about three hours in Naples on the day we left.
It all felt safe enough, the very touristy roads in Naples were very busy even in Feb and though I am glad we experienced it i wouldnt have wanted to be in Naples itself for much longer it was too busy and noisy for me.
The climb up vesuvius was the highlight for me. Best to go on a clear day. I preferred Pompeii to Herculaneum
Sorrento was a good base, we stayed on the edge of the town centre so it was handy for the train/bus station.

Agree that the train from Sorrento to pompeii is old and slow with endless stops. Was reliable for us though.

Spent a week in Naples with my teenagers. It's a city - and did not feel any different there than in any other regular city. (Phones get stolen in London on a regular basis, etc)
We wandered around, watched people, sat in cafes, etc.
Pompei is easy to get to by local train - no need to get a car. It is busy - so we got ourselves a guide and it was money well spent.
Easter will probably be difficult as very busy. We went in October half term and it was great.

I’m going Tomorrow, it’s gritty and lively but I’ve never felt unsafe there.
we are staying in an apartment and will use the train and ferry to get about.

Yeah I did a guide at Pompeii too which I will say was totally worth it. I then had a few hours after to wander on my own. You just make it known that you’d like a tour and when enough English speaking people have shown up, you just split the cost. Think I paid €20 and there were six of us.

Definitely 5 nights OP if you're going to ischia. Do your research for Ischia though - not all the spas are open all year round. For the places you want to see, either Sorrento or Naples would be good. Both are on the circumvesuviana, which is the train line that starts in Naples. Sorrento is gorgeous, very safe and very geared to tourists. Some fabulous restaurants, including some with live music, very charming and welcoming people.

Naples, also, has many charming and welcoming people. It's a city in the rough, with a chequered past built literally on many layers - I don't know how else to describe it, but people literally live in these many layers, so you look at the buildings and there's different things going on on each floor, and lots of different floors, and each building is on a different level as you go up and down the hill. All human life is there, but seems impenetrable at first glance, it's so complex! But if you take your time and talk to people, even with a little bit of Italian language, you can find your understanding slowly start to build, and that is when you start to become charmed by and even fascinated by Naples.

Oh and for the pp mentioning staying in Ercolano and Salerno, I would advise against this. Ercolano Is kind of a dormitory town with disaffected yoot in prevalence and Salerno is a big ugly port with all the drug/vagrancy/prostitution problems you would expect of a southern port but none of the charm or character of Naples. Would you go on holiday to Grimsby? No? Then don't go to Salerno either.

We stayed in Sorrento to see Herculaneum & Pompeii, much nicer than Naples.

https://www.booking.com/hotel/it/villa-flavia.en-gb.html?label=santagnello-mIg8xKvekHtUecHQvaM8pwSM538122548316%3Apl%3Ata%3Ap1%3Ap2%3Aac%3Aap%3Aneg%3Afi%3Atikwd-10776911704%3Alp9193398%3Ali%3Adem%3Adm%3Appccp%3DUmFuZG9tSVYkc2RlIyh9YasQqy722txiHYUINjZjDPc&sid=8b877b05e79578ef5111dbeeebc946d7&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI89vzrIWBkAMVP5ZQBh366QC-EAAYASAAEgKf-fD_BwE&aid=375802&ucfs=1&arphpl=1&dest_id=-128389&dest_type=city&group_adults=2&req_adults=2&no_rooms=1&group_children=0&req_children=0&hpos=25&hapos=25&sr_order=popularity&nflt=hotelfacility%3D433&srpvid=831e7d0c717d053b&srepoch=1759254538

we stayed here in Sant agnello. It’s one train stop away from Sorrento which we loved for an evening out. It was really easy to get the train from here to Pompeii.
Sant Agnello has more of a small town feel to it with great amenities.
From Sorrento you we also continued down the Amalfi coast to Capri by boat.

@3sthemagicnumber I’m going later this year. I’ve booked a tour from Naples to Pompeii & Herculaneum. I’ll DM you the link. Did loads of research where to stay, depending on when you’re looking to book, I can let you know if it’s any good, when we get back!
Staying in Centro Storico, near the duomo.
I’m really looking forward to it!

We were also in Sant'Agnello last year and had a day in Naples. I'd been for a day once before, about twenty years ago, and I'd say you can see the beginnings of gentrification in it now. Or at least it caters to tourists a bit more than it did then – you'll see street folk and tourist stalls out in Spaccanapoli, which I don't remember from last time. The area round the station is a bit scummy still (though the station itself is new) but maybe not so different to Rome. But there are other parts like Vomero which are quite elegant.

The thing I'd say about Naples is that it can take you by surprise in a way that could make you feel unsafe – like occasionally you might take a random turn off a busy spot and find yourself in a deserted dead end, which feels really disorientating. The grittier parts of central Paris, like Pigalle, might be a good comparison.

Finally, Pompei is absolutely incredible. There's nowhere like it for an immersive experience. You can easily spend a whole day there.

Couple of hours at Pompeii means you aren't actually going to see very much at all but I guess it gives you a flavour as to whether you want to go back another time.

appear to have replied to wrong post - was responding to @TorroFerney

Sorry for the typo. It should say “open leering”. No idea where the meeting came from!

Salerno is a good shout!

I’ve just got back from a week in Salarno (3 nights)and Naples. Both were fantastic. Salarno is lovely with great beaches and the catherdral is stunning. Naples is chaotic, fascinating and loud - the mopeds/scooters constantly beep their horns. I went with a friend (both in our 50s) and his mum (81) and his neice (19).
we did day trips to Pompeii and Herculaneum, both fascinating. The skeletons at Herculaneum are a very sad scene……waiting for the boat that arrived too late.
we spent 8hrs at Pompeii and 4 at Herculaneum. Trains to both from Naples Garibaldi.
Trains are excellent once you find which operator serves the place you’re going to! I think there’s 7 operators.
So cheap too. My friend and I travelled from Naples to Ercolano for £10 return, both of us. It was about 40 mins. In London /SE that journey costs me £18 single. The metro is 1.50 euro.
I spent quite some time in India in the 90s and I said to my friend, who I’d been in India with, that Naples did remind me of India - the chaos and noise.
Oh, and the adoration for Maradonna is unreal!