Knowledge of Italy for short break

G-G

G-G

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Looking to go to be near Pompeii but not stay there. A family member went a few years ago to Sorrento and got the train there and said about 45 minutes away. Is that the 'best' place to stay, with things there to see and do, and not be too far from Pompeii. I was thinking Naples was about as far but my geography a bit hazy. Any ideas welcome. Thanks.
 
Naples is a hell hole.

I don't know about places to stay but if you get the chance take an 'official' guided tour of either Capri or Ischia. The latter is quieter but, for me, no less charming.

The last time we were in Sorrento (October 2018?) who was sitting at the table next to us for lunch in a modest pizzeria? None other than Andy Stewart.

(Not of 'Donald Where's Yer Troosers?' fame but of Big Buck's et al fame.
 
Try the Tripadvisor forum. There are some great people on there who will give you proper information as well as lots of local stuff as many are locals themselves. I have used it before planning a trip and it’s always been my go to now.
 
G-G said:
Looking to go to be near Pompeii but not stay there. A family member went a few years ago to Sorrento and got the train there and said about 45 minutes away. Is that the 'best' place to stay, with things there to see and do, and not be too far from Pompeii. I was thinking Naples was about as far but my geography a bit hazy. Any ideas welcome. Thanks.
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I’ve no idea why you’d want to stay near Pompeii G-G. It’s a fascinating visit but is literally right on the doorstep of Naples, which as DO says, is a real dump. Sorrento is a good 45-60 minutes away by car and much of it single lane, albeit with excellent views.

The train between the two (which stops at Pompeii) is erm… interesting and absolutely rife with pick pockets.

Sorrento is lovely and offers easy excursion access to Capri, Positano, Amalfi etc. The only minor problem with staying in Sorrento (aside from cost of hotels) is that you literally travel straight past Pompeii to get there and then spend an hour each way going to visit it from Sorrento later in your break.

I cheated and arranged for a driver to pick us up from Naples airport, drive us to Sorrento but stop at Pompeii on the way and him to wait in the car with our cases while we did the 4 (?) hour tour of Pompeii, then continue on in the car to Sorrento afterwards. It’s a great way to do it and saves practically a whole day of travelling but of course is more expensive than other ways.
 
We went to Paestum 50 years ago when it was just a couple of Greek temples in a field, me, my then boyfriend and lots of lizards.. I assume there’s a visitor centre there now. We used to drive round Europe in a Morris 1000 Traveller every summer.We just came upon Paestum by accident because we saw it on the map and thought it sounded Greek.. I still have a jar full of tiny pieces of sea glass that I collected whilst sitting on the beach at Positano. I don’t remember much about Naples other than there were lots of traffic jams and I think you had to watch that nobody stole things from our car while you were sat in one. Are there interesting catacombs in Naples? (I like that sort of stuff….) I don’t remember much about Pompei so must have been underwhelmed by it. I told my daughter that and she’s never forgiven me because on a holiday to the area she skipped Pompei and everyone told her it was the most amazing place they’d ever been to. What I do remember is seeing a funeral there that was carriage upon carriage pulled by beautiful black horses with plumes on their heads. We often used to sleep in the car and were often woken up by the police asking for our passports. My favourite place is probably still Venice.
 
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Desert Orchid said:
Naples is a hell hole.

I don't know about places to stay but if you get the chance take an 'official' guided tour of either Capri or Ischia. The latter is quieter but, for me, no less charming.

The last time we were in Sorrento (October 2018?) who was sitting at the table next to us for lunch in a modest pizzeria? None other than Andy Stewart.

(Not of 'Donald Where's Yer Troosers?' fame but of Big Buck's et al fame.
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Thanks - my Mum always wanted to go to Capri as remembers, must have been Pathe News reel I guess, how fantastic it looked when Gracie Fields was 'exiled' there being married to an Italian at the time. I would like to go but I'm not good on boats.
Friend has already seen somewhere we could base ourselves, Pompeii a 11 Euro train ride away.

Was Andy Troosers still alive in 2018 anyway???? :)
 
wilsonl said:
I’ve no idea why you’d want to stay near Pompeii G-G. It’s a fascinating visit but is literally right on the doorstep of Naples, which as DO says, is a real dump. Sorrento is a good 45-60 minutes away by car and much of it single lane, albeit with excellent views.

The train between the two (which stops at Pompeii) is erm… interesting and absolutely rife with pick pockets.

Sorrento is lovely and offers easy excursion access to Capri, Positano, Amalfi etc. The only minor problem with staying in Sorrento (aside from cost of hotels) is that you literally travel straight past Pompeii to get there and then spend an hour each way going to visit it from Sorrento later in your break.

I cheated and arranged for a driver to pick us up from Naples airport, drive us to Sorrento but stop at Pompeii on the way and him to wait in the car with our cases while we did the 4 (?) hour tour of Pompeii, then continue on in the car to Sorrento afterwards. It’s a great way to do it and saves practically a whole day of travelling but of course is more expensive than other ways.
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Brother and sis in law went on the train when they were there and she thought service was good and good value and she's a critic of everywhere and penny wise. It's a trip for my birthday so pretty much I get to choose obviously with friend in mind. Was supposed to be going on safari but that may have to wait for next 'big' birthday if still around then!!
 
We took the children, then teenagers, on a grand tour using euro camp but also our own small tents. But often would use the train to go to big cities.Something that still bothers me is that we sometimes got the train from Orvieto but we couldn’t for someone reason, go into the cathedral. It’s still ‘unfinished business’ even though I probably wouldn’t have remembered much about it. What I used to love on the train journeys is that, in the morning the sunflowers in the fields would all be turned one way but on the return journey they would be facing the other way. It’s funny the things that you remember. My daughter said it was either the best holiday anyone had ever had or the worst: she couldn’t decide which! I’m really envious as I think my travelling days are well and truly over.
 
Someone on another forum has just mentioned a series on iplayer called Stanley Tucci’s Italy. Mainly centred around food by the sound of it but they mentioned the Amalie coast. I might check it out feeling the need now for a quick fix of Italy. I agree about Siena.
 
Pompeii on my bucket list, I've always wanted to go there. Florence I would like to go to as well possibly at some point but other places ahead of it on my list and holidays are extreme luxuries ever since I bought my mare in 2009. I really haven't had what I would call a proper holiday since.
 
Florence is beautiful and way ahead of Pisa in my opinion which is a bit grubby. Florence is all about elegance and art and is top of my places to visit. Rome I love too as around every corner, there’s something else and it just exists alongside the current city. So much of it I still want to see. Siena I have been to twice as well, the second time I went to the Palio which was on my bucket list and just incredible. I prefer Umbria to Tuscany as it’s less touristy and yet there are so many beautiful little towns to discover. Panicale for instance is stunning.

I have never done Pompeii or wished to particularly. Nor have I done the Amalfi coast. I have a hankering for Verona next. Milan was disappointing as it’s very industrial. I went to Sicily too and was underwhelmed but have since been told off by lots of people. The food was fabulous but I suppose I was expecting every town to have an incredible medieval centre like you find in mainland Italy but the Mafia presence mean that much of it is poor and just half built. I don’t know but for me, it didn’t grip me like I thought it would.
 
Are you staying in hotels or doing like I do now, Airbnb? So much cheaper and some great places to be found. Also reviews tend to be more genuine.
 
When we drove towards Pisa there were prostitutes by the side of the road. I’d told my daughter that they were very conservative in Italy and I’d been refused entry to a cathedral because my knees were exposed so she asked me why all those ladies were scantily clad. Not sure if things have changed. This was over 25 years ago. Strange the things about holidays that you remember. I had a copy of Bill Brysons book Neither Here Nor There and I spent most of the holiday saying, Bill says we have to go….
 
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