Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
longer for Ischia. The ferries to Sicily take 8 to 10 hours. Most trips are overnight
journeys with sleeping cabins available for an additional
€
40 (another
€
10-
€
15
on top of that for a private berth).
In Naples, there is no shortage of boat companies that will ferry you from the
coast to the islands. Simply go to the ferry dock at Molo Beverello (the port of
Naples, across from the gloomy fortress), where you'll find ticket stands for all the
major companies at a fixed kiosk. You can browse the signs posted above each
company's name, listing the next departure and destinations. There's no need to
book ahead but you should be wary of anyone selling a service without tickets,
unless you actually see the boat, or better yet, are on it. Some so-called private
tour companies are just scams.
You can generally buy your tickets the same day you're traveling, but be sure
to check whether the boats are delayed by choppy seas or other unforeseen prob-
lems. The most efficient of the line is
Metro del Mare
(
%
199-600700; www.
metrodelmare.com),
which operates huge no-nonsense hydrofoils. What they offer
is more like a bus service on the water than a Mediterranean cruise, but they're
generally on time and will almost always get you where you're going.
GETTING AROUND
The best way to get around Naples is as a very alert, quick-footed pedestrian.
City
buses
(www.sita-on-line.it)
are almost always packed and do get stuck in traffic—
it's faster to walk. The city is adding to its already impressive underground system,
Metronapoli
(www.metro.na.it),
with new subway stops now under construction
(you won't miss them) at many of the city's major
piazze.
Until the new lines
are completed in 2008, the subway is not to be considered for travel in the city
center, although it is very efficient to get to outer areas like Capodimonte. The
funicular system
(
%
800-568866; www.metro.na.it),
also run by Metronapoli, is
useful to get to the top of the Vomero.
INTRODUCTORY TOURS
If you aren't able to trek around the cobblestone streets or climb the hills, consider
using the hop-on
City Sightseeing Napoli
(Piazza del Municipio;
%
081-
5517279, www.napoli.city-sightseeing.it;
€
18 adults,
€
9 child,
€
54 family).
These top-down bus tours have become standard in Italian cities since 2000. They
are a great way to see the city quickly, though they are limited to three routes, so
offbeat exploration is not an
option. Drivers speak English, and
you buy your ticket, which is valid
for 24 hours, from the attendant
on the bus. You can get off at any
stop and get back on when the bus
passes by again. The whole tour
takes about an hour and 15 min-
utes. All three routes have audio
narrations in eight languages, and
all leave from the busy Piazza Municipo behind the Castel Nuovo. Those who
have time for only one tour will probably want to hop aboard Route A buses as
they cover most of the city's highlights.
“
If Napoli, Italy's southern capi-
tal, was a man, it would be the 'bad
boy' of every woman's dreams.
”
—Francesca Di Meglio, Italian-
American journalist, 2004