Reviews of Naples, Italy
Reviewed by JackM Review Date: 06/10/2007
Rating: (6) Recommended
Mt. Vesuvius Hike and Pompeii
Adults: $129
"Embark on a guided hike up the slope of Mt. Vesuvius for an intimate glimpse of the towering crater before exploring the ancient city remains of Pompeii. The hike at Mt. Vesuvius includes approximately 100 minutes of walking across a half mile of uneven and rough uphill terrain.
Rob and Keith:
Experience of what we saw, a 10 - no way to describe things that are that old. However, it was very misrepresented.
Weather was horrible and hike description did not come close to what it was really like. We were ill prepared for the hike as were others in our group due to the lack of accurate information beforehand.
The climb was more severe and grueling, people were not prepared for the intensity of the hike. Very cold at the top of the mountain. Did not have proper clothes with us. Conditions were bad and not properly presented.
Not many people can say they looked down into a volcano like Vesuvius - very thrilling to do.
Lunch very good, served traditionally pizza from Naples and wine and drinks, appetizers and dessert.
Rained in Pompeii - tour poorly organized and we didn't have as much time as described. We were rushed through. Our guide did have a Whisper listening device so you could understand the guide. She was very good, like watching the Discovery Channel.
The beginning of our day had a 1 hour detour to a cameo factory that was not in the description which shortened our time in Pompeii. Did not like the detour.
Again, the experience itself is beyond words, but the execution was not great.
Pros:
Actually being at Mt. Vesuvius and PompeiiCons:
Hike not properly described in excursion info. WeatherReviewed by JackM Review Date: 06/10/2007
Rating: (8) Recommended
Pompeii, Sorrento and Capri
Adults $199 Children %159
Unearth the past during a walking tour of recently excavated Pompeii, stroll through the charming streets of Sorento, and journey to the scenic island of Capri for a visit to the spectacular Gardens of Augustus and Capri Town. Jet-foil boat ride to Capri can be bumpy.
Mari and Raleigh:
Supposed to go to Capri, but the swells last night were 18 feet, white caps all over this morning. Capri part was cancelled. Allowed more time in Sorrento.
Pottery, inlay wood and other items were wonderful.
Lunch was so so good! Yummy!
Bus to Pompeii - Shocked how large an area there is. Drizzled, rain, wind... but can't control those. Still had a great time. Great guide. In awe how long these buildings have been standing.
Cameo factory - overwhelming -- way too crowded. Purchased 2 that I am very happy with.
The Whispers with earbuds allowed the tour guides to talk to everyone thru the earpiece.. so guide doesn't have to yell. All tours should have that.
Pros:
Sorrento beautiful, Lunch, PompeiiCons:
Capri cancelled, Cameo factory packed!Reviewed by JackM Review Date: 06/10/2007
Rating: (5) Recommended
Pompeii, Sorrento and Capri
Adults $199 Children %159
Unearth the past during a walking tour of recently excavated Pompeii, stroll through the charming streets of Sorento, and journey to the scenic island of Capri for a visit to the spectacular Gardens of Augustus and Capri Town. Jet-foil boat ride to Capri can be bumpy.
SandyF:
Time in Pompeii was wonderful. Disappointing part was that when the guide described the section we were in, he then told us many things in a museum.
Pros:
Meal at lunchCons:
Capri cancelled due to weather, too many shopping stops.Reviewed by JackM Review Date: 06/10/2007
Rating: (10) Recommended
Private Car and Driver
(did tour with Glo and Gary)
(Carmine Ussano of Benvenuto Tours)
GaryF:
9 hours of pure bliss. Can't say enough good stuff about the entire day!
Pros:
—Cons:
—Reviewed by JackM Review Date: 06/10/2007
Rating: (7) Recommended
Pompeii, Sorrento and Capri
Adults $199 Children %159
Unearth the past during a walking tour of recently excavated Pompeii, stroll through the charming streets of Sorento, and journey to the scenic island of Capri for a visit to the spectacular Gardens of Augustus and Capri Town. Jet-foil boat ride to Capri can be bumpy.
Allison and Lauren (6 years old)
Did not get to Capri due to weather 🙁
Sorrento awesome. Enjoyed Pompeii. Awesome to stop at the Cameo factory.
Pros:
Extra shopping time in SorrentoCons:
Hydra Foil ride to SorrentoReviewed by JackM Review Date: 06/10/2007
Rating: (0) Recommended
Amalfi Coast Drive and Ruins of Pompeii
$145 Adults, $105 Children
Surrender to the picturesque beauty of the Amalfi Coast as you wind your way on a scenic drive to a local village before embarking on a walking tour of Pompeii. The Amalfi coast drive is narrow and winding. If you suffer from Motion Sickness or fear of heights, use caution.
Deb and Linda
We begin with a 2 hour drive along the coast in our ai c onditioned motor coach. After approximately 1 hour, we stopped at a wood working store that specializes in wood inlays. We had a brief lesson in how that is done and got a chance to use the restrooms!
Back on the bus for another hour..... this time we saw more and more of the beautiful Amalfi coast line. Just Magnificant! No words to describe. The roads were thisnarrow and many hair pin turns. Some folks did experience motion sickness, so do be prepared!!! It does mention this is the excursion description.
We encountered tons of traffic delays that unfortunately shortened our time at the various stops. Our tour guide, Gino, was outstanding!!!! He is an archiologist by trade and was extremely knowledgeable and funny!
Upon reaching either the village of Amalfi we had about 45 one hour to explore on our own. We used the time to visit the Cathedral of Amalfi. Built in the middle ages 839-1135AD. The crypt of St. Andrew is located here. This church, unlike the ones we visited in Palermo, had candles that could be lit. It was here I was able to honor my mother’s memory and light a candle for her – Linda joined me in a very special moment.
From here we went to a hotel for lunch. It was kinda strange at first, we weren’t sure if the buffet offered was appetizers or the main lunch. Each table had a bottle of water and bottle of wine. Very nice. The buffet consisted of salad, escarole (like Swiss Chard/spinach), pizza (no cheese LOL), small fried dough balls, fresh mozzarella (awesome), tomato salad, rolls and proscuito. Like I said, no one seemed quite sure if that was the appetizer or main entrée. Why no one asked, I have no idea LOL. So, I made a sandwich from the mozzarella and proscuito. It was quite good. Also, I asked for a bottle of red wine that was also quite good!
Soon the servers were clearing our plates and then we realized more food was to come. Each person received a plate with small penne pasta with red sauce and a most delicious spinach cannelloni.. I don’t think I have had one taste this good in many many years! For dessert – cake – hazelnuts or something..whatever it was tasty! Was also my splurge meal for the day!!!!
Back onboard the bus, we travel an hour to the ancient city of Pompeii which was buried by Mt. Vesuvius in 79 AD. I was getting very concerned at this point because the rain, once again started this time it was very grey and starting to come down. Our guide told us that if the rain got much harder our trip to Pompei would be cancelled. I was heartbroken, as this was one of my “must sees†for the whole trip. Fortunately, when we arrived it was only drizzle and off we went. Again, because of traffic problems, our one hour became 45 minutes…and then the rain really started to come down. So we had Pompeei in the rain for 40 minutes, which was much better than no Pompeii at all! I would like to revist Pompeii sometime. Spend a solid day or half day with the audio tour. Gino was awesome with his explanations….. we also had small headsets so that he talked to us thru them, which helped a great deal too!
Pompeii was lost for 1,600 years until it was accidentally discovered in 1748. At the time of the eruption, the town could have had some 20,000 inhabitants, and was located in an area in which Romans had their holiday villas.
Pros:
Amalfi Coast Drive, Pompeii ruinsCons:
Not enough time in Pompeii, rainReviewed by JackM Review Date: 06/10/2007
Rating: (10) Recommended
Amalfi Coast Drive and Ruins of Pompeii
$145 Adults, $105 Children
Surrender to the picturesque beauty of the Amalfi Coast as you wind your way on a scenic drive to a local village before embarking on a walking tour of Pompeii. The Amalfi coast drive is narrow and winding. If you suffer from Motion Sickness or fear of heights, use caution.
Chris and Beci:
First bathroom stop included wood working shop and that took too much time. Needed more time in Pompeii.
Pros:
Very knowledgable guide.Cons:
Too little time in Pompeii and other towns.Reviewed by JackM Review Date: 06/10/2007
Rating: (10) Recommended
Amalfi Coast - Private Car Tour (not booked thru Disney).
Glo and Gary:
Today we were one of the first ones off the boat to meet our private driver for an all-day tour of the Amalfi Coast. A few months ago one of our group asked if someone wanted to share a private car and I jumped at the chance. Unfortunately his wife was one of the folks who was sea sick and decided not to accompany us. Fortunately, we still had an absolutely wonderful day.
Our tour guide (Carmine Ussano of Benvenuto Tours) was an outstanding and charming guide …and an expert driver which is extremely important given the narrowness of some of the roads. (Let me stress how narrow the roads are! Sometimes there was no more than two or three inches between us and a tour bus or us and a scooter or us and the car parked on the side of the road in the opposite direction.)
On the way out of the city we got a great view of Mt. Vesuvius with clouds surrounding the top. It really is exciting to see these locations you have heard about as a child.
I cannot begin to tell you how beautiful the drive was, some of the most magnificent scenery I’ve ever seen …and the lemons growing on trees in terraced gardens up and down an impossible mountainside were amazing. Unlike Palermo yesterday (bustling city), the villages along the Amalfi Coast are small, some having as few as 1000 inhabitants. We did not go into the largest city (Sorrento, not considered to actually be on the Amalfi Coast) which has about 16,000 people, but we visited the next city, Positano) with its beautiful town square and marketplace. Next stop was the city of Amalfi where we had no more than exited the car than we ran into Deb and Linda (dinner mates) who were on one of the Disney bus tours. We chatted for a minute or two and then went our own ways. The last city was Ravello whose claim to fame is its Lemoncello production.
We dodged a couple of showers during the day, but all-in-all it was a wonderful day with pastries and coffee in Positano and lunch of fresh fish in Amalfi.
Driver Carmine took an alternate route back into Naples and showed us many more little villages that were not so much “tourist†locations. Whether tourist or not, the whole area was amazingly beautiful with lemon trees, bougainvillea, oleanders and many other flowers all over the place. We also got a quick peek at two columns and an archway from the Pompeii archeological site …but when I say a quick peek, I mean about 2 seconds, if that, before it was hidden back behind the trees that have now grown all over the area.
