Planning a Trip to Campania Region

You either love or hate Naples, but if you hate it then once you get to spend time here, you learn to love it like I do. The city is a tourist gem. The locals sum it up exactly " an open-air museum" With every turn, there seems to be something on the street that belongs in a museum. And the actual archaeology museum is one of the best I have been to. Some of the best gigantic sculptures are here in addition to the finds from Pompeii and Herculaneum. What is even better is that the place is all yours since the tourist traffic is vey low. The bay, the old town, the Phegrean fields and the nearby amalfi coast makes it so ideal to spend a summer here.

Go to Punta Scutari - it is the best lookout in the region, and you can see miles of beautiful mediterranean. Can be a bit of a walk, so make sure you are fit before going to Meta! If you aren't, don't worry; you will be by the time you leave, even if you only spend one day there! Beaches are better than in Sorrento, Piano di Sorrento etc, but you don't really need to pay, because the 'public beaches', which are right next to the private ones, are every bit as good, unless you are looking for first-class treatment; this being the case Meta is probably not the place for you, as is more of a fishing village. This would have to be one of my favourite villages in Italia, as it has a more 'untouched' feel than Sorrento.

There are so many ceramics shops in Vietri, and some variety between them. Take the time to walk around town and look at all the stores before you buy anything, although, the best one is across from the parking lot at the entrance to town.

Getting around on the island of Capri is an experience in itself. The narrow roads may cause you to jump a few times as it does not seem possible that cars can go in both directions. The hairpin turns on the roads may also cause a few "coronaries", but rest assured that the bus drivers know what they are doing and accidents are not common. If you are too nervous to drive around the island, the best thing you can do is take a bus and allow the driver to get you from one place to the next.

Naples, IT (Napoli) Money Exchange: For American travelers, be aware that the Italy runs on the Euro and not the Lira. The exchange rate when I left was about $1.20 - E1.00; check the exchange rate and before you leave and plan for the increase in spending. Activities/Sightseeing: Plenty, history buffs will love Pompay and Hurculium (never could remember how to spell those towns), hiking Vesuvius; there is an absolute abundance of old arcitecture (Roman, gothic, etc.) great shopping, etc. Food Restaurants: Oh...My...God, if you travel to Naples for no other reason, this is it. The food is to die for; a must is the motzerella di buffala (water buffalo motzerella), the tratatoris (again spelling, but these are the mom and pop food joints that are just about everywhere in Naples) are a must. The house wines are hit and miss, but generally they're easy on the wallet and fairly good. Health: Don't drink the water...anywhere. Always ask for bottled water; though you rarely have to ask, since that's whats usually what's served in restuarants. Nightlife: Naples is a metro of around 2 mil, so if you can think of it, it's probably there. Woman travellers: Safe-ish; the men of Naples tend to be chovanistic (MS Spell Check, save me!); that said, it wasn't to bad that I noticed; but then again, I'm not in a position to notice and am only passing on what was told to me. Interacting with Locals: First off, be aware that Neopalitons are a breed apart from the rest of Italians. They have a very laize faire attitude about life, and keeping time isn't one of their best qualities; if you can get past that, its almost an endearing quality; if you can't, it's infuriating. The people of Naples are very (extremely) friendly, and will go out of their way to help you. Dangers and Annoyances: Despite what was said above (which still holds true), one MUST be aware that Naples has/had a 30% unemployment rate and petty crime is a huge problem. DO NOT flash cash around or look like an easy target. Also, while violent crime is almost unheard of (with notable exception that I will get into in a second), pickpocketting does happen, and many times they dont bother with subltey. If this happens, DO NOT 'fight' back. Striking someone with a closed fist is something of a federal offense, like assault. The "acceptable" response is slapping (open palm striking). For whatever reason, this is far more acceptable then stiking someone with a closed fist. Next is the driving expirence in Naples: if at all possible, don't. While on foot, these people are some of the most loving and caring people on Earth; on the road, they're demons. It's like a Dr. Jeckal/Mr. Hyde thing. It's like Rules of the Road are something other countries have. If you ever want to personally experiance social darwinism, go ahead and take the A-1 Hwy. (and I mean darwinism in its most literal form). that yellow line in the middle of the road (the one that suspisiously looks like what we'd call a double yellow line that means no passing and two way traffic) is nothing more then street decoration to them. Seeing someone throw their car in reverse on the freeway because they missed their off ramp is fairly common (oh, and they don't bother moving off to the shoulder to do so). Oh, and forget the Autobahn; if you want to see how fast your car goes, this is the place; remember, speed limit signs are just more road side decoration. (i got pulled over for going to slow - was only doing 180 kph) Lastly, and this is more to the point of a Danger (less like my ranting about the emotional scars i have from driving) is the Camora, or what we'd call the Mafia. They are there and they are there in a big way. Luckily for us, they love tourists, and they love Americans. You see, there is a fairly large American base there, along with a fairly large Nato base, and the respective militaries give out a 'housing allowance' for their personel to rent apartments/villas/houses. Now the Camora has its hands in just about everything, and they have found out that they can charge 3x the normal rent and get away with it. That said, the American military (the only one i can speak for) has said that if to many of its soldiers get into trouble off base, then they will bring them all onto base housing. Soooo, the landlords go to extremes to keep their foreign tenents happy, and by extention, any foreigner. Basically, while I won't say that the Camora are good guys, they're certaily 'good fellas'. Oh, lastly, Vesuvius is about 15 years over due for an eruption, goelogically speaking. This isnt that big of a deal since, geologically speaking, 15 years isnt even as long as a blink of the eye. General Impressions: Naples is truly a wonder; it's a gritty, cosmopalitan, wonderous, city that wears its emotions on its sleave.

Walking along the sea is amazing. In town there is also a nice chocolate store, called Gay-Odin, where you can find anything made of chocolate. A very fancy ice cream bar, of which a have forgotten the name, is also there, and they sell fabulous ice cream made from seasonal fruits. Their toilets are wired, though. When you are in napoli, you can access to the Pompeji Ruins, which is compulsory. Bring water, it can be hot, and dont think you can make it to see all the ruins. However, it is fun to see if you have the slightest interest in ancient history

When out and about, it's best to carry tissue packets, hand sanitizer, and euro change because the restrooms often cost money, have no toilet paper, and no soap.

Sorrento features one of the Best schools for foreigners to learn Italian. Sorrento Lingue can be found on the Internet. Native teachers are good quality, the programme is a real language learning programme and not just a kind of cheap look-alike. The good thing is that there are not too many foreign tourists and that it is possible to practise what you learned with the local population...

unforgettable city in Italy!!

If you got a little knowledge about the whole Pompeian history, you can just get lost in the city and discover it yourself. Very much worth it, with or without guide.

Can't go to Torre without seeing Top Man where Giovanni buys his clothes!!!!

The drive from Napoli is breathtaking take your time getting to Sorrento is really nice at dusk

Amazing views out over all direction from the museum on the hill (can't miss it - huge building)