Destination: Pompei
Todays trip would take me from the capital city of Roma to arguably the most highly anticipated part of my trip. I was travelling to Pompei for my overnight stop before heading back up the coast via train to visit the city of Napoli.
There wasn’t a whole lot of detail on the spreadsheet for today, although I did have something quite important I needed to do in addition to having fun. I had ordered a new electrical hookup cable from Amazon as my solar charging had been a bit hit and miss. This was quite key for me, as my morning coffee is an absolute must, especially if driving!
Luckily I would be able to pick it up from an Amazon counter in Pompei, providing I could find my way there.
As you can see, I’d not given a whole bunch of attention to what I would be doing in Naples. After the non-stop sight seeing of Rome, I kind of wanted to ‘freestyle’ my day in Napoli and have a day of genuine exploration.
For future visits, there are quite a lot of interesting things to see. Not least the archaelogical museum which hosts many of the artifacts found at the Pompei and Herculaneum archaelogical sites. Additionally, the views of the city from Castel Sant’Elmo are pretty spectacular.
Stop 1: Villa Julia, Pompei
The drive from Rome to Naples was due to take around 2.5 hours. My original plan was to stop in Naples and have a look round then travel to my campsite later.
As I really wanted to make sure I got to the Amazon counter on time, I decided to switch that up a bit. So I headed straight to my Pompei campsite, Agricamper Villa Julia Pompei.
It was an easy enough drive to the campsite and although the surrounding area wasn’t quite what I was expecting, the campsite itself is spectacular. I had booked it through Pitchup and as with many sites wasn’t sure if it’d be as good as the pictures made out. But it absolutely was!
I checked in, the lady at reception was super helpful and said I could take any of the motorhome pitches. So having found myself a little home under the citrus trees, I set up the TentBox.
It wasn’t just the view from the pitches that was incredible, the services were awesome and whole site was immaculately kept. And the family who ran it were incredibly kind and hospitable, but more on that later!
Stop 2: Pompei town
Having settled in, it was time to go explore. I headed off in the direction of Pompei, hoping to catch the train into Naples.
Note for anyone thinking of staying at Villa Julia, do not get the train to/from Pompei if you are heading to Napoli or Salerno. It’s around a 40 minute walk and there is a much closer station on the main Napoli to Salerno line at Villa Regina around 10 minutes walk away.
I was happy just to be taking in all the sights, so had a wander into Pompei and a look around the surprisingly quiet little town before heading to the station. Although the station is quite busy with tourists there only seemed to be one ticket machine. Bearing in mind that very many visitors will be unfamiliar with how to use the machines, it’s as well to leave a little bit of extra time to allow for getting your ticket. I was glad I wasn’t in a hurry and felt some sympathy for the residents of Pompei while I waited in line.
By now it was the middle of the day and very warm, so I picked up some water from the station shop before heading for the train. Not forgetting to validate my ticket of course!
Stop 3: Napoli
Train services between Pompei and Naples are operated by TrenItalia and are really good. Trains run every half hour and take just under and hour, and are a bargain at just over €3. I had decided to travel into the ‘Napoli Centrale‘ station as that would allow me to get off and explore Piazza Garibaldi before heading into other parts of the city.
Napoli also has an underground system that I did (somehow) manage to figure out. Although I did find it quite confusing, as the platform information wasn’t particularly clear. Ironically an Italian family also stopped me to ask if I knew how they could reach a destination they couldn’t work out how to get to! There are also funiculars that help you get to the higher spots of the city.
One part of the underground system I particularly liked, were the moving walkways as they saved a whole lot of leg-work!
Spaccanapoli
My first stop in Napoli was to be the world famous ‘Spaccanapoli‘ for a taste of authentic Napolitano life. The thoroughfare was absolutely buzzing and not only with visitors, it was clearly a commercial hub for inhabitants of the city as well. I absolutely loved the authentic feel, which kind of reminded me a little bit of Camden Market in London or Stokes Croft in Bristol. Very pretty, very busy but also very down to earth.
I spent a couple of hours just browsing the many littls stalls, oddly I thought (for September) quite a few Christmas themed. Interspersed with the tiny shops were churches and squares that seems to spring out of nowhere. It was a lovely place to just lose yourself and become part of the city.
Then, before I knew it, I walked through a tiny archway and emerged from the narrow and dimly lit lanes into the huge Piazza Giovanni Bovio. The hugely imposing architecture seemed really at odds with the humble streets I’d been wandering. If I’m honest, the ostentatious display of wealth did not sit well with me having seen conditions in the maze of Spaccanapoli. I needed a change of air.
Porto Napoli
It was a gorgeous day and decided to head towards the port and catch the sea breeze, taking in the Piazza del Plebiscito and Castel Nuovo on the way.
The view of Vesuvius from the port is incredible, it shows just how close the city is to the volcano. My guide on the Pompei tour the following day told us that it was only the wind direction that saved Naples from the terrible fate that befell Pompei. Reassuringly, the guide also said there is a well communicated and rehearsed civil emergency plan in place should anything similar occur in future!
It was soon time to head back towards the train for Pompei and at this point I became very glad of the moving walkways!
Overnight: Villa Julia, Pompei
For the first time on my trip, I was totally confused when I got to Napoli Centrale station. Luckily they have a great information centre, and lots of english speaking guides on the station concourse. So, with a little help, it wasn’t long before I was on my way back to Pompei.
Arriving back in the little town, I could not have been more surprised. No longer quiet, it was now buzzing and absolutely rammed full of people! The shuttered buildings I’d past earlier had now all thrown open their doors and were welcoming guests in their thousands. It seemed every single one was a bar or restaurant and they were so busy that even the main street was closed off to accommodate the revellers!
Weaving my way through the crowds, I made my way to the Amazon counter I needed to visit, which was inside a tabacconists. The couple who ran it were very helpful and quite forgiving of my broken Italian. It wasn’t long before I was on my way again, back to Villa Julia via one of the local supermarkets.
As I mentioned, it’s a good 40 minute walk from Pompei town to the Villa Julia. And it’s not particularly well lit, so I was not walking very quickly and it was quite late by the time I arrived back. Having gotten used to being a solo traveller and not expecting anyone to be paying any attention to me at all, I had a huge surprise when I got back to the campsite. It seemed the family who run the site was waiting up for me, to make sure I’d got back from Napoli ok and that I didn’t need anything … how incredibly thoughtful!
After a lovely chat with a delightful young lady called Selina, and her dad Pasquale, I made my way to the TentBox. It had been a lovely day, full of surprises, but by now I was quite tired and the next day was going to be immense.
Join me for day 12 and two of the highlights of my trip!
