At the port of Naples, we chose to spend half of the day in Pompeii and half in the city. This was perfect, but I would have preferred not to do the cruise ship’s excursion to Pompeii. We had very limited time to tour the ruins- 2 hours is not enough! But with the $50 excursion credit, it only cost $50 for both of us to get bus transportation right from the ship, as well as valuable information during the ride to and from Pompeii. It was about an hour ride from the port to Pompeii. We still had to pay to get into the ruins. We paid for the audio tour, but it was a waste of money. It was very difficult to find where you were, and then listen to the long description, hoping you were hearing about the right building. The narration was also on the boring side. We spoke to many other tourists who were having the same issues as we were, and everyone we spoke seemed to be frustrated with the audio. We paid $65 US including tax for the admission and the audio guide. It would have been just $18 euros a person for the admission without the audio guide (I recommend this option).
Pompeii itself was incredible to see and worth every penny. We walked around the ruins for 2 hours and only saw about 25% of the ancient city. You could easily spend all day there. I highly recommend a visit as it’s fascinating!
We had time for a quick snack and coffee while we were waiting for our group to meet back up and get on the bus. It was delicious!
The bus took us back to the port, but instead of heading back to the ship, we took an Uber to the city center. Naples was VERY crowded! It was a holiday- November 1st and 2nd is All Saints Day and All Souls Day, and the people of Italy had a long weekend. The atmosphere was fun and festive. There was music everywhere, and we walked around soaking in the scene and visiting the shops and street vendors.
Of course, we had to get pizza in Naples, and it didn’t disappoint. We learned that buffalo mozzarella is an upgrade, and it is so worth it! It’s creamy and amazing. They had so many different types of pizza to try, and it was difficult to choose.
One thing that was surprising in Italy was the amount of graffiti. It didn’t matter if it was a beautiful, historic building- it was still covered in graffiti! It was prominent in every city in Italy and Greece—not just Naples.
After walking around the downtown, we Ubered back to the port. The port is very close to the city. If you don’t want to see Pompeii, this is a very easy city to tour from the ship on your own.
This was a long, fun-filled day! It turned out perfectly by dividing the day between the 2 places, and I highly recommend it!😁
Leap of Faith: Our Retirement Adventure 
Leave a comment