Naples - where to stay, where is safe?

We stayed in Sorrento a few years back. Visited Naples for the day. It was pretty grim although the Museum was interesting. Sorrento was a wonderful base. We stayed just outside the main town overlooking the sea but within in walking distance of everything. lWe visited Amalfi, Positano, Herculaneum, Pompei and Capri on public transport without any problems at all. One tip we did pick up when visiting Pompei was to start at the end and go backwards. That way you miss the crowds. Believe it or not it worked. Hope you have a great holiday.

We
too stayed in Sorrento when we visited the area about ten years ago and didn't venture to Naples because of safety issues etc. Enjoyed our visits by train to Herculaneum and Pompeii and of course it was easy to visit Capri from Sorrento too. Enjoy yourselves.

Use AIR BnB!! We've had so many great experiences. It originated as a kind of 'stay in my spare room' website, but has expanded.
You register your profile and make a request to stay somewhere. They have the chance to vet you by looking at your profile and how other people you've stayed with have rated you. A bit like Trip Advisor in reverse. You'd have to say that you're new, respectable, older person etc.

My FB pal Marina has just been to Naples and she says it's fine - save for the pickpockets! It sounds like she had a lovely time in the city - main streets that is. She felt safe.

I'd second doing Pompeii back to front - we went a few years ago and I found on google and then printed off a PDF copy of "Pompeii in one perfect day" by Anthony Peregrine (published in the Sunday times March 24th 2013). It was really useful guide around the site. You get away from the crowds milling about in the forum. I'd also recommend reading Pompeii by Robert Harris, an enjoyable fictional story that tells the story of the eruption. We stayed in Sorrento, enjoy Pompeii, I'd love to go back!

A friend of ours travels the world working for a major Health and Safety company that inspects anything from a B&B to luxury hotels. He has been in Naples this summer and said it was a dump. Filthy, unfriendly and not very safe. Lots of muggings and theft. However it is interesting especially the museum.

He also said the Sorrento peninsular was groaning under excess tourist traffic - including mammouth coaches. However October should be fine. So I would recommend somewhere on the Sorrento peninsular, such as Positano. There should be a number of the sort of hotels you are looking for at reasonable prices and glad of autumn visitors. Have a wonderful time.

We stayed in Sorrento in June. Took a day trip by train to Naples and hated every minute! Even the train was filthy. I'd recommend staying in Sorrento. We loved it.

Lots of great advice here, for which many, many thanks! We have decided to shave one night off Naples and stay for 5, and go for it: despite the potential problems, there are enough people telling me it's worth a visit as not. We are limited to train, and will be coming from Siracusa to Naples anyway and I want to visit both Pompeii and Herculaneum and we plan to visit the archaeological museum (I think that might be the one which Derek100 mentions) which looks wonderful. We've now read a bit more about Naples and there are areas which are safer and we rather liked one of those on the waterfront which has wonderful views, close to the Castel Nuovo. It's got great reviews and is in a pedestrianised area. We'll have a longish walk to the Centro Storico but we think it'll be worth it.
We can't do it all in one visit - this is just our first visit to Sicily and to the Naples area. We'll have to explore the Amalfi coast next time - there seems to be a great deal to see :-)

Incidentally, I have a cousin who now lives permanently in Italy as she works as a designer for Moschino. She loves Naples. Her father - my first cousin - on the other hand, wouldn't return: he had a gold chain snatched from his neck by a thief on a scooter as they trundled their cases from the station to the hotel.
Bit naive to wear an obvious gold chain in Naples, I think, given its reputation, and he's well travelled in scary parts of the world where I would never venture! But I don't own any posh jewellery, just cheap and cheerful costume jewellery, and I plan to wear a security belt under my top and carry minimal cash and cardage when we're out for the day.

My husband was pickpocketed in Rome on a bus: it was obvious there was a gang as they tried to block my entrance to the bus, but, confident that my valuables were well hidden from sly fingers and not in my backpack, I forced my way in. At the same time I realised my husband's wallet was in danger - he stupidly insisted on keeping it in his pocket (!!!) and as I turned to him to warn him to keep hold of it, it was obvious that I was too late. We spent a miserable evening trying to report the theft to police who didn't seem to give a toss, and trying to arrange other ways of drawing out money for the rest of our holiday. He's learned his lesson and now wears a security wallet - still in his pocket but on a chain attached to his trousers. I'm not totally happy about it but we'll see if that works!

Just thought I'd mention that we had our credit card cloned when buying petrol in Naples a few years ago and it was used to pay a massive (£2000+) restaurant bill! Something else to be vigilant about. Luckily the CC company covered the loss. Wouldn't have missed trip to Pompeii though - drove down to Naples as a day trip from Rome.

Just thought I would mention that we had our credit card cloned when buying petrol in Naples a few years ago - something else to be vigilant about. It was used to pay a huge (£2000+) restaurant bill - apparently mafia related! Luckily our credit card company spotted the fraud and covered the cost. Wouldn't have missed trip to Pompeii though and it was quite manageable as a day trip from Rome.

You should have a wonderful time, just don't worry about so much that you spoil the trip before you've even got there. Takes the same sensible precautions as you would anywhere and ask yourself if you would be so worried about visiting Barcelona, because the car / credit card scams mentioned here, plus pick-pocketing, mugging and a huge variety of other scams are endemic there, and in many other places too. Naples is edgy and fun, can be dirty, but has some fabulous hotels and restaurants. It's an experience to be enjoyed not avoided.

Well we spent 4 or 5 days in Naples about 12 years ago and survived. We stayed in a very cheap hotel near the station. The room we were given was filthy but we complained and were given a much cleaner one. There was no restaurant in the hotel so we had breakfats at the nearest bar. Not a problem, it's what the Italians do. And there was a lovely pasticciera just round the corner.I don't know what went on in the hotel but the manager could frequently be seen handing cash over to men who came wandering in.

The museum in Naples is a must, full of stuff you've only seen in books - and all the pornographic stuff from Pompeii. The street (forgotten the name) where they sell figures for Christmas cribs is fascinating and of course the pizzas are the best in the world. The coffee is wonderful, they say it's the volcanic water that makes the difference.

It's a quick train ride to Pompeii or Herculaneum. If you aren't up to a lot of walking I would go to Herculaneum. The state of preservation is marvellous. You feel you could just move into some of the villas.

Ooooh, Deedaa, it sounds amazing - and the museum is on our 'must-do' list. I'm also insisting on both Pompeii and Herculaneum, but Vesuvius will probably have to be mothballed for lack of time - and OH isn't keen on the idea anyway. I'm looking forward to the whole trip, trying not to worry too much about it - not keen on excessive heat (hence the October timing) and I get anxious about being unwell away from home - but if I don't go to places like this we will miss a lot and I don't want to stay boringly inside my safe comfort zone. There's so much to see in the world - we're limited in some ways as OH doesn't fly, but even so, there are enough places to visit if we are lucky enough and while we're fit and healthy enough to go. The problem will be finding the time for everything - not to mention the money (blowing the children's inheritance)!

lolarabbit you had your post cloned too...

casawan we have visited Barcelona a few years ago, just for the day, by train, from where we were staying. We were nervous because of its reputation but we took sensible precautions and never had any trouble. It was difficult to fit in everything we wanted to see but I would certainly return there.

Starbecklass that's brilliant - thank you for the tips! I'll look up the book and the Anthony Peregrine article :-)

If you haven't already booked a hotel in Naples I think Sorrento is a better bet, though hotels there may be a bit more expensive. You can get a train from Sorrento to Pompeii and Herculaneum. Haven't been to Herculaneum but Pompeii is amazing. Also, you can get the ferry across to Capri.

Wish I'd known to do Pompeii back to front!

We were mugged in Naples. I would also suggest staying in Sorrento - it is beautiful and transport links are good.

Hi Rowantree, My late husband and I holidayed in Naples a few years ago. I can recommend Pompeii, and Herculaneum is, in a way, even better. The museum in Naples is a must too but do be careful. There are lots of very rough people around - often Eastern Europeans living rough - and I caught somebody trying to steal from my handbag as I walked around the town while my husband had quite a lot of money taken. So if you do go, enjoy the sights but be very careful with your property and beware of pickpockets!

I must admit DH wasn't very happy in Naples, he was always expecting me to get mugged. I thought it was fun. DS had asked me to find him some fake D&G sunglasses. I had a look round the market but couldn't find D&G. I asked one of the traders if he had any and he said "Come with me , I know someone who is selling genuine fake Dolce and Gabbana!" Well you can't say fairer than that

we stayed near Sorrento a couple of years ago, had a day trip to Naples by train, walked from the station to the museum, stopped in a local cafe, very friendly and helpful, along by the market, went to the museum then strolled around, had a revolting lunch in a vegetarian cafe. It was an interesting city, we felt pretty safe, it wasn't exceptionally dirty. You get a massive pickpocket problem in all Italian tourist cities, and I would always be careful about handbags, wallets and valuables when on holiday (or in London for that matter). Pompeii was amazing, in fact everywhere we visited was lovely (Herculaneum, Capri, Positano, Sorrento). Have a great holiday.

If you must stay in Naples be extremely vigilant. Heed all the warnings. When Italians themselves warn you not to go - then avoid it. Stay along the coast somewhere and ferry to it if you must.
We went and used public transport - the airport bus and that trainline that goes around the coast - and a very nice Italian chap warned us of all the tricks and scams to look out for. The taxi drivers at the bus and train stations are predatory and you need to be careful about some rogues loading your luggage and then quickly driving off with it without you. At the station a group of youths seemed to try and herd my younger daughter onto the stairs between the escalators and were homing in on her backpack when someone shouted at them and they ran off.Having said that I've been pick pocketed at Waterloo.
I would so love to visit that museum in Naples to see the exhibits from Pompeii and Herculaneum. Have been to the two latter three times now and would love to go again. Don't let anything put you off that - just take plenty of water if it's hot.

EEEK, Lupin, I'm now going to order a large roll of barbed wire to wrap round myself as the train pulls into Napoli....!

Seriously though....we have booked a lovely looking hotel on the seafront in a nice area (we hope). I've started looking into stuff like personal alarm, various locks, fasteners etc to help deter bag-dippers( though I realise that nothing will deter the determined thief!) I will also bring my old school whistle. You never know!
The hotel proprietor recommended using their collection service which is pricey but worth it: they will meet our train and take us to the hotel.

We will be very vigilant - but we always are when we go into London, or to any big city. I wear my bag cross-body and keep a tight hold on the zip till we're out of the station but it's always on my mind. Nothing is ever completely safe.