A TOUR OF MOUNT VESUVIUS IN NAPLES, ITALY | British & Far East Traders Lifestyle

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Last Updated on: 25th June 2020, 12:58 pm

We’ve decided to create this blog post about Mount Vesuvius because in the news it’s all about the Pacific Ring of Fire causing havoc in communities around it again. Volcanoes are erupting and the earth is shaking. We are praying for the Philippines, Mexico, Japan, Indonesia, and others in that area who will most likely suffer from volcanic eruption, earthquake, or a possible tsunami.

Mount Vesuvius, while currently dormant can be remembered from history as the infamous eruption that buried the town of Pompeii. To read further about it, this link will serve up something about volcanic discovery: https://www.volcanodiscovery.com/vesuvius.html

Here, Mount Vesuvius looms menacingly (or rather bewitchingly) in the horizon, towering over the City of Napoli and the Gulf of Naples.

It is perhaps a visual reminder for the people of this area that history can always repeat itself, and when nature explodes its wrath, there isn’t much we can do but flee for safety.

This view was snapped from the cruise ship Aurora by P&O Cruises. We’re not endorsing it lol.

If you arrived in Naples via a cruise ship, you will most likely end up docking in Porto di Napoli (Port of Naples) which serves as a Mediterranean Cruise Port for this part of Italy.

In order to get to Vesuvius, the most common mode of public transport is via a train. For detailed transport instructions, you can follow this link: http://www.mediterranean-cruise-ports-easy.com/naples-to-pompeii.html

The castle on top of the hill is called Castel Nuovo (New Castle). First erected in 1279, it was the royal seat for the kings of Naples, Aragon, and Spain until 1815. To learn more, click on this link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castel_Nuovo

We took this tour of Vesuvius and Napoli by ourselves as opposed to joining a guided tour. We wanted the freedom to roam around as we are adventurous types who don’t mind getting lost. Google is there anyway as long as we can get back on board the ship by the time announced by the captain.

Sometimes though, it is tempting to have the guided tours because they give you a bit of history and they add their local twist to their storytelling so that makes it the more enjoyable.

When travelling, it is tempting to take in everything you can see in the little time you have been given , but between breadth and depth, we’ll go for depth everytime. This is true in travel as it is in business and life. You spread yourself too thin and you’ll end up seeing everything without having experienced anything.

In this accord, history can really add alot of depth and layers to your travel experience. So if you are a sucker for history, good for you. You are a colourful and lovable soul.

We are now in the city centre of Naples. Naples is the regional capital of Campania, and is the third largest Italian city after Rome and Milan. To read up more about Naples, click here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naples

Of course we reached here by walking from the port so far, we just love walking. It gives you that sense of freedom.

We are actually walking from the cruise port to Naples Train Station, appropriately called Napoli Centrale. Learn more here: https://www.italiarail.com/train-station/naples-centrale-train-station

Here you can buy a return ticket to Pompeii. We were informed that if we want to visit the beautiful Island of Capri, we can take a train from here to some small port where we can then take a ferry to the island.

That sounds a very seductive plan but we’ve got Vesuvius to see first. After Vesuvius, if we’ve got time then perhaps we can see the Island of Capri.

We are very mindful of our time though because we are only here for the day and need to get back to the ship by 6pm I guess. So between getting back to the ship and visiting Capri, it will have to be the ship. Don’t wish to swim back home lol.

And anyway, we can always go back to Capri for a week’s worth of holiday and not a quick few hours. That’s not how to enjoy a place.

The buildings look very nice but the cleanliness of the city is greatly compromised, or perhaps neglected. It is the same in Rome considering they are world famous tourist destinations, they could invest in a bit of housekeeping or citykeeping if there is such a thing:)

One more thing, on your way to the train station, vendors abound on the sidewalks, and what are they selling, Italian Luxury brands–faked to perfection lol.

Now we’re on a train journey to the historically infamous Pompeii.

Now, we’ve arrived in Pompeii Train Station. From the station, we are getting out and look for taxi or tour operators that take tourists to the mountain. Of course as always the case is, there is tourist price and there is local price. They could be charging you an arm and a leg, how would you know. Anyway, let that be written off as charity aye. It’s called sustainable tourism for the community- I just made that up:)

One of the must see sites when you are in Pompeii is the ancient city that is now an archeological site. It was buried in several metres of volcanic ash during the violent eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 A.D.

We didn’t visit the place anymore as we are short of time. Take time to read about Pompeii and what makes it globally famous. Encyclopaedia Britannica has done an excellent compilation on that one. Link here: https://www.britannica.com/place/Pompeii