Napoli Away

[Lmarkham-blueblood]

Went on a cruise a few years ago with my family and we docked in Naples. Luckily we didn't go far and decided to have a drink in a local cafe/bar we got talking to an Englishman who was middle aged and spent a lot of time working on cruise ships. He went on to say that he lives there but the reason he has the jobs on the ships is because he is scared shitless of the place. He decided to get his first job on a ship after a gomorrah boss was murdered and so gang members roamed the streets shooting everyone in sight.

 

[pete1201]

Camorra shoot Camorra, they don't shoot you. The City is generally in the hold of this local mafia and it is reckoned 10% of evrything you spend is paid to them via a 'local tax'. Their hold extends even outside the city and there are rich pickings for them running into billions of euros.
They are simply not interested in you and people are inclined to exaggerate to perpetuate urban myths.
Most Camorra strongholds are on the periphery of the city Scampia, Secondliagno, Casale di Principe, Cassoria etc places that you won't even be near. It is obvious that inner city areas like Forcella and The Spanish Quarter are also in their control. These areas you may come into contact with.
However, the Camorra like good tourist trade coz their businesses or extortionate rackets (with shop owners)do well as no doubt they supply many shops and many markets openly sell counterfeit goods
What you must be on guard against is petty crime.
Read this article by a yank whose roots are Italian
<a class="postlink" href="http://www.sersale.org/mancuso/naplepro.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.sersale.org/mancuso/naplepro.html</a>
Your task is simple. To try and find out why visitors either adore or hate this city and watch a football game. If you manage to dig beneath the poverty and grime you will find a treat...if you don't you will come away saying you have been to hell. I love the place make no mistake. My sister-in-law has just returned from a cruise. She said that after an hour on shore they returned to the boat because the 4 of them were quaking with fear.
I guess its horses for courses and I must be mad!!!
Half of you will come home saying you loved it and the other half will say its the pits...there is no middle way!!!

 

[Vic]

Don't think you can get to Mergellina without walking from Central station to Garibaldi. Regional train from Rome takes over two hours, but at €10.50 is quarter the price of the high-speed trains, or half the price of inter-city.

Vic I was suggesting a train direct from Rome to Mergellina. I think this one still runs but I may stand corrected. It's just that metalblu's hotel is close to Mergellina station.

There isn't a direct train - change at Villa Literno and Pozzuoli would do it (using regional trains). But I'm not sure changing in Naples is that hazardous - it must be a well-used "path within station".

 

[stonerblue]

Camorra shoot Camorra, they don't shoot you. The City is generally in the hold of this local mafia and it is reckoned 10% of evrything you spend is paid to them via a 'local tax'. Their hold extends even outside the city and there are rich pickings for them running into billions of euros.
They are simply not interested in you and people are inclined to exaggerate to perpetuate urban myths.
Most Camorra strongholds are on the periphery of the city Scampia, Secondliagno, Casale di Principe, Cassoria etc places that you won't even be near. It is obvious that inner city areas like Forcella and The Spanish Quarter are also in their control. These areas you may come into contact with.
However, the Camorra like good tourist trade coz their businesses or extortionate rackets (with shop owners)do well as no doubt they supply many shops and many markets openly sell counterfeit goods
What you must be on guard against is petty crime.
Read this article by a yank whose roots are Italian
<a class="postlink" href="http://www.sersale.org/mancuso/naplepro.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.sersale.org/mancuso/naplepro.html</a>
Your task is simple. To try and find out why visitors either adore or hate this city and watch a football game. If you manage to dig beneath the poverty and grime you will find a treat...if you don't you will come away saying you have been to hell. I love the place make no mistake. My sister-in-law has just returned from a cruise. She said that after an hour on shore they returned to the boat because the 4 of them were quaking with fear.
I guess its horses for courses and I must be mad!!!
Half of you will come home saying you loved it and the other half will say its the pits...there is no middle way!!!

Whilst your defence of Naples is admirable, in nearly every post you've reeled off the names of areas/districts to avoid. Surely this tells you something about the place and how people who rarely travel independently need to be very cautious when exploring the city.

 

[metalblue]

Don't think you can get to Mergellina without walking from Central station to Garibaldi. Regional train from Rome takes over two hours, but at €10.50 is quarter the price of the high-speed trains, or half the price of inter-city.

Vic I was suggesting a train direct from Rome to Mergellina. I think this one still runs but I may stand corrected. It's just that metalblu's hotel is close to Mergellina station.

There isn't a direct train - change at Villa Literno and Pozzuoli would do it (using regional trains). But I'm not sure changing in Naples is that hazardous - it must be a well-used "path within station".

Cheers Pete/Vic - i've booked the majestic, will have a look at train options from Rome. Cheers again lads

 

[Armaan]

Got a cousan who lives in Milan... I remember him telling me that from Napoli southwards it is very very dangerous, even for Italians. Im sure he said Napoli anyway, was a year back so relying on my memory here lol

 

[chris_m]

Not got that far in the planning yet, just looking at prices, but if there's one you can recommend I'll have a look,I haven't been to a European game since Schalke, so really hoping to get this going. A carriage-load of blues travelling through France and Italy would
be immense

What's your plans for the train? When are you setting off and what are the prices looking at? I quite fancy a train journey. I was going to go on the sport options trip, but a train trip sounds pretty good.

something like this:

Leave:15:02
Arrive:10:25
18h:23m

15:02 From LONDON ST-PANCRAS To PARIS
then
20:33 From PARIS BERCY To MILAN 05:38
then
milan/naples arive at 10:25am

or we can do leave london @ 14:02, leave bercy in Paris 18:54, arrive Rome, 10am leave Rome to Naples at noon, arrive naples 13:10

price wise showing about £200-£250 plus hotel overnight in naples (about £50-£80).

Ours is booked, leaving LSP at 12:02, leaving Paris at 18:33, arrive Rome at 10:12.
Book each leg separately, it's much cheaper! The leg from Rome to Naples you can't book atm, but it works out as about 19 euro each, we'll be on the 10:39 regional train

 

[RVZ Urmston]

Some info on Naples, my cousin who is married to a neopolitan and lives in Milan is over here today so had a word with her about the place. She told me, its not the nicest place to go too........ at the moment they're having problems with local council and its rubbish, which is everywhere in the streets. The local mafia is a big problem and there are some areas that you just dont go into. She said that if you stick to the main squares and tourist areas in large groups you should be okay...........

 

[BillyMC]

I bet De Nero dont get his balls busted in Napoli

 

[pete1201]

Camorra shoot Camorra, they don't shoot you. The City is generally in the hold of this local mafia and it is reckoned 10% of evrything you spend is paid to them via a 'local tax'. Their hold extends even outside the city and there are rich pickings for them running into billions of euros.
They are simply not interested in you and people are inclined to exaggerate to perpetuate urban myths.
Most Camorra strongholds are on the periphery of the city Scampia, Secondliagno, Casale di Principe, Cassoria etc places that you won't even be near. It is obvious that inner city areas like Forcella and The Spanish Quarter are also in their control. These areas you may come into contact with.
However, the Camorra like good tourist trade coz their businesses or extortionate rackets (with shop owners)do well as no doubt they supply many shops and many markets openly sell counterfeit goods
What you must be on guard against is petty crime.
Read this article by a yank whose roots are Italian
<a class="postlink" href="http://www.sersale.org/mancuso/naplepro.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.sersale.org/mancuso/naplepro.html</a>
Your task is simple. To try and find out why visitors either adore or hate this city and watch a football game. If you manage to dig beneath the poverty and grime you will find a treat...if you don't you will come away saying you have been to hell. I love the place make no mistake. My sister-in-law has just returned from a cruise. She said that after an hour on shore they returned to the boat because the 4 of them were quaking with fear.
I guess its horses for courses and I must be mad!!!
Half of you will come home saying you loved it and the other half will say its the pits...there is no middle way!!!

Whilst your defence of Naples is admirable, in nearly every post you've reeled off the names of areas/districts to avoid. Surely this tells you something about the place and how people who rarely travel independently need to be very cautious when exploring the city.

Indeed stonerblue in exactly the same way there are areas in Manchester, Liverpool, Birmingham, Paris, Milan, New York that you need to be aware of your personal security