Heading to Italy for a dive trip - looking for things to do on land

[Ms. Toad]

For my spouse and daughter (not diving) and for me when I'm not underwater.

We'll be about 30 minutes from Naples, visiting the underwater archaeological park at Baia. Pompeii is an obvious choice for a day. Any other suggestions?

[MontanaMama]

1. EAT!

Kidding but not kidding. Naples has incredible pizza. I hope you have a great trip!

[Ms. Toad]

4. Any particular sugestions?

I expect we'll spend a day in Naples. I don't know how pricey transportation is (other than adding a car for the week would have nearly doubled the cost of the trip). But public transport and/or taxis are available.

The in-house restaurant has excellent reviews, but we decided not to get half-board since it's pretty pricey - especially if we decide to eat out some evenings.

[MontanaMama]

13. I am sorry, I don't have a particular restaurant suggestion

but when I visit a country outside the US, I usually depend on locals to give me the low down on where to eat OR I look for places that don’t necessarily cater to tourists. Eating out is always expensive, I agree. I usually eat only one meal out a day when traveling.

[Ms. Toad]

14. My daughter does Air BNB

Turns out the not only have rentals, they also have locals who give tours, invite you to cook a traditional meal with them in their home, etc. We're looking into those. There's a couple of Naples Street food tours, so we'll probably do one of those.

[yorkster]

2. Herculaneum if you can,

Sorrento, where you can take short boat ride to Capri, Amalfi Coast drive, Amalfi itself, Ravello..didn't make it to Salerno...
City of Naples brought back many Italian film memories.

One week I'll never forget.

Buon Viaggio

[Ms. Toad]

5. We're on the wrong side of Naples to make that easy,

But Herculaneum is actually closer than Pompeii. We'll have to see where best to spend our time. (Baia (where I am supposed to be diving if PADI can actually get their act together) sunk, instead of being covered in ashes - but same concept)

[enid602]

3. Amalfi Coast.

Amalfi Coast. Of course, that’s probably where you’ll be diving.

[Ms. Toad]

6. The opposite side of Naples is where I'm diving.

Pozzuoli is the town we're staying in. It has a dive shop connected to the hotel that dives the Baiae Archaeological Park

[enid602]

7. Amalfi

The Island of Capri and the Blue Grotto are big draws on the Amalfi Coast. Beautiful drive.

[Ms. Toad]

8. Unfortunately, it appears that rental cars are prohibitively expensive -

We were offered a car rental discount for a package deal. It added $3000 to the price of the trip. So I'm looking at boat trips along the coast.

[enid602]

10. Amalfi

Day trips from Naples by bus, $69 per person.

https://www.getyourguide.com/naples-l162/amalfi-coast-tour-all-inclusive-t15669/?ranking_uuid=dc4d9903-47b2-4486-994b-f14a3833cc05

[Ms. Toad]

11. I took a quick look at bus trips -

I'll have to explore more. My initial thought was that we would be more likely to get good views of the coastline on a boat (less likely to get trapped on the wrong side of the bus). But we're just starting exploring what to do. I've been looking at this dive trip for a year, and finally booked the trip. I had assumed that I would be diving most days - so the land activities were up to my spouse and daughter to research (and they've done nothing so far).

Fortunately/unfortunately - after booking the trip - the dive operator notified the group I booked though that it only operates on Fri-Sun, which means that I'll have a lot more free time. I'm not sure that's a bad thing. The water is pretty chilly in March - and it's been a long time since I did cold-water diving. I'd love to see more - but as long as I can get two days in I won't be terribly cranky with PADI (the dive travel group which screwed up).

And I'm in the middle of an art history class - we're just about to get to the art era that is preserved in this location. So that's a nice coincidence. And despite the discouraging words we got from a friend who lived a good part of her life in Italy about the Naples area, it looks like there is far more to do than we can accomplish in 6 days. I'm also in a drawing class - and Amalfi/the Amalfi coast looks fantastic for a lot of sketchs. And I'm pursuing a BFA in photography . . . so a perfect location, even if I only get to dive for a day or two.

[sinkingfeeling]

9. Isle of Capri is close to Naples. Take the lift to the top.

[Ms. Toad]

12. Looking at some combination trips -

Island of capri + Amalfi coast.

Thanks!