If you mention to people you’re going to Naples, you tend get one of two reactions:

“Be careful” “It’s dodgy watch out for pick pockets” “It’s a dive” etc.

Or “Naples is really beautiful you’ll love it”.

Usually I prefer looking into places and checking it out for myself. I’m always open to hearing people’s experiences but ultimately I won’t let it influence me. The best way is always look for yourself.

After checking in and dropping my bags, I met up with my Neapolitan friends Davide and Adriano, who I met at the World Travel Market the last year.

I’d planned on going to Naples but there are so many places to visit in Italy. Speaking to Davide and Adriano gave me the final push I needed to book Naples. They were helpful with tips along the way.

We were joined by Antonio who was staying at the same Hostel as me. Antonio is from the States and has family in Naples and around Italy. We got some drinks and hung out around the Spanish Quarter and as time went on we’d drink in and around Naples. It was a good was to be introduced to the city.

It was a good opportunity to see what Naples was about. Adriano and Davide filled me in on what I can do around here. The nightlife and vibe around here on a Friday night is insane. It’s not like you’re just out in a group, everyone is out with everyone in the streets of Naples. You don’t need any bars or clubs, just grab some drinks and enjoy the streets of Naples. Just remember to stay out of the way of any on coming scooters, there are many of them. Don’t surprised to see a 7 or 8 year old navigating their way through Naples on one of these!

One thing I learnt that evening is Italians have a specific way of eating pasta. Davide showed me how they twist the pasta with a fork. My attempt at this resulted in Davide and his friends laughing with their heads in their hands. Although I improved with a second and third attempt, I need to practice and it’s something I vow to get better at.

Saturday morning and what a better way to start than a free guided tour of Naples? We met our guide at Castel Nuovo and went around parts of Naples including the Teatro di San Carlo, Galleria Umberto I and Piazza del Plebiscito.

For me the most interesting part of the tour was learning more about the Spanish Quarter and walking through it. I didn’t realise how much of an influence the Spanish had in the history of Naples. The Spanish Quarter itself is fascinating to walk around from purely looking at the formation of the streets and people watching.

Tour over and I got the chance to try a pizza in Naples and stopped off at what I thought was the famous Sorbillio. There are 4 Sorbillos lined up next to each other. Two of them are take away pizza places, one is the restaurant I went in and then there is the original Gino Sorbillo which I somehow missed (I didn’t realise until my last day in Naples).

Regardless of which place I went to, I ended up sitting on a table with a family after we queued outside for 15 minutes. I was ahead of them in the queue and a table of 4 had become free so rather than having a table to 4 to myself, it made sense to share it. Some people can queue up to 90 minutes for the popular pizza places in Naples.

There was Cam, Kirsty and their Mum Lyn from Gloucestershire. Cam recently finished Uni while Kirsty was about to start Uni, you can call that a double celebration I guess.

What I noticed about Neapolitan pizzas and the difference from the majority of pizzas is how soft they cook the base and how they get the crispiness on the crust on point. This was the moment I became a pizza snob.

Not too far from Sorbillo is the Napoli Sotterranea. 40 metres below lies a labyrinth of underground tunnels and aqueducts which forms Naples, and is around 2400 years old. I looked this up before I came; it was something I was eager to see.

You can’t go around on your own, you’ll be on a guided tour which is nice as you get to learn more.  I arrived only to be told I had to wait an hour for the next English guided tour despite the next tour taking place in 15 minutes.

I waited about 5 – 10 minutes before going back again to ask if I could tag along on the next tour, the lady in charge said yes and kindly realised that one extra person wasn’t going to make a huge difference to a tour group and saved me a lot of waiting time.

The underground tunnel lies 40m below the streets of Naples. It’s fascinating to go through and hear tales from its inception to its usage to World War 2 and its usage as a wine cellar.

There’s a second building you go through where you’ll find a secret passage which leads to more underground tunnels. It’s something that would be good to build for your home, and be a good hiding place from any burglar.

Next up, Castel dell’Ovo. The walk was around 30 minutes but mainly flat with a bit of downhill with it. Castel dell’Ovo is a seaside Castle on the Gulf of Naples where you can get a view of Mount Vesuvius and the coast.

Inside the Castle is an art exhibition by Andrea Chisesi split over two floors. On the first floor you’ll see different kinds of Chisesi illustrations, the most common ones I would describe as similar to street art.

The second floor wasn’t something I really liked, it was mainly Chisesi painting firework displays. I’ve never seen or known an artist to do something like this and it wasn’t my cup of tea, it kind of looked like someone had given a child a crayon and told the kid to go nuts. I’d spoken to a few people at my Hostel who weren’t too fond either.

The main reason the majority of people go to Castel dell’Ovo apart from it being free to enter is the views. For free entry in the early evening I was surprised not to see more people. The best way to spend less time waiting for a photo opportunity is to offer to take people’s photos for them so they’ll do your photos in return. You can leave once you savour and admire the views!

The only reason I’m up at 6am on a Sunday morning is because I’m off to see Pompeii and Vesuvius in the same day. It’s possible but only if you go to Pompeii first as soon as it opens. There is no other reason to justify getting up that early on a Sunday.

Pompeii opens at 8:30am on a weekend as opposed to 9am on a weekday. I get there just after opening to a nice empty complex. Pompeii is the size of a small city. In fact its practically its own city.

Pompeii was wiped out by an eruption of Mount Vesuvius, people will tell you the ruins aren’t as well preserved as Herculaneum. I couldn’t tell if I’m being totally honest. You need around 3 or 4 hours to properly look around and appreciate the whole place.

There are a variety of guided tours on offer and an audio tour. I chose to look around myself. I ended up going along with Savan from Vietnam; she was also travelling solo and is living in Dublin for the year to study.

One little mistake I made (as did Savan) is forgetting to pick up a map of Pompeii; it didn’t make things easier doing it without one. In fairness we didn’t know where to get one or the fact they had maps. I guess thinking about it common sense will tell you a popular tourist place will have a map of some sort with information.

It made things easier going with another person. It wasn’t like I’d get lost but for all I knew Savan may know more about Pompeii than me. While I generally prefer my own company, it was nice not to spend three plus hours walking around empty ruins getting lost on my own.

Around 10am it started to get really busy. By then we managed to see the majority of the ruins and got some good pictures. We walked around a bit more to see if we’d missed anything out.

By 11 it was starting to get ridiculously hot and Pompeii was packed out so it was a good time to get a move on and head to Mount Vesuvius.

If you’re going to both in the same day and you’ve finished Pompeii, you’ll go back to Pompeii Station and take a bus that will take you on a 20 minute journey to Vesuvius National Park. A single ticket is 3.20 Euros (return tickets aren’t available).

You need to buy a ticket to enter the national park which costs 10 Euros. Once you get through you’ll have a 20 – 30 minute hike up (depending how fit you are). The first 10 minutes is the most difficult part with the incline but it then flattens out.

You can’t really see Naples as you reach the summit of Vesuvius because of the fog. The best view you’ll find is within the first 100 yards after entering the national park.

The experience itself is really cool, I’d never been to a volcano and looking down inside, there isn’t much to see. I was half expecting to see some lava. You wouldn’t be fearful of any potential eruption; from my impression Vesuvius seems as dormant as they come.

After a brief rest at the Hostel, I head to Starita, a pizza place which was highly recommended with Dale from Melbourne, Julian from Sydney and Kiyoh from South Korea. I’d literally met them about 30 minutes before in my Hostel room; Dale was planning to go to Starita, and Kiyoh and Julian hadn’t eaten much since they checked in so we all decided to go together.

It was my first experience eating a deep fried calzone and bloody hell I didn’t expect it to taste so good! They deep fry the dough before adding the toppings and putting it in the grill. Just describing how they cook it makes it sound delicious.

It was an early night for me because I was off to Ischia Island in the morning and needed to be at the port for 8:30am. I went with Hanadi who was a volunteer at the Hostel from Palestine, and Sam and Kim, a couple from Edinburgh who were staying at the Hostel.

You don’t need to pre book your tickets; you can just arrive and buy. It’ll save you the booking fee but make sure you look up what times, prices and departure port as they differ.

By 10am we arrived at Ischia, from afar it look beautiful. Sam and Kim suggested going to Aragonese Castle, a 15 minute bus journey later and we arrived to find out the entry fee is 10 Euros which none of us thought was worth paying.

Settling on a day at the beach, Sam found one on Google Maps. We walked about 15 minutes (quite a bit of it uphill) before finding out we’d reach a resort and needed to get a taxi boat. Again after a discussion we decided to head back. The only consolation was at least the majority of the walk back was downhill.

After regrouping over an ice cream and seeking advice from the ice cream man. We settled on going to Maronti Beach, it’s well known beach in Ischia and easy to get to from the bus station. It wasn’t a thermal bath but at beach none the less which is what we all wanted on an island known for good beaches.

Finally we got to Maronti Beach! It’s a fairly secluded place surrounded by cliffs. We spent almost 4 hours there before heading back to the port to catch a boat to Naples. All in all despite a few bumps in the road, we all had a good day.

I contemplated writing a separate blog for Ischia but figured it would be better for next time I visit. I didn’t feel I did enough to really write about Ischia on its own. In a way it’s a good thing because I know what to do on my next visit.

In Ischia there’s a famous restaurant on top of the volcano, Monte Epomeo called La Grotta da Fiore. Their speciality dish is rabbit and you can sit on a balcony and get a view on Ischia, Naples and Capri.

Having gone to Ischia with Hanadi, Sam and Kim (they all wanted to visit Ischia and were planning to go on the same day so it made sense to go together) I didn’t want to just go off to the restaurant on my own and leave them to their own devices. It would’ve been unfair to travel together to only just go off to do my own thing.

The issue you might have getting to La Grotta da Fiore is after taking a bus, you have to hike around 30 minutes uphill to get there because there’s a point where vehicles can’t continue on the road. It’s somewhere I’m definitely heading to next time I’m back and dare I say it I might even hire a scooter.

Back to Naples, and I’m craving some more pizza and head to Da Michele with Sam and Kim. Visitors will tell you Sorbillo is the best pizza place in Naples. Neapolitans will tell you Da Michele is best, who am I to argue with Neapolitans about pizza? By the time we arrived there was a big queue outside. They have a ticketing system and seperate coloured tickets for people eating in or getting a take away. I’d say we waited half an hour give or take which wasn’t too bad all things considered.

In Da Michele the only options you have is a margarita pizza or a marinara pizza, and the option of small/large or extra mozzarella.

For 5 Euros I went for the large margarita with extra mozzarella and it didn’t disappoint. I can safely say it’s the best pizza I’ve ever had. For £5 you couldn’t even get a half decent frozen pizza from Tesco. I later found out there is one recently opened in North London which is as popular as the one in Naples.

With a full day left in Naples and having checked out of the hostel, I make my way to the historic centre for another tour. The tour wasn’t as good as the one from Castel Nuovo; the tour guide himself was alright but not as good as the other one.

I ended up feeling bored and thanked the tour guide for his time before going off to Gino Sorbillo after getting confirmation that this was the original Sorbillo pizzeria. I got there 20 minutes before opening and as you’ll see from the pictures the queues are huge.

I ordered the exact same pizza as I had at Da Michele, and while it was good, it wasn’t as good as Da Michele. In fact I’d say of the three pizza places, Da Michele wins it hands down and Starita was better than Sorbillo.

Next stop Castel Sant’Elmo; this is the best place to get a panoramic view of Naples. Usually it cost 5 Euros to enter but for some reason its half price on Tuesdays. I have no idea why nor did the guy behind the desk but I won’t complain.

It isn’t like a standard Castle where you go around and look in a museum. You take an elevator to the roof and take some stairs to the top, walk around the edge of the Castle and admire the view. Even at 5 Euros it’s worth going.

With only a matter of hours left before I depart for Roma Ciampino Airport to fly to Germany, I decided on one last stop to Starita to have a deep fried margarita pizza. It would be the last time in what I imagine is a long time before I find myself eating pizza this good.

I loved Naples the moment I arrived here. It reminds me of Beirut in many ways. Yes it’s a bit run down but it has character and life not to mention some of the best pizza you’ll ever eat. Give it a chance, spend a few days and you’ll grow to love it. I didn’t get ithe chance to do everything I wanted so this gives me the perfect excuse (if I needed one) to come back.