12 Step Planet: Naples & Campania

How do I get there?
Aer Lingus fly Dublin-Naples direct on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday throughout the summer. Fares start at €103 including tax, but to get that deal you need to book well in advance. Services after September 25 are less frequent. Alitalia, Lufthansa and British Airways will also get you there via another airport (or two!) for around the €250 mark.

When should I go?
With daytime temperatures rarely dipping below 14 degrees even in December, Naples is very much an all-year round destination.

But isn't it a crime blackspot?
Forget all this nonsense about it being a no-go area. Unless you’re planning to engage the local Camorra mafia in a turf war, Naples is no more dangerous than anywhere else in Italy and in parts is breathtakingly beautiful. It’s also the perfect base from which to explore the antiquities at Pompeii and Herculaneum, the upmarket resorts of Positano and Sorrento, fairytale villages like Nocelle and Agropoli, and the islands that dot the Bay of Naples.

What are the touristy things to do?
Take in the panoramic views from atop the star-shaped Castel Sant’Elmo; wonder at the artistry of our Roman forefathers in the Museo Archeologico Nazionale; and rub shoulders with the local smart set in the city’s Gucci-tastic Royal Naples enclave.

What about eating?
For the ultimate Neapolitan food experience head to Da Michele (Via Cesare Sersale 1. www.damichele.net), a defiantly old-fashioned pizzeria whose regulars are prepared to do that most un-Italian of things to get a table – queue.
There’s no menu, just a team of rushed off their feet waiters to ask whether you want a marinara or margherita – they don’t go in for any of this extra topping malarkey – which with a bottle of beer comes in at under a fiver.
If you enjoy the agony of choice, Taverna Ntretella (Salita S. Anna Di Palazzo 25) includes pasta e zucca (pasta with pumpkin); gnocchi alla Sorrentina (potato dumplings with tomato, basil & mozzarella); and sartù di riso (rice stuffed with chicken livers & sausage) among its comprehensive range of regional specialties.

Anything else?
The only thing Neapolitans are more passionate about than food is soccer. Napoli may have had a lean time of things since Maradona helped them to the Scudetto – the Argentine retains godlike status locally – twice during the 1980s, but the atmosphere at their 60,000-capacity Stadio San Paolo remains as endearingly bonkers as ever. See www.sscnapoli.it for ticket details.

Where should I go if I want to get out of the city?
No amount of leafing through guidebooks can prepare you for the magnificence of Pompeii, the ancient Roman town that was buried under 60 feet of ash when nearby Mount Vesuvius erupted, and rediscovered by accident in the 18th century.
40 minutes from Naples on the Circumvesuviana rail line, which carries on down to Sorrento, parts of Pompeii are so well preserved it feels like you’ve time travelled back to 79 AD.
While it’s the coliseum that draws the biggest crowds, the real joy is in wandering down side-streets and happening on bakeries with their ovens still intact; ornately decorated water troughs; and shrines to minor deities who fell in and out of vogue like pop stars do now. The best time to visit is at 8.30am when the gates open, and the tour bus brigade are still tucking into their hotel breakfast buffet.

Any money saving tips?
A joint €18 ticket also gets you a three-day pass to the neighbouring sites of Oplontis, Stabiae, Boscoreale and, best of all, Herculaneum, which is smaller than Pompeii but even more architecturally impressive. www.pompeiisites.org.

What are the best islands to visit?
Smart visitors should do what holidaying Neapolitans do, which is bypass Capri and its overpriced tourist traps in favour of its near neighbours Ischia and Procida where you won’t have to pay €6 for a cappuccino. The latter, with its resident population of just 10,000, is renowned for its superb seafood restaurants – La Gorgonia on the waterfront is currently the island’s hottest table – and cliff-top walks where it’s usually just you and a few wild goats taking in the sea views.
They’ve got plenty of goats on Ischia too along with hot thermal springs, and pools of volcanic mud in which to wallow the day away. If parts of Ischia look strangely familiar, that’s because it provided the backdrop for a chunk of 2000’s The Talented Mr. Ripley.
Car ferries and hydrofoils to all of the islands leave at regular intervals from Naples’ sprawling harbour. See www.turismoregionecampania.it/en for timetables.

How much to get tanked?
With a litre of house bianco or tinto rarely costing more than €6, not a lot. The locals are also very partial to limoncello and nocillo, a walnut liqueur that takes no prisoners.

What should I avoid?
Getting bitten by mosquitoes and other creepy crawlies. The local insect population loves succulent Irish flesh, so make sure to take plenty of repellent – Citronella always works for us – and anti-histamine cream with you.

Where can I stay?
Right in the heart of Naples’ Centro Storico, the Hotel Piazza Bellini has comfy doubles for €90. www.piazzabellini.hotelsinnapoli.com; Ischia’s €129 a night Strand Hotel Delfini has its own pool and access to a private beach. www.hoteldelfini.it/en; and doubles in Positano’s historic Hotel Posa are €190. www.hotelposaposa.com.

Travel News

The civil unrest in Thailand has lead to a 41% decrease in the number of people booking flights to Bangkok. The Thai government says that thousands of tourist industry jobs could be lost as a result… Emirates have launched MobileEmirates.com, which allows anyone with an internet-enabled device to book their flight from the palm of their hand… Meanwhile, AsiaWebDirect.com have revamped their excellent accommodation website, which is a must for anybody visiting the region…
If you’re heading to China, Tourboarding.com are offering free accommodation in private homes to English-speakers willing to chat to their host families for a few hours a day... If you want to follow in the footsteps of Allen Ginnsberg, William Burroughs and the other Beat generation scribes who hung out there during the 60’s, Paris’ Shakespeare and Company stages its annual Seine-side literary festival between June 18 and 20. Festivalandco.com has all the details… Ryanair have joined forces with Samonsite to produce a soft-sided carry-on bag, which complies with all their size restrictions… British Airways have withdrawn their planning applications for additional runways at Heathrow and Stansted after the new Conservative-Lib Dem coalition announced they were opposed to the expansion of either airport…

If you’re not prepared to let the Electric Picnic signal the end of your outdoor summer gig-going, let us point you in the direction of the Berlin Festival, which takes place the following weekend on the site of the former Tempelhof Airport.
For a mere €59 – or half that if you and a pal sign up for lastminute.com’s current 2 for the price of 1 offer – you can catch the likes of Editors, Fever Ray, LCD Soundsystem, Soulwax, Tricky, Adam Green, The Wedding Present and – yay! – Atari Teenage Riot playing over what we’re sure will be two sun-kissed days. www.berlinfestival.de has all the details.
If you’re hanging around for a while, you should definitely check out the new Topography Of Terror museum, which occupies the site of the former Nazi SS and Gestapo headquarters.
The reviews for the €37 million facility, which has been mooted ever since German reunification in 1989, have been overwhelmingly positive. Find out more at www.topographie.de/en.