Europe

Want to get out of Naples and Italy and see the rest of Europe? This section will help you figure out where to go, get there, and have a good time!

Travel Tips for European Destinations

France (including Paris, Provence/French Riviera, Normandy, Brittany, and SW France)

Germany

Austria

Switzerland (including Zurich and Bernese Oberland)

Spain and Portugal (including Basque Country)

Netherlands and Belgium

British Isles

Scandinavia

Eastern Europe

Greece and Turkey

East and South Mediterranean (Egypt, Malta, Israel...)

Transport Within Europe

There are lots of ways to get from Naples to elsewhere in Europe: car, train, ferry, or air.

Discount Airlines

To do a general search for low-cost fares (e.g. what are all the cheap flights leaving from Naples or Rome?) try out Skyscanner. (Google Flight Search also has an Explore Flights and Explore Map mode that also answers similar questions). If you know your destination, Kayak is one of the best search pages (and it can act as a "meta-search" for other sites like Expedia). For general information about discount airlines, see Wikivoyage's page on low-cost (discount) airlines in Europe.

Departures from Naples

For a more complete list, see Wikipedia's Naples Airport page.

...more information is also available on Napoli Unplugged's Air Travel page.

Departures from Rome

All of the airlines above have flights out of Rome. Several of these airlines have flights to additional destinations than their flights originating in Naples. Among those are Air Berlin with service to Austria, Denmark, Finland, France, Poland, Russia, Spain Sweden, and Switzerland. Many RyanAir and WizzAir flights depart from Ciampino; be sure to check out the cheap Ciampino military parking lot (other options for getting to/from Ciampino from downtown Rome are at Amanda Ruggeri's Revealed Rome).

Trains

Italy has connections to various European destinations via night trains. For example, you can board in Rome and wake up in Paris! When searching Trenitalia's website, you might need to put in the Italian name for your destination (e.g. Paris is "Parigi"). Also see Trenitalia's International Special Deals.

Ferries

Many ferries leave from Bari, on the Italian Adriatic Coast, for such places as Croatia and Greece. Most ferries are overnight.

Space A Flights

Information about space availability lodging and flights for major European bases is available at the Naples Tiger Shark Swim Team travel webpage.

Europe Travel Books

    • Time Out Guides - these are great for big cities that you plan on spending a good amount of time in (e.g. Naples). They tell you all the stuff that only locals know--like what clubs are hot when, what bars serve the best coffee, and which restaurants. They also have lots of interesting details about the history and culture of each city, thus making them a great read as well as being a great resource.
    • Let's Go! - written by Harvard students, these guides are great for finding cheap but nice places to stay or eat: you almost can't go wrong with their "thumbs up" recommended listings. (For example, one contributor stayed in very nice rooms in the heart of Assisi and Florence for €20 and €30 a night, respectively.) Also, since the books are somewhat cheaply bound, it's easy to tear out the applicable pages for a specific trip (e.g. tear out the Tuscany section of their Italy book, or the Croatia section of their Europe book) so you can pack light.
    • Rick Steves - these opinionated guidebooks, written with a sense of humor by the PBS travel star Rick Steves, are good for figuring out the "must see" stuff in each city or country, and explain why they are interesting/important. For example, Steves realizes that if you're visiting Paris, you probably don't have more than a week, so he tells you what he recommends seeing if you only have one day, or two days, or three days. Then, when you go to the Louvre, he tells you which art works he thinks are most important, with amusing and informative stories about why. While his guidebooks don't have very many restaurants or hotels (and they tend to fill up because he is now fairly popular), they are great for short trips. Also check out Rick's website and podcast for free information.
    • Eyewitness Books - these overrated books are good for figuring out where you want to visit, but not very useful once you get there.

Travel Websites

    • Chowhound.com - Written for foodies by foodies, this site can help you find good restaurants in some of the more touristy towns.
    • TheAncientWorld.net - Brief overviews and ancient maps that will help familiarize yourself with some of the past civilizations that have laid claim to the Mediterranean Region.
    • Sacred-Destinations.com - Very broad website that contains information, pictures, and aerial maps of many different sites around the world. Not very concise if browsing for ideas of trips, but if you know where you want to go then it's great for looking up some interesting sites nearby.
    • Wikivoyage.org - A wiki focusing on travel; some of its pages can be very informative (replaced Wikitravel, a site that is now for-profit)
    • Slow Travel - A travel philosophy influenced by Slow Food, Slow Travel encourages people to stay longer in one place to get a sense of what it is like to live as a local. Slow Travel readers have posted a number of trip reports and tips for various places.
    • Frommer's - Has placed many of their restaurant reviews and other travel tips online.