Sports

There are a wide range of fun sports and outdoor activities in Italy, among them the following:

Camping, Hiking and Backpacking

A number of national and regional parks offer great hiking, camping, and backpacking.

SCUBA Diving

Between underwater ruins, sea caves, and teeming sea life, this area is a great place for SCUBA diving.

Soccer (Football)

Naples is a great town for both watching and playing soccer. Your Naples experience isn't complete without seeing a Napoli Soccer Game.

Mountain Biking

There are trails right outside Naples no farther than Avellino

Golf

Unfortunately, for the golf addicts out there, the sport has not caught on in Italy the way that it has in other European countries and much of Italy's lush verdant undulating landscape is completely underutilized. There is more golf in Northern than Southern Italy but still nothing that compares with large number of golf courses you would find around most US cities.

There are two golf courses in the Naples Area:

• Carney Park, operated by MWR, is a 9-hole course that also features a driving range and putting green. Open from Dawn till Dusk. Par 35 Course rating 34.5 Slope 117 9- Hole Yardage: 2,991. Phone number: 081-526-1579/3395/3396. Every Saturday, Sunday and most holidays, the Carney Park Golf Association, CPGA, tees off at 0730. There is a small membership fee. Handicaps are established and maintained by the CPGA after your first 5 rounds. There are competitions each weekend and a "major" tournament each quarter hosted by the CPGA. If you are interested, show up around 0700 on any weekend rain or shine ready to play golf. All skill levels are invited as long as you respect the game.
• Castel Volturno, located in the town of Castel Volturno on the coast North of Naples, is an 18-hole golf course that has a driving range and putting green. Par 71 Yardage: 6,440 WARNING: Course conditions can vary. More information can be found at www.volturnogolf.com

There are a number of golf courses near Rome but they can be expensive. Le Querce and Castel Gandolfo are both recommended. For more information, google.

Skiing

Roccaraso is among the closest ski resort areas, with a busses leaving from Carney Park during the season. They also have snow tubing. Campitello Matese and Campobasso are closer, smaller resorts.

Water Sports

Nisida hosts the Naples NATO Yacht/Sailing Club, which any military person can join for about €80 a year; membership gives you the docking privileges and free rental of their smaller sailboats. Kayaks can be rented from Carney Park, and various seaside vendors allow you to rent kayaks, rowboats, or motor boats.

• Rent a gomma (inflatable RHIB-like boat) out of Monte di Procida ~€150 (6 pax): Locaboat Cell 333-336-8189 [3339272410/3384207770/0818045366]

Running

Naples hosts a marathon and half-marathon in April; see the events page for more. Some good places to run include the various lungomare (along the water, e.g. Pozzuoli, Mergellina...) and the huge park of Capodimonte. If you like rough trail running and hills, Carney Park has nice paths (see the hiking page for more information). There is also a hashing kennel, the Bella Napoli Hash House Harriers, although they are a self-described "drinking club with a running problem"

Bowling

In addition to the Support Site and JFC bowling alleys, there are the following bowling alleys out in town:

• Bowling Oltremare - viale Kennedy 12 (not far from JFC), 081-624-444 or 081-593-0877
• Showbowl - via Augusto Righi 17 (near the Agnano Tang exit), 081-570-4134

Climbing

The Climbing House club on the Amalfi Coast has information about several good sites on/near the coast. You can do "via Ferrata" climbing in the Dolomites or Gran Sasso Park (see the Hiking Page for more information). [OTHER CLIMBING SPOTS??] For climbing gear, check out Decathlon and ask for "arrampicata" gear.

Whitewater Rafting

There are several spots where one can do whitewater rafting in Italy, such as Marmore Falls in Umbria and on the Lao River in Calabria's Pollino National Park (which extends into Basilicata). See other adventure sports.

Zipline

Maybe not a "sport" but fun nevertheless—check out the Basilicata page for information about the "Volo dell'Angelo" between two hilltowns in southern Italy.