How far is the cruise ship terminal in Naples from access to the city bus system? I am trying to get from the cruise ships up Via Toledo towards Piazza Dante. What bus runs that route?

Large cruise ships usually dock at the Stazione Marittima, at the base of Piazza Municipio.

You will need to walk to Piazza Municipio (400 yards) to catch a city bus going to Piazza Dante. There is a bus stop directly in front of the main entrance to the Maschio Angioino (Castel Nuovo). Ask the people there whether this is the correct stop for buses going up Via Toledo to Piazza Dante.

There are a couple of buses going in that direction. For example, bus R4 (frequency every 11 minutes) goes to Piazza Dante, the Archeological Museum, and further north. Bus R1 (frequency every 12 minutes) is another choice.

Or you can walk all the way in approx. 25 minutes. Add another 5 minutes to reach the Museo Archeologico. It's a very gentle upward slope to the Museum.

You will need to purchase a ticket prior to boarding the bus (newsstand, tobacconist, some bars). Each ticket costs 1 Euro, but you can purchase a day pass for 3 Euros. The ticket must be punched as soon as you board the bus. If the punching machine is broken (frequently), mark the ticket yourself by pen with the date and hour of boarding. Otherwise, you risk the possibility of being fined.

www.anm.it (Naples city bus system)

According to the ANM web site, the #24 bus serves both Piazza Municipio (across from the Stazione Marittima) and Piazza Dante.

Correct.

BTW, Bus 24 will also take you all the way to the Museo di Capodimonte, in case you wish to visit this wonderful picture gallery (and great views of the Bay of Naples).

My guess is that your destination is the Archeological Museum, however.

An afterthought:

There is quite of bit of construction activity going on in Piazza Municipio involving the new subway line to Stazione Centrale (proceeding slowly, as ancient artefacts are constantly being unearthed). As a consequence, some bus stops may have been relocated and bus lines re-routed.

So, it's important to ask locally for the exact location of the bus stop for the buses going to Piazza Dante and beyond.

And, because it's Naples, expect to receive different (and sometimes contradictory) answers from each person you ask.

quote:

And, because it's Naples, expect to receive different (and sometimes contradictory) answers from each person you ask.

yes that's very true. Why is that? is it a slap to one's honor to admit that one doesn't know? You can get so hopelessly lost because each person tells you something different, and i highly suspect that they really don't know and don't want to admit it.

This never happened to me in Rome.

quote:

Originally posted by GAC: ...bus R4 (frequency every 11 minutes) goes to Piazza Dante, the Archeological Museum, and further north.

But please remember that the frequency is "on average," and there may be delays, especially due to the construction that GAC already noted. I've waited 45 minutes for an R4 that showed on the schedule as arriving in 5 minutes (I left after that, so don't know when it finally arrived!).

If you are up to the hike, I would recommend that you walk to Piazza Dante, and allow about an hour to wander there slowly. That will take you past the Castel Nuovo and San Carlo Opera House (San Carlo has short tours most mornings, every half hour, EUR 5 per person), you can poke into Galleria Umberto (shopping gallery with lovely glass roof; go to Sfogliatella Mary's for some of the best sfoglitelle pastries in town), and wander along Via Toledo (locally still called Via Roma), the upscale pedestrian shopping street, as you make your way to Piazza Dante. (But please do look out for motorbikes and delivery vans ignoring the "pedestrian only" signs!)

I did that walk many times during my days in Naples and always enjoyed it. There are some busy spots on that hike but it is most enjoyable. I particularly like the activity around the funicular and the Galleria and there is an old and traditional bar with the sweetest pastries and wonderfully strong coffee. And Mary’s sfogliatelle. At the base of the funicular to the Vomero there is a place (Luise? ) that makes the best fritture.

Thanks for the info - If it were just me I would walk, (not all the way up to Capodimonte!!) but I'm shepherding some folks who need to take a ride..
They've been building that subway stop since I was there in 2005, I guess it takes a long time.

"And, because it's Naples, expect to receive different (and sometimes contradictory) answers from each person you ask."
Naples doesn't have a monopoly on this, NYC is the same way, I think folks in big cities know a lot about their neighborhood, but not everything about the entire urban area.

I hate to tell you, but they've been working on that subway stop since at least the early 1990s! They just keep finding more archaeology every time they try to dig.

It is an easy pleasant short walk from Molo Beverello and the Stazione Marittima to Via Toledo and Piazza Dante.