This section is devoted to the where, when, and how of your trip. To entice you, we'll start off with a quick rundown of the various areas that make up this large region. To see Campania's highlights, plan on spending at least 5 to 7 days; 10 days will give you the leisure to enjoy things without feeling too pressed for time, and 14 days is about perfect.
Before You Leave Home: Tickets & Seats in Advance -- You absolutely need advance reservations for the Capodimonte Museum in Naples (the one museum in Campania where lines are always several hours long in occasion of the many special exhibits) and for special guided tours of Pompeii, but you might want to make reservations for a number of other attractions and events as well. The best place to make reservations is Pierreci (tel. 063-9967050; www.pierreci.it), the official advance reservation service for a number of museums and events in Campania and in Italy. To get tickets for all kinds of events, the best Italy-based operators are TicketOne (tel. 023-92261 for an English-speaking operator; www.ticketone.it); Charta (www.charta.it); and Viva Ticket (www.vivaticket.it). They all have English-language websites where you can make reservations and purchase tickets. U.S.-based companies offering advance tickets for a variety of museums and events in Italy are convenient, but they are usually more expensive and cover only a small selection of monuments and events. The best of these is Culturalitaly.com (tel. 800/380-0014; fax 928/639-0388; www.culturalitaly.com), a Los Angeles-based company which offers seats and reservations for operatic performances in Naples, special guided tours in Pompeii, and even tickets to the famed Festival of Ravello. Most reservations carry a $10/£5 fee, plus the cost of the event.
