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The main sights of central Naples are close enough to each other that walking is the top choice for getting around. Bring a sturdy pair of shoes, that provide solid support on the uneven pavements and cobbles.

The city buses in Naples are not for the faint-hearted. The system is chaotic and the old buses are dirty, crowded and subject to traffic jams. Most bus lines have their terminus at Piazza Garibaldi. Buy tickets from any local bar before boarding. Open-top, hopon hop-off sightseeing buses depart from Piazza Municipio and are a fun way to discover the city.

Naples and its vicinity has a complex but reliable system of trains, including trams, funicular railways and three local light railways that serve outlying areas. Trams run along the shore and the funiculars go up to Vomero, while the Circumvesuviana goes all the way to Sorrento, with many stops along the way, including the major archaeological sites such as Pompeii. The Cumana and Circumflegreo go west to the Campi Flegrei. There’s also a metro system, and most of these lines converge conveniently at the central station.

For most, getting around the area by car is likely to stress even the calmest of drivers – private cars are not allowed on Capri, traffic jams on the Sorrentine Peninsula and the Amalfi Coast are maddening, car theft is common, and the motorways are chaotic.

This is a fine idea for getting around Ischia, and possibly the archaeological areas west of Naples, but elsewhere you will run into the same problems as you would by car. Narrow, curving roads lined with too many vehicles are the major problems.

Once here, you could stick to hydrofoils, going from port to port – Naples has two, then there are the islands, Pozzuoli, Sorrento, Positano, Amalfi and Salerno – and doing your sightseeing entirely on foot. By private boat, of course, your options increase enormously.

Almost without exception, taxi drivers in Naples are dishonest and will try to find ways to increase your tab shamelessly. A favourite trick is to fiddle the meter so that it charges the rate for out-of-town travel, or they simply invent “surcharges”. It’s always best to spend a moment settling the cost of the trip in advance, meter or no meter, especially with lengthy waits in traffic.

The driving in Naples and any built-up area is far too crazy to allow for safe bicycle travel. However, it’s a definite option on the islands of Procida and Ischia, as well as on some of the mountainous backroads along the Sorrentine Peninsula and remoter areas west of Naples.

On the islands, there’s no better way to really get to know the secrets of the shoreline and the smaller grottoes than to rent your own kayak. You can circumnavigate Capri, for example, in about 4 or 5 hours, including stops for a swim at secluded spots. Take a supply of drinking water and slather on waterproof sunscreen beforehand.

This area is blessed with scenic mountain trails, especially on Ischia and Capri and above Positano and Amalfi. Some of them thread their way along old goat paths from village to village, often with the reward of a wonderful restaurant at the end.