day trip from Rome to Pompeii

Why is it that tours are a rip-off? Most are only about 120 Euro. Now add up the costs of doing it on your own:

Round trip train fare: 80 Euro
entry ticket: 11 Euro
lunch: 10-20 Euro
Guided tour: at least 10 Euro

Isnt it worth saving yourself the hassle? If you love do it yourself tourism it's one thing, but sometimes it's nice to have a day when you just don't have to stress about anything. That's my two cents :)

Yes, it's obviously do-able because lots of people seem to do it. Bypassing Sorrento and those beautiful seaside cliffs would be a terrible thing to not see (IMO). If at all possible spend a night in Sorrento. Yes, I know Rome is wonderful, but Sorrento and the beautiful blue Mediterranean sea is such pleasant diversion from Rome I would hate for you to miss it.

On the other hand have a look at http://www.ostia-antica.org/ I know it's not Pompeii, and I've never actually been there, but lots of people choose this place over Pompeii because it's so much closer to Rome.

Can you get to Ostia by train? Thanks for the advice.
I hope we can stay in Sorrento but I am looking for options.

I do not think it is stupid.

A train from Rome to Naples takes only about 1 hour 15 minutes and tickets are less than 20 Euro round trip. From Naples you would then take the Circumvesuviana rail another 40 minutes to Pompeii.

It would be very easy to depart Rome at 8am to be in Pompeii by 10:30am. Spend 2-4 hours enjoying Pompeii using Rick's well written self-guided walk --http://www.ricksteves.com/plan/destinations/italy/pompeiiwalk.htm -- have lunch at the little cafe just outside the ruins if you like, then back on a train about 4pm in time to have dinner in Rome at 6:30pm -- for the travel cost of about $30.

Could cost less -- explore what discount cards would apply in this case -- the Campania ArteCard makes sense for sure if you were going to Sorrento, but I'm not sure if it makes sense in this case -- check it out at http://www.campaniaartecard.it/EN/Home.cfm -- also explained in Rick's book in the Sorrento section as of the 2007 revision.

I think Pompeii makes for a very relaxing side-trip to break up the sometimes tiring pace of sightseeing in Rome.

From Rick's site regarding Ostia Antica --

http://www.ricksteves.com/plan/destinations/italy/ostia.htm

"...Getting to Ostia Antica from downtown Rome is a snap — it's a 45-minute combination Metro/train ride to Ostia Antica. It'll cost you just one Metro ticket each way (your €1 Metro ticket also covers the train — so just €2 total round-trip). From Rome, take Metro line B to the Piramide stop..."

[Go to the link for the rest of it, including times, costs, etc...]

Tours are considered a rip off because they usually spend 2 hours at Pompeii and then they drag you to their friends at a special restaurant and then to their other friends at the cameo factory. You spend more time seeing the tour "friends" than you do at Pompeii.

You can take the train for 41.00 euros round trip in second class. This will take about 2 hours. The ticket on the circumvesuviana will cost less than 8 euros. You can get a guide at the ruins for about 15 euros and lunch can cost anywhere from 8 to 80 euros depending on where you eat. So, without eating that is about 65 euros to do it on your own. There is a restaurant at the pompeii site (I wouldn't eat there because it is not that good and is very expensive), there is also a small cafe at the train station where you can get a cheap sandwich or even a plate of spaghetti.

It is very easy to do on your own and that is what I always advise people to do.

I don't think I would combine it with another city like Sorrento unless it were as an overnight. I would combine it with see Herculaneum. That is a wonderful site and is halfway between Naples and Pompeii. It is very easy to get to and can be seen in about 4 hours.

Donna

kim,

As the others have mentioned, a visit to Pompeii can be done as a day trip, but it will be a long day. If you decide to go ahead with it, I'd suggest planning the transportation carefully, so that you have a definite idea on the departure times of the trains.

You could easily take an early train from Rome to Naples, the Circumvesuviana to Pompeii and then return in the evening. Be sure to be vigilant and wear a Money Belt while travelling on the Circumvesuviana!

There are excellent local Guides listed in the Italy Guidebook (Gaetano Manfredi is EXCELLENT, but he's usually booked well in advance). If you decide not to pre-book a Guide, you'll probably find that as you head for the ticket office, you'll be approached by local Guides at the entrance.

Whether to use a Guided Bus Tour from Rome is a matter of preference and of course budget. As someone else suggested, it would be a shame to miss at least one night in Sorrento, however if time is an issue plan to return and enjoy Sorrento on a future trip.

Happy travels!

Kim,

Take a look at this scrapbook entry.

www.travelscrapbookonline.com/day7pompeiinaples.htm

It was written by someone who went on one of the RS tours and then decided to do a daytrip to Pompeii and Naples after the tour ended. It is a very detailed account. I think it will give you a good idea of what might be feasible in a busy day.

Thanks for the wonderful advice. I think thanks to all of you we will see Pompeii but not at a crazy pace. Looks like an overnight in Solerno may be just the thing.

Solerno???

Oops... I mean Sorrento. Long day at work...

Ostia Antica is amazing. It's like an easily accessible Pompeii without the crowds.

What it comes down to is whether or not you think you will return to Italy. I didn't see Pompeii as a day trip from Rome on my first Italian adventure because I knew I would be back. I'm glad I did because I had extra time to see the Pompeii artifacts at the National Museum, Herculaneum, climbed Vesuvius and enjoyed the best pizza in Naples.

Ostia Antica is wonderful and I actually did enjoy my visit there more than Pompeii. But, Pompeii is...well, Pompeii

Hi, we visited Rome for the first time about 5 years ago. We were pretty naive then, and decided to go with a GoToday tour which got a good recommendation in Newsweek. When I paid for the trip, I signed us up for a trip to Pompeii.

Got on the bus at the crack of dawn. The hotel had sweetly packed us a lovely breakfast (including those little juice boxes of Pesce which I crave badly here in the U.S.). First thing we heard from the bus driver was: No food or drink on the bus. He was really strict. Though starving, we had to wait until the bus had a pit stop about 2 hours into the trip.

On the way we stopped on Amalfi Drive at this amazing scenic overlook and it was stunning. Back on the bus and then we got to the restaurant and cameo factory (I smiled when I read the other person's entry on this). The food was ok, I didn't buy any cameos, and we still had jet lag and so appreciated the bus ride.

I loved seeing Pompeii--spent maybe 2 hours there. It was annoying though that the tour leader said his spiel in 3 different languages. But I took tons of photos and took it all in. On the way home, we stopped in Sorrento for the inlay furniture factory tour. By then, my husband and I realized that we were in for another hokey advertisement for something, so we used the loo in the furniture factory and when everyone else went upstairs for the hour long tour, we took off and had a wonderful passagetto around Sorrento. We were hungry and went into a little deli and the owner said, "Hungry? Wait! I make you sandwich!" He cut slabs of fresh buffalo mozzarella and layered it in paninni and threw on some spiced green olives in oil. We walked the town eating these divine dripping sandwiches and noticing the stone houses, the little perches with madonnas, the ravine with the ancient Roman building from centuries earlier. I think that was when we fell in love with Italy, and have been back 3 times since, and all on our own! So, the tour was worth it

I'm with you- not into tours. My husband works with a guy from the area and he said to stay in Sorrento (he wanted us to stay in Positano but it is too hard to get to for a couple of days) We will stay in Sorrento and devote the day to Pompeii. Hope we find the same deli you found- made me hungry!

Don't immediately dismiss a tour. We took one a couple of years back and it was wonderful. It was only slightly more expensive than going on our own and included pick up from the hotel, bus trip, lunch (which was a wonderful 4 course meal that ended with fresh clementines, an excellent guide, time to wander on our own. Yes, there was a stop at the cameo shop but it was a "here it is if you're interested" kind of thing. No pressure. The guide made the site come alive; something that's hard to do with a guide book. I'm not normally big on tours but this was at the end of nearly 3 weeks of being tour guide for my friends and it was great to sit back on the bus and not have to be responsible. Had I been on my own, it would have still be a great experience.