Hello friends,
My husband and I will be combining driving and public transportation during our 2 week visit to Italy this April/May. The last 3 days of our trip will be spent in Rome. We'll be coming there from Salerno after dropping our car several days before. We will be leaving Salerno by train with our luggage (carry on and day bag each). I was hoping we could spend several hours in Pompeii on the way to Rome without too much trouble.
It looks to me like the train from Salerno stops at the main Pompei station (new town) rather than the Pompeii Scavi station. I'm concerned about luggage storage at that station. We are adventurous (66 and 77 year old travelers) but I can't envision dragging our luggage all the way to the Porta Marina entrance for luggage storage and back. We'll probably spend less than 4 hours in Pompeii and then back to the train station to head to Rome. I'm also afraid if we take a taxi to Porta Marina to stow our luggage that it may be full. (Holiday the day before.) At this point I am making myself anxious enough to skip Pompeii and I really don't want to do that. Was in Rome when I was 12 and wanted so much to see Pompeii. Now's my chance.
I have driven in many European countries (including those crazy kids who drive on the left side of the road). I am a bit intimidated by figuring out the right trains to be completely honest. I do believe that sometimes getting lost just means you see something else you hadn't planned to see... but I really don't want to screw this up. I have the Trenitalia app on my phone and figured I could ask our AirBnB host which is the closest train station in Rome --- oh boy, I digress. Today, I'm just trying to figure out the practicalities of a Pompeii visit. I really don't want to torture my husband.
Posted by
872 posts
Take the train from Salerno to Napoli Centrale [38 minutes] and drop your bags, "Deposito Bagagli" ahead and to the left. Then go downstairs to Napoli P Garibaldi and buy a ticket for the commuter train to Pompeii Scavi. After baggage retrieval use the window machine or Trenitalia app for your tickets to Rome.
Posted by
Washington DC
28247 posts
It's really smart to figure out the logistics ahead of time and to be aware of potential holiday impact, but I don't think you're going to have any issues here. I definitely wouldn't give up this long-anticipated chance to see Pompeii. Although I haven't been to the main train station in Pompei or stored luggage near the excavations, I think these are the factors to consider:
- There is luggage-storage at both the train station near the scavi and at the excavations themselves.
- I don't recall any reports by a visitor who arrived and found the storage full.
- To the extent that the holiday increases visitor levels at Pompeii, I'd expect most of the excess to be locals, and they wouldn't need to store luggage.
What's the very worst that could happen? If for some disastrous reason you taxi from the main Pompei station over to the scavi and can't find a place to store your luggage (highly unlikely though I think that is), you can simply take your bags to the nearby scavi train station, hop on and ride to Naples, then switch to the Freccia train to Rome--which I'm guessing you were planning to do anyway. You'd just get to Naples a few hours earlier than expected.
The worst thing, for me, would be not to try to see Pompeii.
You probably won't have a choice of train station in Rome. The Freccia trains from Naples go to Termini Station. Unless you opt to spend an extra hour on the train between Naples and Rome, Termini is where you'll end up. Do check with your Airbnb host about the best way to get from there to your lodgings.
Posted by
Eastern Iowa, USA
8124 posts
I am a bit confused, you mention "Sorento" (Sorrento?) in your title, then talk about Salerno in the body of your question. If you will be in Sorrento, Pompeii is easy to do from there, if Salerno, then you seem to be getting some good advice.
Posted by
OP
Shepherd, MI
3 posts
Paul, you’ve every right to be confused! We are leaving from Salerno but I confuse the two with regularity (apparently). ;)
Posted by
Wyckoff, NJ, USA
7938 posts
Although I don't approve of AirBnb, this is a good way to deal with their typically late check in times. Since you aren't going to an all-day hotel check in desk, it may even not be a problem to buy a non-refundable, non-changeable Frecciarossa rail ticket (one specific departure time) from Naples to Rome. That will be at a good discount. You do have some exposure to a late or omitted Circumvesuviana train making you miss the fixed departure to Rome.
Rome is a big city, and you'll be using public transit every day. Luggage is a problem, but tourists all have luggage. Maybe spring for a taxi at Termini Station. I would not book a hotel without looking it up on Google Maps. But that's one of the minuses to AirBnb.
Posted by
OP
Shepherd, MI
3 posts
Thank you. Thank you. So much helpful information from my first post...and that in spite of me mixing up my cities! I have a plan now for the day from Salerno to Rome that includes my longed for trip to Pompeii. I really appreciated the encouragement acraven. I remember reading an article as a child about Pompeii and I've been intrigued ever since. I'm sorry we'll miss the museum in Naples; however, we're only in Italy for 2-weeks. I suspect there will be a million things we'll "miss" while we enjoy many others. You are a kind, responsive group. Again, much appreciated.