Day Trip from Rome to Pompeii

Rick Steves Italy and Rick Steves Rome books will have all the details you need to take the trip yourself by public transportation.

The Rick Steves guidebook directions worked perfectly for us in 2010. There's a train directly from Rome to Pompeii where you get a ticket and go into the ruins.

I think it took something like 2hrs or maybe less? on the train to get there. It was a very easy trip. Don't forget to visit mt. vesuvius too if the weather permits there are busses/tours that take you about 90% of the way up and then you climb the last bit. We enjoyed the view from the top of the volcano almost as much as Pompeii's ruins. :)

If you only go as far as Pompeii then you will miss the spectacular beauty of Sorrento and the cliffs overlooking the Mediterranean. It's an extremely long and exhausting day to do Pompeii from Rome. If you just positively can't spare a night to spend in Sorrento after your long traverse from Rome to Pompeii then have you just considered going to Ostia Antica from Rome. It's much closer and actually better preserved than Pompeii.

But by no means do you need a tour guide or travel agent to take you to these places.

Only went to Pompeii not Mt. Vesuvius from Rome and we thought it was an easy trip but very hot when we went last June, wear really good shoes as it is also very uneven walking, wear a hat and take water. It is not one train from Rome, you have to change trains in Naples, very easy, in the same train station, just downstairs. We took fast train from Rome which took about an hour and fifteen minutes and only about half hour on local train from Naples to Pompeii. The ruins are maybe five hundred feet from the train station. Be sure to get off at the correct stop, I think is Pompeii Scavi but not sure. I would go as early as possible to beat the heat.

Train will serve you just fine from Rome to Naples and Pompeii. Both Rick's Italy book and Rome book cover these steps in detail. Buses run from Pompeii Scavi train station to Mt. V and from there to either Herculaneum or Naples. There's a steep uphill walk on the mountain from the bus stop.

You can find these and other similar discussions on this forum:

• https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/italy/visiting-pompeii-and-herculaneum

• https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/italy/side-trip-rome-to-pompeii