Day trip from Rome To Sorrento in March

Personally, I think that is a crazy idea/schedule. The last time I checked Italian days were the same length as ours - 24 hours. You would be hanging out a bit and that is it. All your time would be on transportation. Check out a DVD on Pompeii and go straight to Sorrento. It would give a better over of Pompeii and you can say you were there when the train went by.

Wow, I got tired just reading this. :-) Patty, I suggest you do an hour-by-hour breakdown of how to execute this plan and I'm guessing that it will become apparent to you that you just won't have time to enjoy Pompeii or Sorrento or Positano. Factor in time to get to the train stations, bus stations, ferry landing, etc.

Patty Seems now would be the right time to buy your RS Italy Guide which provides the best information on transporation for Rome, Pompeii, Sorrento, and Positano. It is not possible to do a day trip from Rome to Pompeii, Sorrento, and Positano. I know, it is so hard to limit the number of places you want to see in Italy because you want to go everywhere. Let's just check the number of connections you need. Rome to Naples Fast Train (earliest leaves at 7:35AM & arrives 8:45 in Naples), take local train to Pompeii (time?), Pompeii visit (3 hours min), back to Naples train station (time?), Sorrento train (70 min,), Sorrento to Positano by bus (time ?), Positano to Naples by bus/train from Sorrento. 6 connections plus 3 hours in Pompeii! Not gonna happen. Pompeii can be done in a loonnngg day. Possible to do only Sorrento in a long day but definitely not recommended! If you can afford a private car and driver in Naples, it is possible to do quick Pompeii and Sorrento visits. But not by public transportation. Bobbie

Be aware that, along with other places in the area, most stores in Sorrento shut from about 1 pm to 4.30 - 5pm. The journey onwards from Pompeii to Sorrento takes about 30 minutes, no need to backtrack to Naples.

You're looking at 8.0-9.0hrs of transportation alone for the journey you describe. Yes, you should be able to see all of these places but you won't get to "hang a bit" in too many of them. The SITA bus alone from Sorrento to Positano is about an hour each way.

Thanks for the sanity check! I think I already knew the answer.. but saw a bus tour that did that trip from Rome for $250 per person and thought I could recreate it on the cheap. Just looked it back up and it is a 14 hour bus tour so that explains that! Will likely just do Pompeii and back.. or they do have a one way bus back from Sorrento, but will drop the idea of going up the coast. The bus takes four hours but the train transfers would likely be that long as well.

Hi Patty, When I read of your initial plans, it made me think of . . . me! Some great people here gave me a reality check as well.
My current plan is when the RS tour I am taking ends in Rome, I will take an express train to Naples, then transfer to the Circumvesuviana that goes to Pompeii. My son and I will explore Pompeii from the late morning until maybe mid afternoon. I was thinking then to take the Circumvesuviana to Sorento, spend the night, then in the morning check out Sorrento a bit, then take a bus to Rome or even Naples (depending on when I purchase plane tickets). If necessary, I can spend the evening in Rome at a hotel that is closer to the airport. I am still thinking a lot about it and will possibly make more revisions. I decided to cut out my original plan of the bus ride around the Amalfi Coast, because of my budget. I had thought of spending two nights in Sorrento, but I don't think so . . . one should be enough for my overstrained budget.

Here's what we did in July 2011. There were 8 of us. We did a tour with "Your Tour in Italy" Website: http://www.yourtourinitaly.com/joomla/ Wonderful company, great english speaking people via emails, and english speaking Italian guide. A little pricey but for 8 of us it was well worth it. They picked us up in a van at our hotel in Rome, drove us straight to Pompeii, we did a 2 hour tour with a guide (admission + tip extra). Then our driver took us to lunch to an incredibly fantastic place just above Positano, called "La Tagliata", which is a "fattoria" - one of the most marvelous experiences of our lives. Lunch was 25Euros each...all the food & wine you could hold - and then some. Views, fantastic food. I could go on and on. Website: http://www.latagliata.com/it/fattoria_positano Then the driver dropped off 4 of us at our Hotel in Sorrento (Il Nido - Website: http://www.ilnido.com/ where 1 couple spent the night (my husband and I stayed 5 nights). The other couple then took a ferry to Naples the next morning and fast train back to Rome.
The driver took the other 4 directly to Naples (instead of Sorrento), where they spent one night and then they too took the fast train back to Rome the next day. All in all, it was a MOST wonderful "side trip" from Rome! I highly recommend at least one, if not 2 nights in Sorrento. My husband and I stayed on in Sorrento for 4 more nights. The others still highly regret spending only 1 night there. Let me know if you have any other questions about Rome or Amalfi Coast.