Day Trip South from Rome

How much time are you hoping to spend in each place to "see" it?

As Michael said, what do you mean by "see"? Is this a bucket list sort of thing, to say you were on the Amalfi Coast and "did" Pompeii? Or do you want to enjoy and savor? Or something in between? As you can tell from the tone of my reply, I think your question itself implies wanting to do too much. The whole point of the Amalfi coast is the beauty of the road itself, and relaxing in one of the towns. I saw Positano as a daytrip from Naples, and felt this was a waste of time; if I had it to do over, I'd either stay there a few days and relax, or skip it. Rome to Naples is 70 minutes on the fastest train, and Naples to Pompeii is about 30 more minutes on the Circumvesuviana. I don't know what time Pompeii opens, but you will need 90-120 minutes to do even a blitz tour of it. Then it's 40 minutes to Sorrento, the start of the buses to the Amalfi Coast towns. You can just stay on the bus for views (I think it's 3 hours from Sorrento to Salerno), but if you want to get off and see a town, you need to allow time for this. You will have to have lunch somewhere, and in Italy, it's not easy to do that fast. Then, in Salerno you can catch a train back to Rome (may have to change in Naples). Looking quickly on the Bahn website for the random date of May 15, the last train that gets you back to Rome that night leaves Salerno 19:50 and gets back to Rome 23:36, with a change in Naples. Of course, that means you're on the train during dinner, so you'll need to pick up something in Salerno to eat on the train (or bring energy bars along). This is not my idea of a worthwhile day, but it's your trip. Many people do see Pompeii as a daytrip from Rome, and now that the trains to Naples are faster, it's much better than before. Boat schedules are quite irregular and seasonal; if you want to do as much as possible in 1 day, they won't work well.

You might consider hiring a driver for the day. We used Sorrento Silver Star. Communicated with Luisa who is wonderful. The service picked us up at Naples Central Station. You could then design your itinerary in the area.

Thanks for your replies. The goal would be to see as much in one day as possible. We have time to savor other parts of Italy but scheudle only permits a day for this venture. Sounds like Pompeii is reasonable but extending beyond to blitz the coast is not.

We are taking a day trip fro Rome to Pompeii and Positano....12 hour day and a bit expensive depending on whether you join a small group or enjoy a more private excursion. Check out Trip Advisor
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