If you could only have 8 hrs. in Pompei

Doing Pompei will take about half that time. I liked Sorrento, not sure you have much time for that.

Pompeii from Rome is already a gruelling day. Even in winter it can get hot there. And it is a big place.

For me 8 hours is too much, with 2 hours either end to and from Rome.

When in winter? Like right now? Days are short.

I've never heard of banning certain parts of Vesuvius for an entire season.

If your boy is Hawaiian has he climbed Haleakala?

Nigel,
We are leaving for Rome this weekend, and hope to do Pompei middle of next week.
The 8 hrs. is the time we have on the ground in Pompei from arrival to departure (it doesn't include travel time from Rome and back). Weather wise it appears to be in the low 50'.
We are not Hawaiian, Aloha is just my standard greeting :) brings warm feelings.....

Thanks

I'm not 13, but I don't attach the slightest value to climbing Vesuvius. You can see it from Pompeii and Herculaneum. Isn't that the point? In Roman times, probably only the oracles climbed volcanoes!

If you have a good guidebook, you'll find Pompeii a rich four hours inside the gates, and exhausting. I also like Herculaneum, but not on the same 8-hour day without a car and driver. (Herc is 15 minutes downhill from the train stop.) Perhaps Villa Oplontis, but you have to read about it if you want to get anything out of the visit. Only Pompeii has food inside. Would the child want authentic pizza and baba au rhum in Naples? (Remember Italy is fresh, "slow food.") Neapolitan wood carving stores?

You are greatly handicapped by the time limit.

With 8 full hours you could certainly do both Pompeii and Herculaneum (even by public transportation, short train ride and walk). They are different enough to make both interesting. Also do you have any time scheduled in Naples itself? The archaeology museum has a lot of the 'stuff' from Pompeii and makes a good companion trip. If you are really energetic you could do all three in 8 hours. I think all three of those are more 'worthwhile' than climbing Vesuvius.

The archaeology museum has a lot of the 'stuff' from Pompeii and makes
a good companion trip.

I'm thinking the same. That would be a very nice follow-up to your scavi visit as a lot of the valuable artifacts are displayed there, and you wouldn't be dealing with any potential weather complications. It's closed on Tuesdays.

https://www.museoarcheologiconapoli.it/en/

The scavi itself is much, much bigger than you may be expecting.

Hi I am really confused on the 8 hours on the ground. What time are you leaving Rome? How are you getting there? If by train you need 70 minutes to get to Naples and then 30 minutes to get to Pompeii. If private car it will be longer. Are you leaving at 6 am? It gets dark very early this time of year and does not get light till pretty late compared to what it does here in the Midwest.

We spent about 5 hours at Pomepeii and never even ate lunch. If you want to see something else I would maybe take the train to Sorrento?

Going up to and climbing Vesuvius takes quite a bit of time, much more than I had anticipated when I went. With only 8 hours for your entire visit to the area, you'd probably want to use a taxi. A taxi might be able to take you from Pompeii to Vesuvius to Naples train station, but it would likely be expensive. I like the suggestion to instead either stop at Herculaneum (on the Circumvesuviana line) or at the Archeological Museum (short Metro ride from Naples train station). Even if you decide to visit Vesuvius, I'd have a backup plan in case the weather that winter day is poor and the visibility from that height very limited.

We will also be in Rome next week and have a day trip planned to Pompeii from Rome. Our plan is to spend the first half of the day in Pompeii, have a late lunch in Naples and then visit the Archaeological Museum since it is open until 7:30 pm. If you decide that want to visit the museum, just know it is closed on Tuesdays.

Someone above mentioned the archaeology museum in Naples, as a fitting pair with the Pompeii site.

If you're taking public transport and, therefore, are going through the Naples train station, the "Naples underground" looks interesting. I haven't been there. A young person may appreciate it:

https://www.napolisotterranea.org/en/naples-underground/

I think this is of the same 'tour', starting at the 3:37 mark:
https://youtu.be/-VDVyrGAYiM

Daylight is only 10 hrs, with sunset just after 5PM

Plan accordingly