We are taking the train from Lucca to Pompei on one of our days in Italy.
The train connections are: Lucca-Florence-Naples-Pompei.
If I make a day trip to Orvieto on the way the train connections are:
Lucca-Florence-Orvieto-Rome-Pompei.
Is it worth complicating my train route to see this hill town? Are there other hill towns near Lucca that I could
visit without a car on a daytrip?
I just plan to get to Pompeii to sleep to see the ruins in the morning.
Thank you.
Dont sleep in Pompeii. Stay in Naples or Sorrento. Very easy connections to Pompeii in the morning.
Orvieto has a couple worthwhile sights. Whether it is worth it to complicate your day with an extra stop is up to you to decide.
Orvieto is wonderful, but visiting it this way would put you there for a relatively short time in the middle of the day, when it is most crowded with day trippers. In my opinion, it is nicest early in the morning and in the late afternoon and evening, as is often the case with popular places. Instead of taking a fast direct train from Florence to Naples, you would likely need to take slower trains from Florence to Orvieto, and then Orvieto to Rome and on to Naples/Pompeii, often with connections. So, considerably more travel time and hassle. You would probably also need to check your baggage in Orvieto, which I believe cannot be done at the RR station, but at a nearby hotel. Personally, given all this, I think I would leave Orvieto for a longer stay during my next trip to Italy. Also, be sure you understand where your hotel is located in Pompeii, and whether you should take the regular train from Naples to the Pompeii city stop, or the Circumvesuviana train to the Pompeii Ruins (scavi) stop. There is some distance between the those two lines and stops, I believe.
Here's how the schedules might play out:
Depart Lucca at 8:30 to arrive in Orvieto at 12:00 with one connection.
Depart Orvieto at 17:20 to arrive in Naples at 20:35 with one connection. Other connections that DB schedules recommend depart two hours earlier or later.
Book a hotel in Naples for 2 nights and discuss your late arrival time with the hotel.
FYI, last trains depart from Naples to Sorrento about 21:00 or 21:30.
