We will be touring Sicily with RS in May, ending in Catania. We'd like to also add a few days in Naples (before or after the tour) to include seeing Pompeii. We will be flying in and out of Naples from home. Question is, should we tour Naples prior to our travel/arrival in Palermo or wait until the end of the tour and then spend a few days in Naples before flying home? Those who've been on the tour - I realize this depends on the person - but in your experience, will we most likely have more enthusiasm and energy prior to our Sicily tour or will we not want to go home yet and see Naples and Pompeii once the Sicily tour ends? Open to other considerations and opinions, thanks!
Posted by
SE Pennsylvania
2375 posts
How heat tolerant are you?
My RS Sicily tour was in mid-March, I think the second half of May would be getting pretty warm for me, so I would do Pompeii at the beginning.
Posted by
Colorado Mountains, USA
7355 posts
Our trip was in December and very early January, on our own. After a week and a half in Sicily, seeing several ancient Greek and Roman sights, we were still enthusiastic, and had plenty of energy, for driving our rental car up and around southern Italy to stay in Sorrento, and seeing Naples, Pompeii, Herculaneum, and more from there. We took the car some days, and a train on others. If you were already in Naples, that would save most of the commuting we needed to do.
Having our Naples time at the end certainly worked for us. But we had a week in Rome before we headed to Sicily. Will you want any time to get over jet lag before your Tour, and is Naples a place you might want to do that?
Posted by
Washington DC
27104 posts
I'm with Liz on this.
Posted by
Ontario, Canada
4845 posts
I also agree with Liz
Posted by
franktown, colorado
2252 posts
I’d go before the tour. You’ll have more energy and be ready to give Pompeii and Naples all the attention it merits. I am always a bit tired and about ready to go home after a tour, even a short one like Sicily.
Posted by
Cortez, CO, USA
103 posts
If it's your first trip to Italy, you would probably be better prepared for the gritty Naples experience after Sicily, but if you're Italy veterans, then Liz's idea is probably better.