Naples plans, 2 days

What time are you planning to take the train to Rome on Wednesday? You're counting 2 full days in Naples, and I think you're planning way too much for the time you will actually have. I would definitely add at least one day, maybe two, or cut out a few of the proposed activities in Naples and environs.

You should definitely get in touch with your Rome hotel; I would be surprised if they charged you extra for shortening your stay by one day. It would cost you nothing to email and inquire. We've had good luck changing (lengthening and shortening stays) hotel reservations in Italy.

Sounds like a great trip, though.

Thanks Jane, they had flex tickets so I was thinking the 8:30p-9:38p, which also runs 6:30-7:40. They also have trains at 7:40/6:40 and 7:22/6:12. But I was thinking later like that, the 8:30p probably. That would give us time to eat some pizza, pick up our bags, and get to the train station. I'm just realizing even that's tight because pizza shops open later there, right?

At the risk of sounding stupid, what is making it tight? We don't nap and I only sleep 6 ½ hours a night. He'll sleep 9+, but I can go out in the morning and walk and do things for several hours before he wakes up. We travel together quite a bit and that's what I usually do. He's not going to care if he misses walking Naples. If I plan more time in Naples and DON'T take us down to Catania to hike Mt. Etna, I have to have a really good explanation for that, kwim? If you ask him whether he wants more time in Naples or to go down to Catania, that will be easy, haha.

I'm definitely concerned about LOGISTICS, like how long it takes to get from place to place, because that's the part I don't know. Is that what is making it tight? Or will it be hot? We're talking October, but is that average 78F with humidity or low humidity? With humidity, that will feel really hot to us, and without it will be fine.

I hate the thought of skipping Herculaneum, because I think it will be easier for him to understand something he can actually see WHOLE and intact. I like what I'm seeing of Naples and I could probably stay there or in the environs for some time quite happily. In fact (shh) but I think I may like it better than Rome. I haven't been to either, but I'm just saying.

Rome
Saturday-bike appian way, concert in evening
Sunday-sleep in, eat leisurely lunch, walk, tour churches to see Carravagio paintings, eat lots of gelato
Monday-Vatican early tour with breakfast
Tuesday-Orvieto
Wednesday-get on cruise

The things I haven't plugged into that are:
-Colossesum, which has lots of tour times
-food tour(s)
-overall city tour (pantheon, etc.)
-Gladiator museum (essential)
-WW2 sites (Caves at Ardeatine, Mussolini balcony, whatever we can make happen)
-Capuchin Crypt
-underground sites like Vicus Caprarius
-Mamertine Prison

So I'm just trying to do the math here and talk this out. Say I decided to SLOW DOWN and I wanted a full extra day in Naples and I wanted to switch from evening arrival in Rome to early. We could arrive in Rome early Friday morning. That would give me one extra full day in Naples, giving margin to rest with jet lag, do more food, explore more, etc. That would give my Rome itinerary one more full day, making it 4 full days in Rome plus another day doing Orvieto. Can I get my Rome list done in 4 full days, or do I need to drop Orvieto?

How much time logistically, really, does it take to get from a hotel near the Spanish Quarter of Naples out to Pompeii? Are people taking the train if they stay there? I'm thinking through where I want to be.

Ok, I made a reservation at a hotel IN NAPLES to go Tuesday to Friday. I had that one in Portico, which I super loved, but I'm not sure it makes sense to be there if I'm trying to tromp around Naples. Is it better to be in Naples and take the train out to Pompeii and Herculaneum or be at a beautiful peaceful place in Portico, with easy access to Herculaneum and Pompeii, and then just take the train into Naples to do things?
That's enough for now. Sorry I've talked your leg off. I now have three reservations for Naples/Portico (1 night in, 3 nights in, or 3 nights in Portico) and need to cancel two. This is ridiculous. I think it's the stupid Circumvenesia train thing. I was trying to avoid riding it too much. Maybe that's needless worry? LOL Still, with our list, which is the better location logistically? As you say, I have to contact the Rome hotel and see if I can amicably decrease by 2 nights. If I can, then I'll do 3 nights in Naples and tell myself platitudes about how we'll make it to Catania later, sigh. We're actually going to Messina on the cruise, but I think it's too far to make it down to do Mt. Etna. It was more rational to do Taormina from Messina.

And yes, feel free to laugh that my Rome list that is filled in by day looks rational while my Naples list does not, lol. I think it's logistics. I haven't figured out how you go from place to place in Naples. If I stay at Palazza Bellini (where I'm booked in Naples), how long is it going to take to get to Pompeii? At some point it's silly because it's like 20 minute taxi, 10-15 wait for train, 30 minute train. Then why didn't I just do it from Rome and be directly there and done with it?? It just seems like a lot of time commuting back and forth to do that multiple times in a day.

I'll go hit google maps and see if I can figure it out.

Ok, I still see logistics issues staying at the Piazza Bellini and try to go to Pompeii and Herculaneum on different days. It's a 23 minute walk or taxi for almost as long through messy traffic. Is it crazy to do Pompeii and Herculaneum in one day?

Tuesday-food tour, ½ the RS walk with churches, Capidemonte/Catacombs
Wednesday-Archaeology Museum, Sanservo (veiled Christ), ½ RS walk
Thursday-Pompeii and Herculaneum
Friday-early train to Rome

Is that looking closer? Should I rearrange them a different way? There are actually less cruise passengers expected in port on that Thursday than either Tuesday or Wednesday. (2700 vs. 4700 vs. 9000 respectively) I don't think it matters which day for Herculaneum, because attendance will be low anyway. But for Pompeii, makes more sense to do it Thursday when the crowds are lowest. Friday they jack back up, so I'm liking Thursday the best crowd wise.

So if Pompeii is Thursday, then do we do Herculaneum the same day for efficiency or a different day?

You're right btw, my plan suddenly looks right when it's spread over three days, lol.

Pompeii & Herculaneum together in one day is too much imo. Pompeii is exhausting by itself

I'm inclined to think that you are planning too much in general, but everyone is different

I emailed the hotel in Rome to ask about changing the dates, so we'll see how that goes. I know it sounds nitpicky, but the price has gone up 100 euros per night from when I made my reservation!! And I wrote a guide in Naples that I could book with to see if they recommend doing the tours in the same day or splitting. Since they're on the ground and want you happy, they should have an opinion, lol.

Hi Edwardius, thank you for your reply! Hmm, so if your advice is to split things up, then I will play with the itinerary. Are you anticipating big problems with my son from the plane ride? If I stay one more day in Naples, that has me going into Rome on Saturday. At that point I've definitely given up Orvieto.

Oo, the hotel wrote me. I'll be back.

Ok, the hotel in Rome will modify but I have one shot here. I need to be solid on going into Rome Friday vs. Saturday. If we can do our most important things in Naples in 3 days, then I keep Orvieto.

Tuesday-arrive Naples
Wed-Naples
Thurs-Naples
Friday-Rome
Saturday-Rome
Sunday-Rome
Monday-Rome
Tuesday-Orvieto (day trip from Rome)
Wednesday-depart on cruise

If I split Pompeii/Herculaneum, does this look any better?

Tuesday-food tour, then whatever we feel up to (RS walk, popping in churches)
Wednesday-Archaeology Museum, Herculaneum
Thursday-Pompeii, Sanservo

I'm not sure where the Capodimonte and the Catacombs fit into that, but at least it's more relaxed and lower risk. Ds says he wants to eat/food tour when we get off the plane, so that's thinking like a hungry teenager, haha. By that point the hotel room would be ready, so we could do whatever needed to (nap, walk around, etc.). If I book a Herculaneum tour for that first day and he fizzles on me, that was a huge waste. If he sits in a hotel room and I explore, I'm cool with that. Sometimes that's what he needs, some space to recover and do his thing. It's why I can have a crazy plan because he's not doing all of it, lol. I usually wake up early and go out and explore a place 2+ hours before he ever gets up. :)

If this itinerary looks better to you all, then I think I finally have a plan. Although there are plenty more things we COULD do in theory, it's also a common cruise port we might return to, meaning it's ok to leave some things undone. Orvieto on the other hand I can't cruise to, which means it's worth a push to get to while it's so convenient from Rome.

So is this itinerary good enough?

With your interests, maybe skip Pompeii and just do Herculaneum. Your son would probably really like San Clemente Church in Rome.

Cala, That's an interesting suggestion. I definitely don't see us spending all day at Pompeii. I keep googling and can't figure out, is there any kind of roman military stuff at Pompeii? I saw some articles about them finding a chariot. Is that kind of stuff all at the museum in Naples, or is there anything for a guide to highlight? I saw that Pompeii was bombed during WW2, so I thought maybe seeing the reconstruction work at the House of Faun, etc. would interest him. Anything engineering or military at either site, like maybe how they did water or mechanical design, would engage him. Does Herculaneum have more of that?

That's honestly why I was willing to pay for the private tour, because I was trying to give him the best possible chance to engage.

And yes, San Clemente is on my list! I have it in my notebook and now I don't even remember why, lol. It's on the list though. Rome just has an astonishing amount you could do. :)

Cala, I'm watching some walkthroughs on youtube of Herculaneum and Pompeii and I see what you mean. Herculaneum is a lot more manageable. It's smaller scale, more obvious, easy to remember. Pompeii is sort of NYC, bigger scale, sprawling. And because Pompeii is so decimated, you're really left to imagine things.

I'm just thinking about your comment about skipping Pompeii and doing just Herculaneum. I will try to finish watching the Pompeii walkthrough and maybe I'll be more firm. I'm just saying I get what you're saying. Pompeii is so much rubble that if your interest is only passing, the more whole rubble might be more intriguing. Just wouldn't want to smack myself and ask why I took him all the way there to skip the most popular thing, lol.

Cala, I'm watching some walkthroughs on youtube of Herculaneum and Pompeii and I see what you mean. Herculaneum is a lot more manageable. It's smaller scale, more obvious, easy to remember. Pompeii is sort of NYC, bigger scale, sprawling. And because Pompeii is so decimated, you're really left to imagine things.

I'm just thinking about your comment about skipping Pompeii and doing just Herculaneum. I will try to finish watching the Pompeii walkthrough and maybe I'll be more firm. I'm just saying I get what you're saying.

Thanks everyone! I fixed my hotels, booked a tour for Pompeii, booked another for Herculaneum, and have things tidied. I booked Pompeii and Herculaneum for separate days so they won't be so overwhelming, and I'm leaving Pompeii open ended so we can stay at the end of the tour or leave, as we wish.