Naples - Pompeii

From the Naples station to the Museum you don't need 2 hours. You need 2 minutes (or just little more). It's only 2 stops using the metro. Even if you walk you need no more than 30 min. If you want you could do without escorts. Just leave your luggage at the Deposito Bagagli at the station. When you are done with the museum, return to station and retrieve your luggage, take the Circumvesuviana train (same station but underground) to Sorrento. Stop half way at Pompei Scavi station in Pompeii. Drop baggage at Pompeii Circumvesuviana station (at the Deposito Bagagli). Visit Excavations. Return to station (2 min walk). Retrieve luggage, take the Circumvesuviana train again all the way to Sorrento. You'll save a bunch of money. transfers by car cost a lot of 'denaro'. Use the guides only to show you the museum and/or the excavations at Pompeii.

Four issues: 1. This may not be doable if there is even the slightest disruption, since you have assumed everything will work down to the minute (a dangerous assumption in this region). 2. You have not allowed any time for travel between places. If you leave Naples at 2 PM and leave Pompeii at 6 PM, you don't have 4 hours in Pompeii. 3. I see no time for lunch on the 19th at all, and you plan on "lunch along the way" on the 20th. In Italy, there's no such thing as a quick lunch, unless you find a McDonald's or bring energy bars along. You have to allot time for this, and furthermore, in Italy lunch is served from 1 to 3, not the much longer hours of the US. 4. Even if your itinerary is doable, is it desirable? The point of seeing this region is not about checking things off a list, and that's all you've allotted time for. It will also cost you a lot of money for all of these transfers to be done by private car (and no other way will work with your aggressive schedule). If you're still determined, I'd find a company that works with cruise ship passengers (look at Cruise Critic dot com to start). These companies know how to make aggressive itineraries work, and how to arrange a fast lunch so you can get to the next place quickly.

Next day on the 20th. Leave luggage at hotel. take bus from Sorrento to Amalfi. Stop along the way at Positano, Ravello or wherever. There are numerous SITA buses going back and forth from Sorrento to Amalfi and back. When you are done, return to hotel in Sorrento, retrieve your luggage, give them a tip for the favor. Take a Circumvesuviana train back to Naples (70 min. ride). When at Napoli Centrale station, go upstairs take the train to Rome. Last fast train to Rome, departs from Naples Centrale at 7:30 pm. Train journey Napoli-Roma is 70 minutes. Two busy days for sure.

Howard, this might not be the best forum for you to look for answers. RS type travelers tend to prefer a style of travel that is more based on taking local transportation, staying in smaller hotels, and generally doing a lot on your own. You seem to be looking for an experience with escorted tours, door-to-door transportation, etc. Keeping tone neutral here, that's another way that travelers may enjoy/prefer, but you're not going to find a lot of people on this forum that can give you advice on how to do it.

Howard, John is quite correct. Here's the link to the Italian Ports Forum on Cruise Critic. As I said, here you will see lots of people using private drivers in the Naples/Pompeii/Sorrento/Amalfi Coast area, and looking to see a lot in a short space of time, so you can get recommendations better suited to your plans: http://tinyurl.com/bwqtmhk

Howard, We may be able to help you better if we knew if you had your air tickets yet. Where do you fly into and out of?
This is a very agressive itinerary and we could possibly make it easier if we had this info. Does the 16 days include trvel days? Gerri

"From the Naples station to the Museum you don't need 2 hours. You need 2 minutes" I believe Howard is referring to RS' 'Slice of Neopolitan Life' walk... I would see the museum after Pompeii; much more meaningful. And no need for a guide - just head for the upper floor(s?) to see the 'Pompeii stuff'. Walk quickly past the rest of the museum on the way out. Howard, I'm pulling for you. Really, I am. And as much as I can appreciate a fast-paced, no-time-wasted tour, I think I'd mutiny somewhere around Day 3 - even if the transfers and tour guides were Heaven-sent and the whole enterprise ran as smoothly as imaginable. Have you ever seen "National Lampoon's European Vacation"? Audrey 'died' at the Louvre from over-scheduling! It doesn't matter how efficient it is. The pace of your trip exhausts me to read. I asked on another thread about your other tour members, so I'll wait until I know more about them before making any suggestions; no point suggesting something that's just not feasible. I don't know when you'll take care of laundry (regardless of whether it's in-room or laundermat), and what happens when, not if, someone gets sick? Hey, I want my European days to be pretty full, too - I travel a very long way and spend a lot of money to get there, and I know what I want to do there. There's not a ton of slack in my days. But occasionally we don't get to some things, and we have some slack time built into our schedule - no place we have to be, but places we could be if we choose to. I'll wait for your answers...

Friends of mine took a car and driver from Rome for a day. They kept their luggage in the car and the driver took them from place to place, ending up at their hotel in Sorrento.