Hello! We are visiting Rome in 2022. We want to do a private day trip to Pompeii. This is primarily because we don’t want the stress and hassle of trying to figure out buses and train tickets and making it back to the station at the right time. We also don’t want to be on a bus with lots of other people stretching it out for hours as they drop people off at lots of hotels. Anyone have advice for hiring someone to take 6 people to Pompeii for the day and back?
Posted by
Texas
531 posts
We went to Pompeii using Context Travel Rome. It was a full day and well worth the price . Our day tour was in 2007.
Posted by
Brooklyn, NY
3839 posts
Try toursbylocals.Com. They list private travel guides and their day trips. They give you a price up front so you can get an idea of what it will cost.
Posted by
Minnesota 🎒
15807 posts
I haven't done this tour (did Pompeii on our own from Sorrento) but an aunt and cousin did and enjoyed it, plus this company has been rated highly by many RS travelers who've used them (same company as Walks of Italy).
https://www.takewalks.com/rome-tours/pompeii-day-trip-from-rome/
It is not completely private but it is small group; no more than 18. No hotel drop-off nonsense.
My personal issue with day trips to Pompeii from Rome by road is the amount of time you spend in a bus, van or other vehicle getting there and back: note the the 3.5 hours, one way, noted in the tour description. That's more time than you'll likely have at the scavi itself, and doesn't include the extra road time to Positano this particular tour includes. You can shave a good chunk of that 3.5 hours off if going by train. If nothing else, would you consider one that departs to Pompeii from Naples so you could cover the biggest distance (Rome to Naples) by fast train in about 70 minutes?
Note: if bothered at all by motion sickness, I'd take your favored remedy for that before the drive to Positano.
Posted by
Twin Cities of MN
5581 posts
Since logistics to Pompeii are a concern, I am wondering if you have heard of Ostia Antica? We went to both Pompeii and Ostia, and liked both very much. Ostia is an easy 30 minute train ride from Rome. It's smaller, cooler, shadier, and cheaper. I think even with a private driver, the trip to Pompeii would be a long day whereas Ostia is comfortably visited in a day.
Posted by
Italy
3812 posts
and making it back to the station at the right time.
If you are willing to pay the full walk-up fare (called Base on trenitalia.com and Flexi on italotreno.it), you can get high speed trains tickets up to 15 minutes before the departure time. This is true for tickets purchased via App, at automatic machines and also for tickets purchased at the counter.
You may have heard that those tickets are train specific and that people gets them asap. Both things are true, but people buy train tickets in advance to save money, to get the few discounted tickets available for each train.
Posted by
Beaverton, OR, United States
245 posts
Sorrento Silver Star is a tour service I have used for private tours. I learned about Sorrento Silver Star from Rick Steves Italy book (years ago). While we did an Amalfi tour with stops in Positano, along the coast, lunch on a quaint farm and Paestum. They have Pompeii tours from Rome. I would highly recommend them! https://www.sorrentosilverstar.com/pompeii-tours-from-rome.html