Pompeii

Hi Erin, My opinion is that if this is possibly your only trip to Italy, don't miss Pompeii! It is huge, fascinating, and easy to navigate on your own. There's a lot of walking and uneven terrain just so you know. You can get free audio guides or just get the free booklet and walk around the site. All the sites are numbered. It is much better than I expected. You can kind of follow behind a tour group just to get the general direction of where they are going, because tour groups usually cover the best areas. You can ask the workers questions. We did, and it was lots of fun. At first we thought we would need a guide, but you don't. Some people do like the guides, however. Three days should be enough in Rome. Whatever you decide, happy travels!
Ruth

I agree with Ruth.

If you want to see Pompeii, go for it. Since appears budget is tight, you can get a slower train from Rome to Naples and then the local train to Pompeii. The slower train took abut two hours and was far cheaper but maybe because we got tickets the day we were going to Pompeii and if you get advance tickets, might be cheaper. Local train is in same train station in Naples, just downstairs. There are I think two Pompeii stops and can't remember the name of the one with the ruins, someone else here will tell u that. I would try to go early as possible. We did not have a guide, did it on our own as our budget was tight as well. It is huge and mostly uneven walking so wear sturdy shoes. Enjoy. If you go early as possible in AM, can be back in Rome early in evening so will still have some time left of your day. Forgot to add, if you do take train, be sure to validate ticket before you get on train or will pay hefty fine.

Erin - Having been to Rome many times and Pompeii/Sorrento I can wholeheartedly say STAY IN ROME. There's too much for you to see and too little vacation time to be wasting it sitting on a slow train from Rome all the way to Pompeii and back. Just the roundtrip slow regional train from Rome to Naples will be over 4.5 hours and THEN you'll have to catch the little Circumvesuviana train from Naples to Pompeii Scavi roundtrip will be 1.5 hours. So 6 hours of 1 whole vacation day will be spent sitting on a train just to see Pompeii. Hopefully you actually do have 4 full days...not 4 nights. Because 4 nights is actually only 3 full days of sightseeing. If you just absolutely must must must see ruins like Pompeii then take very short jaunt out to Ostia Antica.

Erin,
Pompeii was more amazing than I ever imagined. If you're already fascinated, you're going to love it. IMO, you need three full days to see the best of Rome, but if you really have a fourth full day, I say go for it. See Pompeii!

Erin, I vote with Tim. There's just too much to see in Rome. Pompeii is intereting...but the Forum, the Colosseum...are even better. Besides, you'll need to spend at least a day at the Vatican...and you'll need time to wander the streets, to see the Pantheon, Piazza Navona, The Trevi Fountain, the Spanish Steps. And don't forget the Borghese Gallery! You will find a way to get back to Italy. And then you can do the southern part...Pompeii, Sorrento, Capri and the Amalfi drive...

Hi, Erin: I think it is well worth giving up 1 day for Pompeii. I went to Pompeii with the intention of staying for a couple hrs and ended up spending the entire day there. It was just as fascinating as Rome and it's ruins. Just an fyi, I am not too fond of tours but my friend and I were approached to join a tour of the Sintine Chapel. It was the best decision we ever made as we jumped way ahead of the long line waiting to get into the Chapel. After that we toured St. Peter's. I think it was around 27.00 per person and was well worth the price. The tour guide was wonderful.
Normally I never do tours.

Most of travel is making trade offs because of time and money. Given your comments, I would plan a day in Pompeii. Remember it is your trip and should do the things that are high priority FOR YOU. Pompeii is a long one day trip from Rome but you can do it. The best recommendation is at least an overnight but if that is not available to you then do the next best. You can see Pompeii well in one day but Rome is nearly forever. We have spent three weeks in Rome over the past few years and still have a number of sites that we have not visited. It is nice to spend a day in the Vatican but you can high the highlights in a half day or less. So, whether you spend an extra day in Rome is not significant in the total picture. You really need to spend an extra week. Take the high speed train - book it well in advance to take advantage of the deep discounts. The philosophy of always going back is a mind set. It makes it easier to skip things. We had it on our first time in 72 before Steves' invented it and it helped us a lot. Our second trip was in 93. And, now, some 12 trips later we are still saving things for the next trip. So don't think you will never return.

The train you want to take from Naples is the Circumvesuviana (downstairs from the main terminal), and the stop is "Pompeii Scavi". Be alert as to the stops (they are posted on a route map near the exit doors of the train), there is not always an announcement on the Circumvesuviana.

Hi Erin, I visited Italy last summer including Rome and the Amalfi Coast (from which we visited Pompeii). If you do decide to go to Pompeii, look at this link. It talks about various ways of getting to Pompeii for a day trip from Rome. Consider the Marozzi bus. It goes from Rome to Pompeii. We took the same bus past Pompeii on our way to Positano. It wouldn't require any transfers (like the trains do). It is very cheap, and it's a nice ride. They mention this service in the following link. http://www.ehow.com/facts_5856225_rome-pompeii-tour.html

There is a saying in Italy - Roma, non basta una vita - for Rome, one lifetime is not enough.