POMPEII- from Rome mid-September day trip looks exhausting

I second Celeste's suggestion of hiring a tour guide for the site. It is huge and you can get lost easily. There are a number of accredited guides waiting for business at the entrance. They'll give you a 2 hour tour so you get a good overview. And then you can wander at your leisure afterwards. If your son is really into it he might do most of the additional wandering while you have a drink at the cafe ;-)

Maybe your hotel will pack a box breakfast for you for the train.

We are daytripping to Pompeii from Rome and are taking the 7:45 fast train. We will be at Pompeii within a half hour or so of the site opening. YOu can easily complete a 2 or 3 hour tour and be out of the sun by mid-day. Wear a hat, sunglasses, light colored clothing, hydrate and enjoy making memories! Have fun!

Bring an umbrella for shade if you have one, if not, wear a hat. It's hot at the ruins and an umbrella will really help. Bring a bottle of water for each of you. Try to get there as early as you can to avoid the hottest part of the day. Spend a few hours there and then head back to the train station. On your way back you can stop at the Ercolano stop to visit Herculaneum. I think your son will really enjoy that site. It's halfway between the Naples station and the Pompeii scavi stop. You can walk down the street to the ruins and grab a bite to eat along the way. Spend a few hours at the site then head back to rome. As for making the trip easier, it's already a really easy trip. The only hard part is dealing with the heat. Donna

I've made this trip a few times and it's not bad at all. We bought snacks at Termini and brought them on the train (Eurostar, fast train), bought the tickets at the Circumvesuviana Station in Naples, and were in Pompeii at 9:40. It was not hot at all that early, even in August. I strongly recommend using a tour guide for two hours, then you can wander all you want. Take as little as possible and be alert in the train stations, but don't obsess about it. We ate in Naples on the way back and it was great.

It is really a very easy day trip, be sure to get off the local train at what I think is the second Pompeii stop, train is right by the ruins. Again as others have said, good shoes, plenty of water and a hat. I seem to remember you have to validate your ticket before you get on train in Rome but not sure. Not needed from Naples to Pompeii. It is only about half hour train ride from Naples to Pompeii so your travel time including waiting for train is not more than two hours.

Leave Rome early if possible. But you will be tired it is a very long day. We stayed in Sorrento for about a week and durning that time we went to Pompeii. Just the train ride back and forth and visiting Pompeii it is a day event. Pompeii is very large once you get inside. A lot of walking around Happy trails

I know it's kind of late and that your reservations are probably already made, but a suggestion. You could spend 1 night in Pompeii, check the Hotel Amleto. About 80 Euros. It's a nice hotel, we stayed 2 nights and toured the ruins on the middle day. The town is nice, and we enjoyed the break from the hustle & bustle of Rome. Even though we walked the ruins for almost the whole day, we got to rest at the hotel before dinner and checking out the town. Don't eat at Mimi's Restaurant, the veal was awful. The hotel gave us a recommendation for a restaurant the 2nd night that was wonderful, I just can't remember the name of it. Read Robert Harris's book "Pompeii" Easy read and it helps to visualize how they lived and how the city worked. We went and found some of the buildings that were in the book, and it made the day much more enjoyable. If that's the only place that your son insisted upon seeing, then I hope you both enjoy it. Have a great trip!
Mimi

Marianne what fast train from Rome to Pompeii did you take that got you there in half an hour? You have to stop in Naples and get that dumpy light rail they call the Circumvesuvia. It takes longer than half an hour to get to Pompeii. I think it took us about 21/2 hours on the fast train and longer coming back on the regular train from Naples. My advice is to leave as early as you can and get something to eat before you leave. Pompeii can be exhausting even on a cool day. It will be a long day, but I loved everything about it. Take RS's book, it's great in Pompeii.

Marianne is saying that the train got her to Pompeii a half an hour before it opened, not that she got there in half an hour. :-) If only, right?

Ohhh... my bad.

If you do get a guide for Pompeii, he will be able to get you into the theatre. The video of my kids "declaiming" down on the stage is still fun to watch.

Returning from Naples to Rome, we bought first class seats on a slower train and were just as comfortable as we had been going down on the fast train.

How much should I allow for transportation costs to get me from ROME to POMPEI? Also, if you have any suggestions on Pompei/Vesuvius guides please let me know. Thank you in advance for your advice and suggestions :)

The fast train will cost from 36-45 euros each way depending on if you get the mini fare. The commuter train will cost less than 10 euros to get from Naples to the Pompeii scavi stop. You can hire a guide for the ruins right at the ruins. They are licensed and very good. Donna