Pompeii really a realistic day trip from Rome?

Is it possibly/sensible that when taking a day trip to Pompeii you can also climb Mt. Vesuvius? Or would that take too much time? I'm not sure how close Vesuvius is to Pompeii.

It is certainly possible to visit the ruins at Pompei as a day trip out of Rome, but it makes for a very long and an extremely tiring day, because the ruins themselves are very extensive, and require at least a six-hour visit. Many travellers choose to return at least once to see the areas of Pompei missed during the first visit.

If you do the daytrip during the summer, you face the additional factor of high temperature and high humidity, which wears you down even more. And of course, after finishing the gruelling day in Pompei, you have to take two trains back to Rome.

Because Pompei is so fundamental to an appreciation of Roman social history, it really cannot be missed. Therefore, unless you're planning a return trip to Italy in the near future, I would at least make preliminary plans for a day trip.

Here's how it could be done:

Leave Rome Termini 7:25 Trenitalia AV train
Arrive Napoli Centrale 8:46

connect to Circumvesuviana commuter rail (underground at Napoli Centrale; follow the "Circumvesuviana" signs and take the escalators down)

Leave Napoli 9:10 Circumvesuviana train
Arrive Pompei Scavi 9:46

Leave Pompei Scavi 17:06 Circumvesuviana train
Arrive Napoli 17:42

Leave Napoli Centrale 18:16 Trenitalia AV train
Arrive Roma Termini 19:37

The round-trip adult fare for the AV trains is 84 Euros. The round-trip fare for the Circumvesuviana trains is 4.80 Euros (UNICO CAMPANIA Fascia 3 U3 ticket). You must buy a separate ticket to take the Circumvesuviana commuter train.

FYI, you can save lots of money by taking an IC train to Naples (or back to Rome), but that may reduce your stay in Pompei.

Children 12 or over pay full fare on the Trenitalia trains.

www.ferroviedellostato.it
www.vesuviana.it

Actually it is very doable. I did it with a couple of friends 2 years ago. We were going to take the train to Naples and then change for the trip to Pompeii. I had been leading my friends all around Italy for two weeks by then and was tired so we decided to book a Carrani tour from Rome instead. It was really worth it. A bus picked us up at the hotel, then changed to the bigger tour bus. Our guide spent the time on the trip down telling us the history of Pompeii as well as Italy. We stopped in Naples for a very short tour and then went on to Pompeii. Lunch was part of the tour and was wonderful - salad, pasta, chicken and fresh clementines right off the tree. Then we had a guided tour of Pompeii with extra time to wander around. I think we left about 8:00 in the morning and were back by 7:00 or so. I'm glad we changed our plans since the tour included the guide and lunch.

Yes, I forgot to mention that there are also commercial day tours of Pompei out of Rome, organized by local travel agencies in Rome.

BTW, the "official" rule about children's fares on Trenitalia is as follows:

Children under 4 years and one day travel free but have no right to a seat.

Children under 12 years and one day pay half fare.

BTW, the fares I quoted in my posting above are for second class on the Trenitalia AV trains. First class is a waste of money of a trip of 1 hr. 21 mins.

It is a very easy day trip from Roma. Several years ago we went to Pompeii with a bus tour we booked with enjoyrome.com. They are located near Stazione Termini. I thought the price was right and we went by tour bus leaving at 7:45 a.m. We arrived at 11 a.m. and we departed at 3 p.m. You can hire a guide, a videoguide, or just wonder around on your own. Pompeii is huge, hot in the summer, and dusty. I traveled with my then wife and two sons aged 21 and 19. By taking that bus tour we went directly to Pompeii without the hassle of changing trains, etc.

Buon viaggio,

RB

Elizabeth,
I know I have a minority opinion but I would not go to Pompeii. I would go to Ostia Antica http://www.ostia-antica.org/indexes.htm
It is only about 40 minutes from Rome.

I think a 12 year old would enjoy Ostia Antica and it is a much easier day.

I'm also planning a day trip from Rome to Pompeii in early November, but I'm planning to have pizza in Naples (probably at Da Michele) before heading off to Pompeii.
I know it shaves off an hour or so from Pompeii, but I just couldn't miss experiencing pizza in Naples! :)

James...as you take the Cirumvesuviana train to Pompeii, you pass by Ercolani Scavi, the stop for the excavations of the town of Herculanium, covered in the same eruption as Pompeii. That's the place you can ride up to, then walk up to, the Vesuvius crater. Herculaneum lies on the very slope of Vesuvius to the west. Pompeii is actually about 10 kilometers (6 miles) to the south-east of the volcano. You wouldn't have time to do the two....unless you REALLY rushed it.

Another option for us might be to fly into Naples and either add a couple of days to our trip or skip part of the above mentioned itinerary.

Any thoughts on that?

I don't know about Vernazza, but I would be hard pressed myself to cut anything out for Naples' sake. We thought Pompeii was about the most amazing thing we'd done in one month in Italy, but that's right down our alley. I have heard from several folks that Ostia Antica is a good place for kids...they can explore at will, but I have never been there myself. Good luck and safe travels.

Elizabeth, we followed the "highlights" itenerary through Pompeii that's in Rick's Italy 2009 and completed it in 2 1/2 hours, which was enough of Pompeii for us.

We were staying in Sorrento, so took the Circumvesuviana train (about 40 min each way), we didn't do a day trip from Rome.

I support the idea of doing Ostia Antica over trying to cram in a trip to Pompeii. Ostia is lovely and it's not packed with tourists. It's just that it doesn't have the dramatic storyline of Pompeii (no volcano).

Save Pompeii for a future trip.