pompeii w/kids

I believe the easiest way would be to take a taxi from the port to the main train station (there are also trams and buses, but with 4 of you a taxi would be about the same price and you don't have to hassle with schedules and tickets). From there, you take the Circumsuviana commuter train to the Pompeii Scavi stop (about 30 minutes). It's a short walk to the main entrance of the site from the station.

The best way to get to Pompeii from Naples is to take the local train, which is called the Circumvesuvianna. You can catch it at the main train station, just follow the signs. The train you will need to catch is the one headed for Sorrento. The Pompeii stop is just a few steps from the site entrance. The train looks pretty dicey (like a graffiti-covered subway train) and it goes through some scary-looking suburbs, but it's OK, especially during the day. It's filled with tourists, commuters, and the occasional pickpocket. If you feel nervous, sit in the first car, behind the driver. Keep in mind that Pompeii is huge. Study your guidebooks, and decide what you want to see before you go. We weren't impressed with he audio guide. We used the walking tour in Rick's book, and that was great. Check out the walking tours in several guidebooks, and plan a route. Be sure to pick up the free map when you arrive at the site.

I'm not sure if I'm remembering correctly, but I think that either Pompei or Ercolano (ancient Herculaneum) offered a special audio-guide for children. Ecolano has the advantages of being smaller and of having more of the artifacts remaining at the site. Most of the good stuff from Pompei is in the archaelogical museum in Naples.

The previous advice on the train is correct. We were there last summer (late May) and had some difficulty finding the train. But it is off to the right when you enter the station -- may have to ask direections --- there was a lot construction underway which the problems for us finding our way. Hopefully the construction is done because it look like they were upgrading that portion of the station so maybe it will be easier for you.

I did type the commuter train name incorrectly... It is Circumvesuviana like the other posters noted. I also wanted to recommend the book Rick mentions in his book - Pompeii Past & Present. We got it at the bookstore and it had great drawings with overlays of what the site used to look like compared to what it looks like now. The kids (and adults) can easily relate the ruins to what used to be there.

The circumvesuviana is the train to Pompeii.
With construction last summer it was at far right
of terminal then downstairs. I've only been on
it a few times, but more pickpockets here than
anywhere else I remember in Italy. Just be aware
and you should have no trouble.

I don't mean for this post to sound critical but it may seem to be -- not my intention. I have read similar posts as Arn's about people seeing large numbers of pickpockets. We have traveled nearly 300 days in Europe over the past ten/twelve years or so and I have never seen a pickpocket. Maybe I don't know what I am looking for. How do you spot them? Last summer in Naples, the area around the train station looked pretty run down and seedy, and a lot people coming and going. Took the bus to and from the port area. Packed with locals -- I think. The rip off, in my opinion, was the taxi driver that wanted 15 E to go to the port. I seen pack a couple of kids and an old lady -- probably Gypsies -- but only a couple. Been in the flea in Madrid on Sunday -- reported hot bed of pickpockets -- if I did see them, I didn't recognize them. What am I doing wrong?

thank you !thank you! how wonderful to have people who've been there and done that! thanks for sharing. when you mentioned the "good stuff", are you talking about the pictures we see of people and animals trapped in the ash? we want to see it all. whats the best?

Many of the best artifacts - plaster casts, mosaics, statues - are indeed in the museum in Naples. You'll probably want to go there too, if you can. There are still a lot on the site as well. There are several of the plaster casts in a roofed area near the Forum. The "beware of dog" mosaic is a must-see, and the House of the Faun is nice. Near that, I accidentally found the bakery that had been detailed in the Discovery Channel special, but I'd never be able to find it again. Like I said, Rick's walking tour is good about hitting the high points.

We liked the area around the ampitheater the best. Also up behind there is a picinic area and that had washrooms which were not really busy. Wear comfortable clothes and shoes, we were there for 5 hours and still did not see everything. We found the things around the ampithearter had more things preserved in them. We took the Circumvesiuva to get there and did not have any problems with it, we had our 11 month old daughter. If you have any kids in the stoller age leave them at home (we used our snuggli that day as our friends had gone a few days before and suggested the using a stroller would be difficult there). We were surprised to see some ladies wearing high heels, I found it challenging in sneakers at times ;)

Make sure that you have really good shoes.......the coble stone streets are horrible for spending any amount of time on. Pompeii is JUST HUGE.......and barren. Bring some water, you will be surprised how long it takes to tour. Go to Herculaneum, everything is in much better shape.....even the wood is still preserved. And lastly, the museum in Naples has all of the good stuff that was taken from Pompeii.......Pompeii is the burnt out shells of a very LARGE Roman town (with some wonderful murals!), but the museum should not be missed!

thanks again 4 all the help! I'm a little confused on where the museum is? is it in pompeii on site? or is it in naples town? or somewhere else all together? don't mind me my confusion is a state of mind after trying to plan this trip!!!

Christine,
Lisa's advice is "right on". You will find all of the "good stuff" that was taken from Pompeii at the "Museo Archeologio" in Naples. You hop on the subway at the main train station, and go to the 1st stop (Cavor) and it is nearby. Rick has excellent info in his book about how to get there, and devotes pages to describing what to see in the Museum, etc.

I can't begin to explain how invaluable his book was when we were attemting to manage all of the tranportaion connections to see all of the sights in the Naples/Sorrento azreas!