Praiano to Pompeii

Private car, to wait 3 hours, maybe 300 Euros? We used our hotel desk for land services. Circumvesuviana from Sorrento, 3 or so Euros.

Nigel, you're in a similar situation as in your post about getting from Praiano to Fiumicino. I'll lift some of Roberto's text from that thread as it applies here:

As far as getting to those cities from Praiano, the most convenient is
a private driver. The cheaper but slower way is by bus to Meta di
Sorrento, then Circumvesuviana commuter train to Napoli.

Only instead of going all the way to Naples on the Circumvesuviana, you'd get off at the Pompei Scavi - Villa dei Misteri stop, which is right in front of the main entrance.

https://www.sorrentoinsider.com/en/naples-to-sorrento-train-schedule?route=sorrento_napoli#section-schedule-result

In that same thread you mention this:

We are taking a car service(Aldo) from Naples to Praiano as
recommended here on this forum. Aldo have been very responsive
communicating with us.

Are you coming into Naples on a transatlantic flight from the US? If not (meaning jet lag wouldn't be a factor) could you arrange with your driver to stop at Pompeii en-route to Praiano and wait while you explore the scavi? Yes, it would cost more but less than making a separate trip via driver from/to Praiano. Or, you could do it in reverse if you decide to use a driver to Naples to catch a train into Rome to pick up the rental car: arrange with the driver to stop at Pompeii en route.

You probably know this but there's no ferry service to Praiano; bus is the only public transit option.

Thanks Kathy
We're also from MN! Been living in UT though for quite a while.
I appreciate your comments. For some reason this area seems more complicated as we usually have a car but decided to use other means of getting around based on comments we read about avoiding travel by car.
We will do the car service RT to Naples . Then when we leave the area take the fast train from Naples to Rome. Our only dilemma now is whether to buy the train ticket to Rome in advance or buy at the Naples station. I think because of the uncertainty of how long the car service ride will take it makes more sense to get the train ticket at the station when we arrive in Naples.

Kathy
Yes we arrive in Naples from an overseas flight.

(Waving at Nigel)
LOL, I'm a transplant from Iowa but been here over 40 years so I guess i'm more Minnesotan than not!
So you are in Utah... That's our most favorite hiking destination in all of the U.S. We've gotten dirt on the boots in all 5 of the National Parks, multiple times, and some of the state and local varieties as well. Lucky you to live near such gloriously beautiful landscapes!

Yes, I'm afraid Praiano isn't the easiest place to day trip from, given it has no rail or ferry services, but I hear it's very pretty. So, no chance of Pompeii on your way back to Naples? Are you on a tight timeline to pick up that car in Rome?

Ask Elizabeth if she knows a good driver, I'm sure she will

https://www.bluestarpositano.it/english.htm

Viator doesn't operate any tours; it just sells tours run by other companies. If you book through Viator, either you will pay more or the tour company will receive less money--or both.

And as acraven pointed out, Viator is just a 3rd party re-seller of other company's tours so I personally do not recommend booking with that site.
(Edited: The individual acraven and I responded to here has since removed their post, which also contained a plug for their business/employer.)