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Rome and Relaxation /Pompeii and Sorrento

Posted by (Washington DC) on

Hi! We’re a family of 4 traveling in late July/early August. We want to have a balance of site seeing and relaxation. My son, 8 is interested in soccer and my daughter, 15 is a serious dancer (ballet) in case you have any recommendations for our itinerary around those interests. My husband and I are art and history enthusiasts and foodies.

We’ll be flying in to Rome hopefully for a total of 8-10 days. Probably 4 or 5 days in Rome. I’m looking to also spend 2 or 3 days relaxing on a beach or pool.

Here’s an option I’ve come up with:
Pompeii and Sorrento - I’m thinking a day in Pompeii and the rest of the time relaxing in Sorrento and a trip to Capri maybe. Should we take the train to Pompeii, spend a day there and then travel onto Sorrento?

Other options? Ones that minimize travel time?

I’m reading the archives for tips as well. Thanks

Posted by
886 posts

Hello mhgw, and welcome to the forum!

Pompeii is easily reachable from Sorrento on the subway like Circumvesuviana train in 30 or 40 minutes. So the best plan is to transfer from Rome to Sorrento with luggage and everything and then plan to take the train back to Pompei Scavi (the name for the ruins) when you are ready to explore the ruins. If you stop on the way to Sorrento you need to worry about luggage storage and other logistics so I think going onto Sorrento is the clear choice.

Pompeii is a huge site and it is best to plan most of a day there however it will probably be hot so plan for getting there early and being aware that you may hit your limit of walking and exploring.

Have a great trip,
=Tod

Posted by
1441 posts

It was many years ago, but when we went to see Pompeii in summer with our 8-year-old, our strategy was to stay in a hotel that was right outside the entry gates of Pompeii. Checked in in the evening. So, in the morning, we could just walk into the ruins as soon as the gates opened --- it was cooler and there were few other people then. By the time the day got really hot and really crowded, we were pretty much done. There is no shade. We probably ate lunch at the hotel and then checked out and drove to our next location (so, Sorrento for you) in the heat of the afternoon. We had a car, but you could use taxis to get between the train station and a hotel. I think our hotel was the Hotel Forum Pompei, but maybe you could find a similarly placed hotel with a pool.

What has always worked for us, instead of having busy days and relaxing days, is to have busy mornings and relaxing afternoons every day. Especially when places are hot and crowded. But everybody is different!

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