Good morning!
I will be traveling to Rome in March with a couple of friends. We will be spending considerable time in Rome see in the Vatican and touring the Colosseum, etc. We are also going to Florence and Venice.
I will be arriving a few days early (two full days) and have some time to explore on my own. I was thinking of a day trip to Pompeii and a day trip to a wine region (Tuscany). I am also considered a wine and food tour in Rome.
Looking for suggestions and thoughts on my ideas. Are they worth my time? Also open to any other suggestions fellow travelers may have!
Thanks!
.
Posted by
Minnesota 🎒
16726 posts
Good morning to you too!
Oh gosh, the "Is it worth it" question is so subjective depending on what one is deeply (or not) interested in and how far they're willing to travel for a day trip. I'm also interested in exactly how long long your "considerable" time in Rome will be? That one has simply oodles that can keep a tourist busy so let's just say that you can't begin to cover it in a couple of days.
OK, so Pompeii: the good news is the March will be a really good time to do that one as temperatures - versus high season - will be much more comfortable and crowds should be lighter. It is a bit of a hike from Rome, though, so figure you're going to need to spend rough 2 hours of travel time in each direction (4 total) on two different trains. People do it, though. The scavi (ruins site) is VAST and can easily eat up 3-6 hours, depending on how much ground you want to cover.
Transport is not difficult: fast trains from Roma Termini to Napoli Centrale can get you there in about an hour. At Centrale, you'll walk to the adjoining Garibaldi station and purchase tickets (cheap!) for the local Circumvesuviana train to Pompei Scavi-Villa dei Misteri station. That one takes about 30 minutes and dumps you out right in front of the main entrance. Worth it? Yes, if you're really interested into history. Personally? I would do this before a wine-country tour as I can see vineyards in the U.S. but can't explore the remains of a city over 2,000 years old!
Additionally, I would leave Pompeii in enough time to see the excellent archeological museum in Naples before heading back to Rome. Many of the most valuable artifacts from Pompeii and Herculaneum are there, and having seen the ruins just before, it would put them into context. Closed on Tuesdays.
Posted by
New York, NY, USA
11294 posts
In addition to Kathy's points about the time it will take to get from Rome to Pompeii or Tuscany (too much for a good day trip in my opinion, although of course people do it all the time), I would never want to do either of these long day trips on arrival day, jet lagged!
Posted by
Minnesota 🎒
16726 posts
I would never want to do either of these long day trips on arrival
day, jet lagged!
EEK! Perish the thought! I also wouldn't ever pre-purchase long-distance train tickets (like from Rome to Naples) for day of arrival either, lest you end up dealing with a delayed or cancelled flight.
Posted by
Sidney, BC, Canada
1007 posts
I did a great Rome food tour with Eating Italy. It covered the Testaccio area of Rome which is an interesting and off the tourist track area of Rome. Great food and plenty of it. Included lunch with wine......the also do tours of Trastevere area of Rome, and in Florence and Venice.
Day trip to Pompeii - doable. The Italian express trains are very comfortable. The train from Naples to Pompeii is anything but and notorious for pick pockets, maybe not what you want if you are jet lagged after a long flight..
Wine country? The whole of Italy is wine country.....you are going to Florence which is in Tuscany so it could be done from there. Ditto Venice, perhaps a prosecco winery tour?
Get a couple of guidebooks (Rick Steves, Rough Guides or Lonely Planet)for ideas of what to see in and around Rome.
Posted by
Edmonds, WA 🌨 ☂
12089 posts
A 'day trip' on your arrival day is a coin toss between suicidal or insanity.
For the other day you have before the group arrives, you might consider Ostia Antica, or Orvieto.
Posted by
Minnesota 🎒
16726 posts
The train from Naples to Pompeii is anything but and notorious for
pick pockets, maybe not what you want if you are jet lagged after a
long flight..
If you observe the same methods of keeping your valuables safe in ROME, you won't have any trouble on the Circumvesuviana. Yes, it's a battered, bare-bones sort of commuter train known to attract pickpockets - because of the amount of tourists who use it - but it's what locals use as well. The same can be said for the buses and metro in Rome. Just don't put anything you can't afford to lose in an exterior pocket or a bag that clever fingers (and they are VERY clever) can access.
Posted by
Atlanta
5282 posts
As someone else mentioned, a day trip on the day of arrival is not for everybody -- just depends on how jet lag affects you. Since you will be there a couple of days early, you might consider a day trip to Ostia Antica. Easy to get there on public transit, not very crowded, and totally different from Rome itself.
Posted by
Portland, Oregon, United States
907 posts
I think your time would be better spent going a little closer to Rome. You have some great choices, Ostia Antica, Tivoli and its villas, Hadrian's Villa, are all worth a visit and much easier than a very long day going south. Or any of the beaches between Rome and Civitavecchia for relaxation after a long flight.