Rome in Late November

I don't know what's on your tour, but an extra day in Roma is never a bad idea, in my opinion. Restaurants, churches, most museums will be open.

Why not decide when you are there? If you decide you want to do a day trip to Pompeii you can easily organise that when you are in Rome.

Well if Rome is pretty much closed on Sunday and Pompeii is too onerous or bad at that time of year then we may go ahead and book our return on that Sunday. However, we do have the time to book an extra day.

I'm not sure why you are concluding that Rome is shut down on a Sunday. The Vatican museums are closed most Sundays, and most churches will be closed in the morning and possibly early afternoon for mass. Beyond that, pretty much everything is open.

You could book a room in Rome, and if the weather is good, do a day trip from Rome to Pompeii. If the weather is bad, there's lots to do inside in Rome.

Pompeii is easier in November than most other times of year. It won't be blistering hot or crowded. From Rome, it's simply a really long day. If it's raining that day, however, I'd stay in Rome. Parts of Pompeii are difficult to walk and if it's wet, it will be that much harder, and it's you'll be outside for most of the time. With the exceptions Sherry listed, and possibly some shops frequented by locals, and the absence of rush hour traffic, you can't tell Sunday from any other day in Rome.

If you're staying at the tour hotel for the extra night, you can get an early start to Pompeii and have a great day.

I don't see where Pompei is a day trip from Rome. Just recently I posted about a seven-hour train ordeal I went through from Napoli to Rome. Stay in Rome or near abouts.

You can research now what's open in Rome on a Sunday. The internet posts hours and closed days for ristoranti and points of interest. Choose ristoranti and places you want to visit, and make a plan now.

I was just at Rome in late November 2014, and I can say that the city was preparing for Christmas, it was warm T-shirt/sweater/light jacket weather, some light rain, but traffic on the sidewalk and streets was the same. Late November is actually an exciting time in Rome.

If you are interested in doing Pompeii, you can definitely do it in a day – a long day. If you're concerned about navigating the trains by yourself, there are lots of companies offering bus tours from Rome to Pompeii. You will have less time in Pompeii on a bus tour – stops for things like bathroom breaks and lunch – but it's still enough to get an idea of the site. Most bus tours combine Pompeii with either Mt Vesuvias or the museum in Naples.

Pompeii is a very manageable day trip from Rome. Just allow time on both ends for the train ride (2hrs or so)

I do highly recommend a guide. It was my 1 true regret on my trip to Pompeii. It is such a huge site and after we returned home I realized we'd missed many of the most beautiful parts of the ruins because we didn't know where to find them (even with the map and a decent sense of direction). At the very least, bring Rick's Audio Europe app with you and listen as you explore. :)

I'd allow 3-4 hours to see the ruins in total. You can also visit nearby Herculaneum or climb Mount Vesuvius in the same day with a lunch break between. Its a long day with the addition of one of the other locations but we managed to see Pompeii and Vesuvius in 1 day and still arrive back in Rome before dark. :)

Here's exactly how to get there and back:

From the main train station in Rome (Roma Termini) catch a train to Naples Centrale station (1 hour ride). When you reach the Centrale station follow the signs down the stairs and down a corridor for "circumvesuviana". Buy a ticket there for the circumvesuviana at that location (it's a separate rail line from the regular Trenitalia trains and sold separately...kind of like a "toll road" here in the states). It should be less than 5 euro to go to Pompeii on this train.

The circumvesuvania trains leave about every 30 mins. There are also faster trains that leave every few hours...but just pick the next train departing the station as the difference in time isn't dramatic.

The train will have a final destination in Sorrento but you'll get off before that. You will get off the train at the Pompeii Scavi stop. (There are two stops for Pompeii so make sure you hop off at the right one).

The train ride from Naples Centrale to Pompeii will take 45 mins.

To return home, just reverse the route. Pompeii Scavi - Napoli Centrale - Rome.

I am going to Pompeii tomorrow from Rome....I will let you know. ...I'm still drying off from 2 hour wait in the rain at St. Peters

Meow - check the opening times for Pompeii and the National Archaeology Museum in Naples (a wow). Hours will probably be shorter in November. Try to make time to visit both. The Museum is easy to get to from the Naples train station by metro (there are exact detailed directions in Rick's Italy books). The museum has most of the mosaics, frescos and other art that was uncovered in Pompeii and the other towns buried by Vesuvius. I used Rick's audio guide and it was enough for me. I didn't rent the audio guide at the site. There were free booklets that showed all the bits covered in the audio guide with brief descriptions (my guess is that they were the texts of the audio guide). I skipped the amphitheatre (it's a long walk and there are better ones elsewhere, I was told). There is a fine small theatre. If you have the time, take the walk to the Casa dei Misteri, it's just outside the city proper, and an interesting walk for the most part. There may or may not be guides at the entrance offering their services because it's off-season. Maybe mjgruber will tell us in his/her report.

There have been a lot of posts so I'm not sure if I will be adding much. I have been on numerous RS tours and at the end of each tour I have always wanted more time. I would definitely book an additional night. Ask the tour department for your last hotel and try to book one more night at the same place so you don't need to move. Lots will be open on Sunday in Rome. You will be covering a lot on the tour but I would suggest Villa Borghese if you stay in town. Or visit Ostia Antica. Both are open year round on Sundays. I personally think Pompeii is amazing and worth the effort to get there. Since you are going in November and that will be off season you could wait until you are in Italy to decide. Plus, you have a RS guide that you could get advice from and help. If you decide to do the Villa Borghese you will need to make a reservation ahead of time.

My wife and I just finished the VFR Tour 2 weeks ago. The tour covers about 10% (maybe) of all the stuff that Roma has to offer. There is plenty to see and do on a Sunday. Consider just walking around for a few hours in the morning and afternoon.
We would be planning on choosing our favorite restaurants for lunch and dinner for our last night in Italy. Don't forget a relaxing walk after your 2 1/2 hour dinner.
Celebrate Rome!