We are going to be in Rome and would like to go to Pompei for the day, any recommendations; should we do this alone for example take the train or do a prearrange tour where they pick us up at the hotel and bring us there. Any recommendations at to which is better?
Posted by
Knoxville, TN, USA
7209 posts
By no means do you need a tour company to do this for you. However, I would not recommend that you do it in a day because it will be a very long day, and you are so very very close to Sorrento that it would be a shame for you to miss the spectacular views of the Amalfi coastline.
A better suggestion would be to train to Sorrento, spend the night, then make the 15 minute train journey from Sorrento to Pompeii.
From Rome, take the fast EuroStar train to Naples where you will change trains to the little commuter train called the Circumvesuviana. One of the stops on the Circumvesuviana line is Pompeii Scavi which are the ruins. About 15 more minutes on the train past Pompeii Scavi is Sorrento where the train dead ends. Sorrento is one of the cliffside towns of the Amalfi Coast...the views are wonderful.
Posted by
SF Bay Area, CA, USA
508 posts
I agree that going to Sorrento and staying on the Amalfi Coast would be the best option, but if all you have is a day, then Pompeii is definitely a doable day trip. Just take the fastest train in the morning (usually around 7:30am) and then the Circumsuviana commuter train to the Pompeii Scavi stop. The site is just a short walk. After a 1/2 day at the site, you can have dinner in Naples. Rick's recommended pizza places are within walking distance of the Naples Central train station. Then take the fastest evening train back to Rome. It will be a long day but worth it! The details of the day trip are in Rick's Rome book.
Posted by
Pittsburgh, PA, USA
540 posts
I agree with Julie. Pompeii is definitely doable in a single (long) day if that's all you have. It's the only way I've done it (three times), but if I had more time I'd definitely consider the Sorrento suggestion offered by Tim.
Posted by
USR, NJ
277 posts
I agree with the above post. I took the early train from Rome, switched in Naples and arrived in Pompeii at 11 30 AM Ate lunch for two hours across from the ruins entrance and enjoyed 5 hours of wonderful sightseeing. Arrived back in Rome for a late dinner.
Posted by
Clarkston, USA
192 posts
Husband and I also took the train from Rome to Naples (a fantastic trip!), then switched (be very alert in Naples train station) and went on to Pompeii. Ate pizza across from the 'entrance', then walked our feet off for several hours, then had to return to Rome. This was a little over a year ago.
We did not have time to go to the museum in Naples, where many of the Pompeii artifacts are, and are still very sorry we missed that.
If we had it to do over, we'd take a tour of Pompeii, and we'd definitely go to the museum in Naples.
The ride on the Italian train was very nice, tho.
Posted by
Birmingham, AL
32 posts
Just did the Rome/Pompeii thing 2 weeks ago. we got the 8:30 train from Rome, switched in Naples to the commuter train (it's the Sorrento train stopping at the Pompeii Scavi). This was our third time to Pompeii, and the first for our children. We thought we could do it our own, but were wrong. I wish we had reserved the guide that Rick recommended. That's only thing I'd do differently. We got back to Rome about 5:30, plenty of time to eat and enjoy the city at night. we were tired, though.