We have time for many day trips from Rome - trying to decide the best strategy for seeing Naples/Pompeii and also Sorrento/Positano. RS description of the day trip to Naples & Pompeii seems very easy - leave our apartment in the morning, no luggage to haul, back home same night. But going farther south seems impossible on a day trip. We're thinking of doing the Naples/Pompeii day trip and then on a different day taking the same route but ending in Sorrento to stay one night so we can also visit Positano and Amalfi, just to see a little of that part of the country. RS describes Sorrento as a base for seeing Naples & Pompeii as well as entire Amalfi Coast area, but doing that would be a 2-3 night stay. We would like to minimize paying accommodations in 2 places at once - the apartment we've already rented plus hotel nights elsewhere. Would appreciate any feedback on advantages or disadvantages of one trip to Sorrento to cover everything from Naples through Amalfi vs taking two trips: Naples/Pompeii day trip and second trip with one overnight for Sorrento/Amalfi. Timing of this will be mid-to late October. THANK YOU!
Posted by
Minnesota 🎒
16775 posts
Just my IMHO but what you could spend on TIME/train tickets for two back-to-back trips may justify the cost of staying at least two nights. It really doesn't make a lot of sense to backtrack to roughly the same area two days in a row?
But here's one possibility?
Take the train(s) to Pompeii, spend a couple of hours and return to Naples. Spend the balance of the day there and stay overnight. Early the next morning, take a train to Salerno (can be reached in about 40 minutes), and hop a ferry around the coast. Return to Salerno, on the last possible ferry (or bus) and take a train back to Rome in the evening.
The caveats here are the possibilities of the ferries not running due to nasty weather - in which case you don't really want to do the Amafli anyway - or seas choppy enough not to be able to dock in Positano. You'd have to spend some time with the schedules as well to coordinate them. You can do that here - although not all runs may be available in October:
http://www.coopsantandrea.com/en/servizidilinea/servizi.asp
http://www.alicost.it/?page_id=202&lang=en
SITA bus around the coast is also a possibility if the boats won't work.
And, of course, a third option to boats or buses would be hiring a driver for the day from Naples: I'm sure someone will have a recommendation there if you're interested. They're pricey but a painless way to get around without coordinating transport.
Posted by
Wyckoff, NJ, USA
8086 posts
You are correct that it is unwise to see Naples, Pompeii, and Positano on the same day trip from Rome. (You forgot to mention Vesuvius and Capri, by the way ... ) You certainly could visit Sorrento on the same day, but it's not as unusual a resort town as those on the Amalfi Coast.
Many people post here after booking a hotel in Positano without considering, say, their morning flight home from Rome - Positano is quite isolated from a tourist point of view. Perhaps the necessary road travel isn't as bad in October. If all you're doing is "ticking the boxes", you could do this by hiring a car and driver (perhaps in Sorrento) for 8 or 12 hours: 250-350 Euros. But it wouldn't, to me, be a very satisfying day. And surely someone at home will ask, "How was Capri?" (We skipped Capri because Lonely Planet wrote, "Seeking the glitterati, but finding only their prices.")
We spent five nights in Sorrento because it's such a good base for local day excursions. We went to the AC, although Pompeii and Herculaneum (different days) were much more important to us. I should note that we've been to Rome several times, because there is so much to do in Rome that I would not recommend such a long day-trip on anyone's first trip to Rome. Have you been to the Villa d'Este and/or Ostia Antica?
I agree that your use of time would be better if you spent one night, perhaps in Sorrento. Sorrento books up quite far in advance, and I'm sure you are resistant to paying for two rooms on the same night, also.
Posted by
Hendersonville, NC
105 posts
Hi Susan,
Having done the Sorrento-Amalfi Coast trip in May, I would advise that you do a day tour from Rome with WalksofItaly. They have a tour that covers Pompeii, then a drive along the Amalfi coast with a stop in Positano. The group is small and a guide escorts you through the highlights of Pompeii. You don't need to spend extra on a hotel. If you're still keen on Naples, then do a seperate day trip on a train.
Posted by
Minnesota 🎒
16775 posts
Even if it takes a bit of work, the nice thing about doing the coast/Pompeii on your own is that you can pick your day(s). If the forecast looks favorable the next few days out, then go. If heavy rain is expected, then skip it. If you pre-book a tour, you'll be stuck with whatever weather day is handed to you.
As Pompeii and the coast are both outdoor activities, flexibility is a plus.
Tim, we enjoyed Capri but spent two nights there, and most of our time trekking to corners of the island that the majority of people didn't go to, or doing the places they mob before/after the tours arrived/departed. Nope, not the least bit interested in hunting down glitterati! That trip was in October as well, and it was pouring rain when we left Naples but was dry and sunny when we pulled into Capri. I wouldn't recommend that one for our poster's trip, though: too time-consuming for the short time they have.
Posted by
OP
North Carolina
362 posts
THANKS for all the input - extremely helpful! Am sending you some followup PM's. Susan