Hi! We are group of 10 traveling from Rome - Pompeii - Villa outside of Sorrento. We have 3 family members (75-80 years old) that are going to hire a private car to travel from Rome to our villa and take all our luggage. The remaining 7 of us (ages 15-50) will be going from Rome to the Villa outside with a 2 plus hour stop in Pompeii on the way. I would really like to travel from Rome to Pompeii/Naples by train and then maybe private vehicle from Pompeii to the villa. We've thought about hiring a car for the whole day but I love trains and think it's a good experience for the teens.
I would love any thoughts, suggestions on this idea. Save me from myself if this is just too much, not safe or just a bad idea. We are very experienced travelers so this idea excites me. I've traveled a lot though Italy but not much in southern Italy and hear the Naples train station is a nightmare. Would love some input!!
Thanks! Jane
Two hours for Pompeii will result in a) missing a lot of worthwhile stuff or b) turning it into a track meet. Give yourself more time there.
Pompeii is much larger than you think it is. It was a medium size city working city of over 10,000 people and even though not all of it is excavated you could easily spend a whole day there and not see it all. I would recommend at least 4 hours to see the highlights or as long as your group will find it interesting.
When I went I foolishly planned on seeing Pompeii and then going to Herculaneum but needless to say I spent all day at Pompeii and then headed back to Sorrento. (I still have yet to visit Herculaneum.)
Pompeii is stop on the way to Sorrento on the train from Naples. You would need to take the train from Rome to Naples and switch to the local train from Naples to Sorrento and Pompeii - Pompei Scavi - Villa Dei Misteri is stop for the ruins - is on the way there. If you could arrange for a pickup in Pompeii to Sorrento you could transfer to a van but it's only about another 30 minutes on the train to finish the trip to Sorrento. Then you would just need to get from the station in Sorrento to your place.
Have you considered doing Pompeii as a day trip up from Sorrento? It's close and quick by train at 30 minutes. How far from Sorrento are you? Is it going to to a chore to get as many into town as want to go? I've never travelled with a group that big but in my experience it seems to get a little more complicated which each person added.
=Tod
I've been through the Naples train station several times and, while it's very busy, I never found it to be a nightmare or anything close to one. With no luggage and no small children, it should be easy for you to navigate.
I agree with the above post, use the Circumvesuviana (twice per hour) or Campania Express (4 times per day) trains to continue on to Pompeii and allow about 4 hours for the visit. The station where they depart is on the lower level of the Napoli Centrale station, and you'll pass the ticket window on the way down to the platforms. Make sure you board a train going to Sorrento as all the others head inland one stop before Pompeii. When you finish your visit, take the next train to Sorrento and then 2 standard taxis or a taxi van (if you can find one) to your villa. That option will likely save you a lot of money and will help you judge how best to get into and back from town. Note that the Circumvesuviana train is usually much less crowded between Pompeii and Sorrento.
I'd definitely go with Frank's plan. As he said, without luggage or small children in tow, it will be easy (and less expensive!!!) to take the "fast" train to Naples, the local Circumvesuviana or Campania from there to Pompeii, and the same train line to Sorrento. From there, hire transport to your villa.
Naples train station is just busy. The care you'll need to take with your belongings is no different than at any other busy train station in Italy. The Circumvesuviana is a battered, no-frills thing (think the "L" in Chicago) but it's dead cheap and gets the job done. Yep, a good experience in local transport for your teens! :O)
That station on the lower level of Centrale where the Circumvesuviana lines depart is called Garibaldi. Tickets MUST BE VALIDATED before boarding the train. This goes for tickets from Pompeii to Sorrento as well.
As hiredman stated, the station you want to get off at to tour the ruins is Pompei Scavi - Villa dei Misteri: it's right in front of the main entrance (Porta Marina). To go onward to Sorrento when finished, buy your tickets at that station and validate them before boarding. There is only one Circ. line from from there to Sorrento so you don't have to worry about being on the right one as long as you're headed the right direction.
Circumvesuviana schedules and prices:
https://www.sorrentoinsider.com/en/naples-to-sorrento-train-schedule
Seasonal Campania Express:
https://www.sorrentoinsider.com/en/campania-express-train-schedule
As yes, the scavi is vast, much larger that most first-time visitors expect it to be so plan on good chunk of time to explore it! Wear good sturdy shoes and a hat, and bring sunscreen and water.
What fantastic suggestions! We will plan to allow for more time in Pompeii. We've got a packed itinerary and I was hoping to squeeze in Pompeii on our travel day to the Amalfi Coast. Looks like a done deal! Thanks again for your suggestions.
(You can’t fit luggage for ten and three passengers in a sedan.) The advice is good, but note that taxis in Sorrento probably start at 15 Euro for a short journey. How remote is the villa? There are some van taxis, but I don’t know about 7 passengers.
Yes, I think we are going to need a van for the 3 plus all luggage. We will also need a van or 2 taxis to the villa from Sorrento train station - the villa is in Massa Lubrense which appears to be 15-20 minutes by car.