Rome to Pompeii sights in one day

Our first trip to Italy in 2008 we did a day trip from Rome to Naples and did Herculaneum and Mt Vesuvius. We went on a Sun. Didn't get started particularly early (prob about 9am for the train)...then, we managed to get off at the wrong stop for Herc and had to wait an hour for a train to take us back the other way since we had no idea where we were. Spent a few hours at Herculaneum, stopped for a pizza on the way back to the metro stop (an hour), took a van up to Mt Vesuvius (there were a few outfits outside the metro station)...that probably took about 90 min to 2 hrs and were still back in Rome by hmmm...9pm (this was in 2008 so memory is fuzzy).

We did the high speed trains. If we hadn't messed up and wasted an hour by getting off at the wrong stop, we would have been back earlier (or spent more time at Herc).

I guess the big thing is how many days do you have in Rome? You can always wing it. We sort of planned to go, then decided the evening before to do it since the weather looked fine. You could decide whether you still want to see more of Rome or if you've had your fill, then go for it.

We returned to Italy last year and spent a night in Naples before doing Pompeii and heading to Amalfi. We did one of the guided tours of Pompeii from the train stop. It was 3 hours. We could easily have spent a few more hours after the tour was over, but had to get to the coast. Having seen both, I'd say plan on 3-4 hrs at Herc (if you really want to explore) and at least 5 hrs at Pompeii.

Thanks for your input JS

We did this last week - it was doable, but a very long day. We were on a high-speed train at 7:30 from Rome to Naples, and then took the commuter rail to Pompeii in time for a 10:30 tour. We were at Pompeii for about 3 or 4 hours. We went back to Naples for a late lunch and a free walking tour, which we really enjoyed. Took an 8:30 slow train back to Naples, and we were back in our apartment around 11 pm. We absolutely loved both Naples and Pompeii, and we plan to do Herculaneum on a future trip. It was a busy day, but very worth it.

I too did this 2 weeks ago.

High speed train from Roma to Napoli in a bit over an hour. Then about 40 minutes on the regionale train to Pompeii. Did a half day hiking around pompeii and a 3.5 hour tour to the top of Mt Vesuvius. Then high speed train back. I think we were gone 7am to 9pm.

It's not 100% clear from the reply by stephenkirsh whether he took a local Trenitalia train to modern Pompeii (and probably walked for 15 minutes, or taxied to that entrance to Pompeii Scavi), or went downstairs in the Naples station and took the no-reservation, commuter-like Circumvesuviana train, which stops at Porta Marina of Pompeii Scavi, only 100 meters from the train. Those are different train companies, don't run through the same platforms at Naples, and have different ticketing systems. Although they have a booth at Naples, many Circumvesuviana tickets are bought at tobacconists around the area.

Most people take the latter route, because it's cheaper and more frequent, and possibly a little more efficient/faster. One reason for the first route is if you're going to or from Salerno for some reason, which is beyond the modern Pompeii station.

As has been said here before, if you ever visit Italy a second time in your life, you might be able to use your time more efficiently than this full day out from Rome.