rome to pompeii to positano? can anyone confirm this itinerary would work...

CHECKING LUGGAGE AT POMPEII???

There's cloak room (luggage service) at the entrance to the scavi.

http://www.coopculture.it/en/heritage.cfm?id=1

"Visitors can leave their bags and personal belongings at the free locker room at the access gates.
However, during some periods the sites are very crowded and the locker room may not contain the baggage of all visitors"

GRABBING A WAITING TAXI- HEAD TO PORTAFINO

I think you mean Positano? If so I'm guessing it'll be closer to 75 euros or more but I've no idea how many taxis hang around Villa dei Misteri station. Give the amount of tourist traffic through there, I'd be surprised if there weren't any.

(edited)

We checked our luggage at the Pompeii Station - it is down some stairs, I think it was 2 or 3 euro a bag - someone will take them for you...this was 2014, so not sure if the prices are still the same. You may have to wait a few minutes if there are people ahead of you.

I don't think taxis hang around even the main (Porta Marina) entrance to Pompeii Scavi, which is the one you've (correctly) selected. You need some phone numbers, or BETTER, contact your Positano hotel for their surface-travel/limo/car service partner. They have a big incentive to give you a good company. That DOES mean that you'll have a cap on your Pompeii time, whenever you order the car for. 35-50 Euros is totally unrealistic. Think 90 Euros, but I haven't actually made that trip.

Many posters here (see the Search box top center) have had good experiences with bag check at Porta Marina Pompeii. That's the least of your problems. Keep in mind that the Circumvesuviana will be unpleasantly crowded and without seats for you. But that means you can stand with your luggage close at hand. Big? Small? AFAIR, there are only about two steps to the street at the Pompeii Scavi station.

You did not give the MONTH of your trip. There is a long HIGH SEASON from Naples to the Amafli Coast. It can be crowded and with road delays. That's life on the AC.

As you're already OK taking the CV to the scavi, why not just hop back on it to Sorrento and grab your taxi to Positano there?

(Yes, I'm still assuming you mean Positano; taxi to Portofino - way up north of the Cinque Terre - would be nuts)

thanks everyone

Kathy, we booked a hotel in (yes, I did mean) positano with all other things being equal because of the glowing compliments the hotel staff and 'concierge' received. After some back and forth emails you were exactly right, 75 euro for door to door service in a Mercedes with an English speaking driver which is perfect. Hotel is Villa Mary if anyone is wondering, obviously cannot divulge any more info not having been yet but the experience so far with them has been fantastic as they have answered a few pressing questions and have come up with multiple solutions for us all of which they could execute themselves.

thanks again

I agree, your cost estimate is way to low for taxi's. I rented one from Sorrento to Positano and it was 100 euro. So, expect twice that from Pompeii. If you have time go over to Herculaneum (Ercolano), a Pompeii like ruin that is even better preserved.

I hightly recommend Herculaneum over Pompeii. It is smaller, you only need 2 hours to see it... easier to navigate, less walking between exhibits and better preserved. Pompeii is A LOT of walking, and very exposed in hot weather, no shade. IN SEASON ferries run from Naples to Positano, this is a pleasant way to travel rather than train and bus on packed roads. I would see Herculaneum, take train back to Naples and ferry to Positano.

Herculaneum is very good too but it's some messing around to go back to Naples and get from the train station to the docks. There are no DIRECT ferries to Positano that I'm aware of - they'll stop in Capri first - and can be rather few and far between from Naples so they'll get to their hotel much faster with a cab, as planned, from Pompeii.

There's also the potential issue of a rough sea day where the boats can't dock in Positano at all, and Chris would have to come up with a Plan B if that was the case.

Note that the reason Herculaneum is smaller is that less of it has been excavated than at Pompeii. That doesn't mean that seeing "all of it" is actually a more "complete" experience.

It is true that the volcanic rubble at Herculaneum was different than at Pompeii, and there are, for instance, some scraps of wood still visible at Herculaneum. One argument against Herc is that it's a 15-minute downhill walk to the excavation, and there is no food inside Herculaneum. (You CANNOT exit and re-enter either place.) I personally preferred Pompeii. Almost no one has enough time to see "all" of Pompeii.

But our host, Rick Steves, has observed that much of Pompeii remains beneath the modern city of Pompeii. He points out (I mean in his books) that Pompeii must have had a Synagogue, but it has not yet been found.

In an ideal world, having time to see BOTH + the museum in Naples would be terrific but it's always challenge to try and shoehorn everything into just a couple of days. I know that feeling all too well!