Rome to Pompeii to Positano

Transportation infrastructure south of Naples has been sadly neglected. There is no quick nor efficient mode to move about. Both public and private transportation options take patience and time. The roads are small and constantly congested. The commuter train out of Naples has been described as "gritty" and kind of runs on schedule, no AC, usually SRO. The ferries are weather - dependent. The SITA bus has long lines and you're packed in like sardines- if it stops if it has any room. May is no longer shoulder season, the area is already crowded.

The area has been ruined by its Instagram success. It is beautiful, and you can have a great trip, if you plan for the realities on the ground.
I'll attach some previous threads. This is almost a daily discussion.
Have a good trip.

https://search.ricksteves.com/?button=&date_range=2y&filter=Travel+Forum&query=Amalfi+coast&utf8=%E2%9C%93

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/italy/pompeii-from-sorrento-by-car-driver-or-train

In theory it is possible, but it would be a very long and exhausting day, and I'm not sure how you would have time for lunch or dinner. As for prices, you would have to price each segment for yourself.
Transportation would involve something like- an early morning freccia train from Rome to Naples Centrale. Then the local commuter Circumvesuviana train (platform in the lower level of the Naples Centrale Station) to the Pompeii Scavi stop. Timed so you enter the Pompeii site as soon as the site opens. Tour for no more than 3 hours. Then bus or Circumvesuviana train to Sorrento. Then ferry to Positano ( providing the weather is good and the ferry can dock there. Visit Positano for an hour or 2. Return to Sorrento on ferry. Circumvesuviana to Naples Centrale. Freccia train to Rome.

Like I said- long and exhausting. And don't forget that it will probably be very hot. Take lots of water and sun protection.

There are no high speed trains to/from Sorrento or Pompeii. You can get as far as Naples then it's the local commuter train.

There are dozens of threads here addressing transportation in that area and all the issues. A search will provide tons of info.

A day trip from Rome to Pompeii is probably the most you can comfortably do and it will still be a brutal day.

I agree that you could do one or the other - a long day either way - but not both. I would personally strongly recommend Pompeii between the two trips.

Pompeii is high speed train from Rome to Naples (1:15 direct train) and then descend to the lower levels of the Naples train station to switch to the Circumvesuviana to get to Pompeii. That's a rattly 30 minutes or so trip to Pompei Scavi - Villa dei Misteri stop to visit Pompeii. So if the stars align for you I would say that 2:30 is probably the best possible transit time for this trip both ways and realistically maybe more.

Pompeii is large, really large. And walking on the ancient stones and up and down out of the streets and sidewalks can be tiring. You would not be able to see everything in an entire single day so have a plan and see what you want until you decide you are done.

You can book your forward trip from Rome if you're confident of when you get to the station. I would leave the return open and just pay full price for the most convenient return fast train ticket when you get back to Napoli station. You can book ahead at a discount but then you'll need to worry about getting back to the station on a schedule.

To go to Positano go from Rome to Salerno - 1:35 if you can get one of the direct fast trains - walk about 10 minutes or so straight down to the harbor dock and get tickets for the next ferry leaving for Positano - this is probably about 1:30 plus the wait time. The ferry ride and seeing the Amalfi coastline from the ocean was the highlight for me and Positano is the further city so heading there gives you the most coastline views, but the town itself is tight and gets very crowded in season.

With 5-6 hours of travel time for each option I don't think chaining these together is a realistic idea. I would be 2.5 hours to Pompeii, hopefully at least 3 or 4 hours there, train to Sorrento (:40 plus wait time and hopefully something to eat) and then a bus or ferry to Postitano and then the return through Salerno at 3-4 hours. And unless you bus back to Sorrento or onto Salerno (changing in Amalfi) your time is capped by the last ferry of the day - which can late afternoon rather than evening - do not miss it.

This does not sound like a day you will remember fondly looking at this schedule.

I didn't get to go when I was there but Napoli Centrale has added a food court if you're there waiting anyway: https://www.napolike.com/la-food-hall-alla-stazione-centrale-di-napoli-unarea-ristoro-di-4000-metri-quadri

Hope that helps, good luck,
=Tod

It's important to know the number of people on the trip, for example versus the number of seats in a "black-car" sedan. You also need to say if this is "rock-bottom lowest possible budget." It's really important how crowded this area will be in the last week of May. You can wait for a municipal bus in a line of people that is more than will fit on the next, half-hourly bus. I haven't taken a lot of ferries, but I would expect them to be very crowded, and Positano can't take boats as big as the ferries that have larger piers, like in Sorrento and Salerno.

Nobody takes a bus from Pompeii to Sorrento, you take the jammed, hot, run-down Circumvesuviana train, roughly half-hourly and very inexpensive. One hour ride +-. Lots of people stop at Pompeii on the way south, and the luggage check at Pompeii is free and reliable. But you are going to experience heat and sun at midday that will be brutal on both adults and kids.

You have not made clear in the transatlantic flight, train to Naples, Pompeii visit, and ferry to Positano are all in the same 24 hours. That is a brutal, death-march schedule. The cheapest fast-trains Rome-Naples are advance purchase tickets that are not changeable, which is risky for an air arrival. And you have the frequent airport shuttle train before you leave for Naples from Roma Termini station.

Does your research include the Search box here, top left, in blue?

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/italy/how-do-i-get-from-pompeii-to-positano-is-there-a-direct-route

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/italy/getting-around-amalfi-coast

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/italy/amalfi-coast-for-7-nights-itinerary-help

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/italy/herculaneum-and-pompeii-questions

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/italy/one-week-on-the-amalfi-coast

Regarding quick, easy and cheap...

There is no such thing as "quick" in that region. The high speed train will get you to Naples and then you take the 30 minute commuter train to Pompeii which runs every half hour. That same train takes another 30 minutes to Sorrento and then a 15 minute walk to the ferry dock followed by a 50 minute ferry to Positano. Pompeii is huge but maybe a quick 2-hour tour will be enough for your group; we spent 12 hours over 2 days there and saw "some" of it.

From the "easy" point of view. Nothing is easy in that region. Your trains may be on time, maybe. The Circumvesuviana train in late May may be packed to the gills in the daytime. You'll get on, but it may not be comfortable and you may or may not get a seat. One da on a Saturday we stood all the way from Naples to Sorrento (1 hour 10 minutes). Once you make it to Sorrento you then hope the wind isn't making the ocean rough and the ferry has been cancelled.

"Cheap" depends on your budget. Train to Naples €25-50 one-way per person. €5 one-way per person for the Circumvesuviana to Pompeii and then again to Sorrento. I think it's about €20 per person for entry into Pompeii. We paid the entry plus about €60 per person for a 2 hour tour. Ferry to Positano was €18 per person one way. You're likely looking at €150-200 per person for the day.

Having said all that, we spent 2 weeks in Sorrento and loved it and would go back in a heartbeat. But as a day trip from Rome, it's better than not seeing it at all, but it will be a long day and not easy, quick, or cheap.

Hi there and welcome to the Forum! You've gotten some really great advice above, it would be a brutal day to try to do what you're suggesting during high tourist season. So a couple more questions -

Could you 'just' do a long day trip by tour from Rome? (I've read different views here, use the search bar above, "Pompeii day trip", many have found it the best option.) OR hire Mondo Tours, well regarded here on the Forum, to pick you up at Naples (high speed from Rome) to take you to Pompeii so you can actually relax and enjoy your time there.

Why Positano? It's a very picturesque town when viewed from the sea, but meh, not that great to try to walk around in a few hours, over rated IMO. If you had time to stay overnight in Sorrento, you could arrange something for the day in the AC, but it's a tough area for public transport over frankly pretty windy roads. Hope something works out for you!

I'm just going to support all of the above posts - this is not a good idea. I mean, Rome to Sorrento is a minimum 3 hours of travel time and that's...optimistic. Positano is another hour from Sorrento, and, again, that's probably the minimum travel time. RT ferry (Sorrento-Positano) is at least 2 hours. This is not a day trip, even without stopping in Pompeii for a few hours.

A day trip to Pompeii from Rome - sure. The local train from Naples to Pompeii may - or may not! - be on time. When we were there (April), some trains simply did not show up, meaning that when one DID show up, there were 2-3 trains-worth of people already waiting. It's certainly doable, but you'd be smart to build in LOTS of extra time.

Trying to cram in a trip to Positano is...inadvisable. If you want to do Amalfi, head to Sorrento and spend a night, arrange a ferry or van tour (I would recommend the ferry). Again, this is weather dependent as others have mentioned. But if you are already in Sorrento, you could pivot to something else.

I agree, spend the night in Sorrento and then take the ferry or a boat tour to the Amalfi coast. We were staying in Pompei and drove to Positano and Sorrento for a day trip but that was January when there were literally no other cars in sight for a lot of the coast road! Come June the ZTL will probably be active so you won’t be able to drive into Positano at all (unless you’re a tour guide with connections!). Good luck with the trip!

You did not identify what the composition of the 'family' is but a quick back of the napkin calculation is this would be be a 12-13 hr day, from the time of departure from Rome until your return. Add time to get from your lodging to the train station; your get up and get ready time and you have something close to 15 hours of being 'on the move'. You would likely spend 7 or more hours riding transportation of some sort. Plus the stress of watching the clock to 'keep on schedule.'

If any of the family is under 13 or over 65ish you are almost certain to have some unhappy campers before the day is over.

Rome to Pompeii and back in a day is a vigorous day; adding Positano makes it a survival challenge.

If you have any advice, please let me know!

Re-think the idea.

I wouldn't attempt this on my own. In 1997, my in-laws(who were 70 at the time) and i took a bus day tour that went to Pompeii and drove the Amalfi Coast. It was a long day(7 AM-9 PM), but all three of us thought it was worth it. A bus can drop you off near the site and then come back to get you instead of you having to figure out local transportation.