Going to Italy for my first time and I will fly into Rome and would like to go to Pompeii. Does anyone have any suggestions about that tour or ways to get there?
Also looking for recommendations of places on the Adriatic coast that aren't super touristy with anything local or wildlife or history!
Wendy, I am flying in to Rome 2.5 days early for my R.S. Heart of Italy tour that starts September 16, and I booked a day trip to Pompeii and Positano through the TripAdvisor website with Walks of Italy. This is a one-day tour titled "Small-Group Pompeii with Amalfi Coast Drive and Positano Stop from Rome." I will leave Rome at 7 am, and return at 8 pm, and the cost was about $220 USD....all booked online, but with rave reviews. There are other highly-recommended day tours through TripAdvisor, as well as the Rick Steves' suggested ones. I'm traveling solo prior to meeting up with the R.S. tour, and couldn't afford the more private tours that R.S. recommends. Have a great time! Jane
You might want to start by visiting L’Aquila and then heading down toward Pescara, Gargano Peninsula and Bari on the Adriatic. One wonderful contributor to the forum regaled us with updates on a 4 month trip. The end of his post describes a stay in the Salentina Peninsula in the “heel of the boot.” I’m sure if you send him a PM with questions that he would reply with first hand knowledge.
As far as Pompeii goes, its pretty straightforward and inexpensive on how to get to Naples and then Pompeii by train. The Archeological Museum in Naples houses the artifacts excavated at the site. If you are interested in Pompeii, don’t miss the museum. The train from Roma Termini takes an hour and 10 minutes to get to Naples. It’s a short walk to the Circumvesuviana that takes about 40 minutes to Pompeii Scavi. When you get to the ruins, they’ll give you a booklet in English as a guide. Rick Steves Audio Europe app has an excellent audio tour of the site (free!).
If you want guided tours of the museum or the site, check out highly recommended Mondo Tours. They offer reasonably priced small group tours of both.
Enjoy Rome tours has a shuttle bus to Pompeii from Rome.
Wendy, we got back from our Adriatic coast trip. We did drive but as you have found out train service is great in Italy. If possible take a train from Pompeii to Matera, the history of this town is fascinating. We used Lecce ( a lovely old town) as a base for a drive down to Gallipoli one day and Otranto the next. I believe the train will also take you to Alberobello to see the Truilli houses. My favorite along the coast was Polignano a Mare which is built on the cliffs of the Adriatic. Up the coast is Senigalli where we stayed right on the beach with an historic area very close to our hotel. The train again was just a block away from the hotel. If you would like a little more information just PM me. Some of the bigger centres such as Bari & Brindisi you can fly to as well but they were bigger cities and we have seen enough of them and opted for the smaller areas.
We've used Aldo Limos for a tour of the Amalfi Coast. We're going this year with a total of 6 people and will take the train from Rome to Naples in the morning, returning early evening. The driver will pick us up at the train station, take us to Pompeii (they've arranged a 2 hour guided visit of Pompeii for an additional 120 euros), and the Amalfi Coast drive with stops at a couple towns, Sorrento and back to the train station - cost is 380 euros cash for the 6 of us (plus Pompeii entrance fee, lunch and optional gratuity).
So many amazing suggestions! I am booking reservations/tours now.
Thank you all and happy travels!
