We will be arriving in Rome from Munich via plane on 31 Aug at around noon. We leave Rome on Sept 4th. Our initial plan was to do one of those days by train to pompeii....but then we thought it would be lovely to at least get a view of the Amalfi coast. We were thinking of going direct to Sorrento on the day we arrive in Rome and then spend one night in Sorrento and the next morning train to Pompeii and then head back to Rome that night. Does that sound reasonable? Any recommendations ? Should we consider staying somewhere other then Sorrento? The coast looks beautiful and we want to see the sea but I am the wimp in the group and not sure if I am ready for hair raising drives along those cliffs. I was hoping this would be a calmer trip via train compared to car - would y'all agree ?
Posted by
Toledo, Ohio, US
11613 posts
No trains go to the Amalfi Coast. The closest you can get by commuter train is Sorrento.
You have four nights in Roma, I would stay there. If you run out of things to do (!), you could go to Ostia Antica or Orvieto.
Posted by
Minnesota 🎒
15856 posts
Voting with Zoe here. There's so much to see and do in Roma that you really need all of the 3.5 days you have to tackle it all. Besides, by the time you got to Sorrento - which is close to but not technically the Amalfi - you wouldn't have time to see much. I would save that region for a future trip when you can give it the 3-4 days it deserves?
Repeating what she stated above: there are no direct trains to Sorrento, and bus/ferry service only from there to the majority of towns on the Amalfi. There are some direct trains from Roma Termini to Salerno (and others with a single change) but, not knowing your situation, by the time you'd collected bags (if you have them), trained into Rome from the airport, and trained to Salerno, you've killed the afternoon.
Train to Rome, train to Naples and ferry from Naples to Sorrento probably wouldn't save you much time either.
Posted by
Charleston & Birmingham
4372 posts
Years ago we did a bus day trip from Rome to Pompeii with drive on Amalfi coast. It was a long day-but definitely the easiest way to do this.
Posted by
Wyckoff, NJ, USA
7364 posts
Do you know that Sorrento itself has only one, small, crowded public beach, with fumes from the ferry docks? Pompeii will be a furnace in August, and vacation crowds everywhere. Don't leave Rome.