Out Sicily tour ends December 6 in Catania. I am wondering if it would be a good idea to fly to Naples and get on a Pompeii tour instead of going to Rome. Then we could either stay overnight in Naples or go to Rome where we will spend 4 whole days. Has anyone done this particular strategy? It seems wasteful timewise to fly to Rome and then use a train to go back and forth to Pompeii. Maybe I am missing information though as this is our first time in Italy. I would love some input.
Avoiding a long day trip from Rome to Pompeii is an excellent idea. Are you seeing good flight schedules from Catania to Rome? << Sorry, I meant from Catania to Naples.
Although it sounds like a better plan in theory it may not work out that well in practice. Many carriers do consolidation for flights within Italy to Naples, first flying to Rome and then everyone boards a single plane bound for Naples. So first make sure there really is a direct flight at a reasonable time.
Second, even with a morning flight it may not tie together all that well. Suppose you get a 9am flight to Naples, arriving lets say at 10am. You then need to get from the airport to your hotel, drop your bags, get to the train station for the train to Pompeii. Add in a bit of friction and slippage and it might be 1pm or later before you're standing at the Pompeii train station. Try and work out a schedule for the day to see if it really works out.
Very easy to fly into Naples from Catania and to get to either Naples or Sorrento by bus. My choice would be to spend an overnight in Naples and visit the Archaeological Museum with artifacts from Pompeii as well as a visit to Pompeii. Easier to get from Naples to Rome than from Sorrento.