Train Ticket Confusion

https://www.trenitalia.com/en.html

Curious how you are going to Pompeii?
Circumvesuviana from Pompeii to Naples (be careful of pickpockets); that's a regional train so you can buy tickets same day. Then change to Trenitalia from Naples to Rome. Local transport or taxi to Navona area.
Then use Trenitalia or Italotreno for Rome to Florence and Florence to Venice.
Go to train websites for info and to book. Also good info on https://www.seat61.com/

We are landing in Naples. So staying there and then the local train to Pompeii, but then thought we'd be able to take the faster train from there to Rome? Am I wrong?

Also, honestly I have no idea how long we are going to want to be at Pompeii. We will be there Nov 13- could we not buy on the spot?

Yes you use Trenitalia but spell the cities in Italian aned shop for the direct trains . Naples is Napoli Centrale. You cannot buy the Circumvesuviana trains tickets from Pompeii to Napoli as it is a separate network so you will need to build in extra time for the transfer. Rome is Roma Termini so when you depart there will be a long line for taxis but they will take you to Navona. We found the official taxis very nice. Florence is Santa Maria Novella Firenze. Be glad you are travelling in November as currently crazy.

You have to search for the Italian names of the cities. For example Roma, not Rome, Firenze, not Florence, Pompei Scavi, not Pompeii historic site, and so on. Google might not display every possible train journey. I would have thought you would have to take the circumvesuviana commuter train to Napoli and then local transportation to the train station in Napoli. After Pompei Scavi, I spent the night in Napoli. I don't have personal experience that exactly corresponds to what you want to do but if an Italian train website will sell you a ticket from Pompei Scavi to Roma, then I guess the train trip is possible. I only took the train from Roma to Firenze, Firenze to Napoli, and Napoli to Roma.

The trenitalia website will sell you a through ticket from Pompeii to Rome, and makes clear in it's booking process that a foot transfer is required between stations in Naples.
The "faster" (through) train only runs on summer Saturdays until 8 October.

hi Wanderlust, since this will be your first time using the trains in Italy (or even presumably the metro in Rome), I highly recommend that you start by reading the Italy page on the excellent “Man in Seat 61” website. He is a guy who writes up the pages himself and really walks you through all the different kinds of trains, what to expect, what to look out for, how and when to buy tickets, etc.

Here is the link:

https://www.seat61.com/train-travel-in-italy.htm

(No I don’t have any affiliation with him, I just find him and his work extremely useful and helpful !)

I highly recommend that you start by reading the Italy page on the excellent “Man in Seat 61” website

I agree - and one thing that the Man in Seat 61 suggests is to use the Italiarail web site:
https://www.italiarail.com/

I realize this may be blasphemy to some of the experts on the forum, but for a struggling newbie, it may be less challenging - they don't need to enter Italian station names, for one thing.

I think it's easier to learn the Italian station names early on so you aren't flummoxed by things like Firenze, Venezia and Genova when you check the departure board for your train.

I found it useful to know the train station names, especially for like Rome and Florence that have multiple train stations it is important to know the MAIN station that you want, also by familiarizing myself with the Trenitalia website I was able to use the kiosk at the station no problem as they were the same as the website.

I also do not use public transportation and I found the train system and the ticket buying easy. You should also look at some You Tube Videos as there are people who will show you exactly how to use the kiosk to buy tickets and explain the different between the fast trains and the regional (Regionale) trains and all the different train operators.

The station at the historic site is named Pompei Scavi and is on the Circumvesuviana line, so there is no other option than going to Napoli and changing trains; the stations in Napoli are different but very close (5 minutes walking). The Circumvesuviana train is, let us put this way, colourful, pay attention to your belongings. If you are going directly from Pompei Scavi to Rome, I wonder what you will be doing with your luggage.

National railways have a station in Pompei, named simply Pompei; that is the location for very unfrequent direct trains, but once you are there you need some local transportation to get to/from the historic area, so it looks deceptively simpler.

There should be also an Italo service combining a bus Sorrento-Pompei-Napoli Afragola (a new high speed station, a sort of cathedral in the mid of nothingness out of Napoli city area) with an high speed Napoli Afragola-Roma Italo service; but I do not know where the connecting bus stops.

There is a third station in Pompei, Pompei Santuario. Forget about it.