Hello,
We are day tripping from Rome to Pompeii and planning to hire a guide; guides require a set time for the tour. If we book our train tickets from Rome to Naples in advance, is the Circumvesuviana train reliable enough to buy tickets upon arrival? I'm concerned about two trains in the am and making a tour time, but I know others have done this. Would appreciate any advice on how to make this work!
The Circumvesuviana has a PDF schedule, but is not as well run a company as Trenitalia. It does not sell tickets online, but does at newsstands and a handful of physical stations, like in Naples. It is more like urban transit than, even, regional commuting. It tends to be hot and crowded. It is unquestionably a cheap and reasonably reliable way to get from the Naples train station to Pompeii Scavi. There have been reports here of omitted Circumvesuviana runs, and late trains, but that happens even in Germany (especially today.) There is a fixed-rate taxi sheet for Naples, so you can see what your last-ditch backup cost could be. Of course, the printed Circumvesuviana schedule will allow you to learn how long the actual trip is, so you know when to go upstairs and hail a taxi.
I do not mean to create worry or doubt, I'm just trying to respond to a reasonable question about mass transit in a section of Italy with poor infrastructure investment. When you don't have your SUV, you have to deal with public transportation.
The Circumvesuviana stops at the highest-traffic entrance to Pompeii Scavi, called the Porta Marina entrance, which is only steps from the train station.
There are tours that include transportation - check them out in the viator app - you need to download the app - this was recommended to me - there is also a high speed train to the other Pompeii station - which is about. A 20-30 minute walk to the ruins
