My husband, 15 year-old grand daughter and I are going to be in Italy in early June. We will be spending the first part of the trip in Sorrento, then moving on to Rome etc. We'd like to spend time touring the ruins in Pompeii and are considering taking the Circumvesuviana from Sorrento to Pompeii and then later in the day continuing onto Naples where we'll get the train to Rome. Couple questions and concerns:
1. Is this doable in a day? We have reservations in Rome for the night we leave Sorrento.
2. Is there a safe place to store luggage at the station in Pompeii?
3. How long should we expect to spend in Pompeii?
4. Should we be worried about theft while on the Circumvesuviana? Rick points out that this commuter train is popular with pickpockets.
5. Is it confusing or difficult to get from the local train platforms to national train platforms at Garibaldi? How much time should be allow from arrival from Pompeii until departure to Rome?
6. Would it be easier to take the hydrofoil from Sorrento to Naples, take a taxi to the train station, store our bags and get a round trip tour to Pompeii?
Posted by
lexington, il
4105 posts
Luggage can be left at both the Pompei Scavi station and at the Pompei site.
Plan on 2-4 hours. There good guides at the entrance, 12-15 E per person. Groups of up to 30.
Pay attention! Keep your valuables close. Have ridden this train many times, never had a problem. Must look like a mean elderly woman.
Allow around a half hour.
Very doable
No. It's a nice ride, but no need to backtrack.
Posted by
Minnesota 🎒
17279 posts
Gerri summed it up nicely. I'll just add that while a fair amount of posters freak out about the Circumvesuviana, you'll be fine as long as you practice the same rules with your valuables you should in Rome or any other tourist magnet in Italy. If light fingers can't get to your goodies, your goodies will be safe.
The Circ.is a battered commuter with no air conditioning but it's cheap and gets the job done. Just tell yourself that you'll be doing what many of the locals do! :O)
Posted by
Portland, Oregon, United States
907 posts
You might consider a visit to Herculaneum, a site as good or better than Pompeii
Posted by
Edmonds, WA 🌨 ☂
12591 posts
Why not do a day trip to Pompeii while you are in Sorrento? Its easy to do and still be back for dinner and pleasant evening in Sorrento
That way you can spend as much time as you want touring the site and not have all your luggage with you.
As for pickpockets, just use a money belt.
Posted by
OP
Atlanta, GA, USA
23 posts
Gerri, Kathy, Gordon and Joe,
Many thanks for responses. All were helpful and encouraging.
Posted by
NYC
490 posts
I second the Herculaneum suggestion. It is very well perserved and much easier to navigate due to the compact size, no guide person needed, you can pick up the audio guide and map and tour it yourself. I think Pompeii is 40 times larger!!!!
As far as trains being dangerous, you shouldn't have anything valuable in your pockets and keep luggage locked and well attended.
http://wikitravel.org/en/Herculaneum
If luggage storage is not available at Herculaneum station leave luggage at Garibaldi ( Naples centrale) it is only 25 minutes by train. The downhill walk from the station takes 10-15 minutes.
Posted by
1 posts
Thank you for asking this question. We are going in mid-July. Landing in Rome and need to get to Sorrento. We are staying there 5 nights.
We are debating if we should rent a car drive to Sorrento and then stop in Pompeii on the way back to Rome.
I would be very interested to hear what you ended up doing.
I hope your trip was fabulous.