Visiting Pompei Ruins and Mount Vesusius in Half a Day

I can't comment on the rest of your plan, but you should give yourself more time for visiting Pompeii. I was there 4 hours and didn't see everything, and I wanted to stay longer. It's a very big site.

My first reaction is that you cannot even scratch the surface of Pompeii in one to two hours. If that is the all the time you have, save it for another trip. Personally I would skip Vesusius in favor in more time at Pompeii. IMO Vesusius is a big hole in the ground with a lot of black sand and hike to the rim.

Take the ferry (9:15)-(9:55) from Minori to Salerno. 40 min, E 7

Train (10:24)- (11:12) across the street from ferry dock.
Salerno to Pompei. 48m E 2,20

Taxi to Pompeii Scavi 5m E 7

Check luggage at the site.

Spend 2-4 hrs.
Guided tours 12E p/p.

You see Vesuvius clearly from the site. I don't know if you've visited a volcano, but if Vesuvius is venting, and your down wind the stench can be overwhelming.

You can take the Eva bus to it, takes about 1 hr. E 2,70.

Vesuvius Express runs a mini van. E 20.

Otherwise, take the Circumvesuvian into Napoli Garibaldi.

Edit:

Ferry timetable
http://www.livesalerno.com/ferry-connections
Scroll all the way down.

Although Pompeii gets all the press ..it is vast, open, as in no shade, and far between exhibits, you don't have a lot of time.

I agree about Vesuvio, you can see it from everywhere, but hiking up in hot weather is crazy! And you are pressed for time.

I like Herculaneum better than Pompeii! Can be seen by self guided tour in 1.5-2 hours, has shade, and MUCH better preserved exhibits.

Lock luggage at Naples Centrale train station and take circumvesuvia to Herculaneum, about 30 minutes, 10 minute walk.

This takes the stress off of going to Pompeii. See the website and google for some good bloggers who compare the sites.

It was a wealthy fishing village not a vast town. It is still undergoing excavations which is cool to see! It is as if an entire neighborhood of 20 -30 streets or so was buried in a time capsule. If you are going to Rome, the Forum and Palentine Hill will have ruins such as the temples and grand buildings that are in Pompeii.

The Naples Archeological museum should not be missed, you can see this and Herculaneum in same day, which is another reason I recommend Herculaneum over Pompeii when someone is only in the area for a day!

Gerri's plan makes the most sense to me. Just as she has, I would also recommend just skipping the Vesuvius part as Pompeii is vast enough to need more than two hours, and you can see the Mt. clearly from the scavi. It's an especially poignant sight from there, for obvious reasons! As you'll also have luggage to deal with, that piece adds an additional complication that I personally don't think is worth the hassle with the little time you have.

Pompeii's ticket office is reported here to have excellent bag checking. Skip Vesuvius. Your time estimates are optomistic, and assume German precision in a country and region that is not like Germany. Previous advice is excellent.

...and assume German precision in a country and region that is not
like Germany.

LOL, Tim! Love her as I do, Italy can require some patience and a few Plan B's. :O)

I did Pompeii and Vesuvius on the same day, but it took me the better part of the day. The bus trip from Pompeii to Vesuvius and back took quite a while. I don't recall the exact amount of time, but it took longer than I had anticipated. If you only have a half day available, I'd suggest saving Vesuvius for another trip and spending more time touring Pompeii. If Vesuvius is a must, there are 2 possibilities. One: check your luggage upon arrival, go to Vesuvius first and then return to tour the Scavi. While not ideal from a heat standpoint if going in hot months, you could then spend as much time as you wanted at Pompeii before hopping on the Circumvesuviana to Naples. Two: Explore whether you can take a bus from Pompeii to Vesuvius and then another bus from Vesuvius to Herculaneum. That would save a good hour of travel time, but I'm not sure whether you can buy one-way tickets as it might be 2 different bus companies. I also don't recall whether there's a place to store luggage at Vesuvius.

Going to Naples and backtracking to Pompeii isn't necessary. You can take a 6:30 bus from Minori to Salerno and then the train to Pompei, arriving at the Scavi at about the same time as traveling via Naples (earlier if you take the 5:30 bus). The left luggage at the main entrance to Pompeii was very easy to use.

We did Pompeii today. We spent 5 hours. It is incredible. I could have spent at least another hour.