Can we make alternate arrangements from what is scheduled for the tour?

It generally is not a problem to go do something on your own as long as you have communicated with your guide and your buddies in advance.

Were you thinking to send your luggage on the bus? The potential problem I see is that each group member is responsible for getting their luggage from the bus to their room. I’ve not been on this tour so no idea if the bus can get to the front of the hotel or if there is a distance to transport it. It’s the last stop on the tour so the bus will drop and go. Sometimes in cities they have to stop in traffic and get offloaded asap.

Are you in Sorrento 2 nights? Can you do this on the non-transit day?

Hi Kathleen, I would send a message to the RS office and see if that option would be a problem. I did take a 24-hour alternate destination from my recent RS Adriatic tour. I checked with the office to make sure my plan to take a ferry to an island and overnight there and then meet back up with the tour group again on another island the next day would be viable. And just in case I was to became a dropped member of the tour group because I suddenly came down with Covid, I left my tour handheld listening device with a member of the group.

I briefly mentioned my plan to my guide several days ahead. Then two days ahead, I gave her a paper with all of the details - ferry company, time of rides, my lodging on Hvar Island, etc. so that she knew where I was and also knew she didn’t need to worry about me. I travel solo independently in Europe and felt it was important that I respected my guide’s time. I had no expectations to ask her to help with my independent plan reservations, etc. Similarly, you will want to share your train ticket route with your guide.

"I left my tour handheld listening device with a member of the group."

@Jean - yes what an excellent idea!

Another possibility is to do your full day Pompeii+ after the tour, since it ends in Naples. Logistics would be simpler and you wouldn't miss parts of the tour for which you will have paid for.

It sounds like you are planning a full day tour with another company? If that is correct, then I am assuming you’d take your luggage with you? When we took this tour in 2019, we had to walk from the hotel in Sorrento to the bus as well as from the bus in Naples to that hotel. The walks are pretty easy and not that long, but they’d be pretty difficult for someone else to transport your luggage as well as their own. If that issue is covered, then I don’t think there would be a problem with you doing that on your own. You just need to let the guide and your tour buddy know ahead.

Agree with LizinPA 100%. By staying an extra day or two or three in Naples, you will be able to "tailor" your own tour to those places any way you like. It will also simplify the baggage issue. But to get a really definitive answer to your specific question, you need to contact the RS office.

Your luggage would be a challenge. And in 2022 we visited the Capodimonte Museum on our way to Naples, you will miss this, if it’s still on the itinerary, along with the city tour in the afternoon.

I enjoyed the Capodimonte, but it's awkward to visit by public transportation. (Indeed, Rick recommends a taxi.) Being delivered there by the tour bus would be advantageous.

Just finished the best of south italy tour.. you have a free day in sorrento. Why not use that day for your third party tour? Also the RS tour visits pompeii the day before sorrento. Best plan would be to stay a couple extra days in naples after the RS tour to do the third party tours.

Kathleen,

My husband and I went on the South Italy tour last year, and we had decided (based on friends' feedback) to spend a couple of extra days in Naples so we could visit Herculaneum. What a mistake!

We found Herculaneum to be not very interesting (as compared to Pompeii) and neither of us felt like it added anything. I'm not a history buff, though my husband is more so and he was really looking forward to it, but we were both disappointed.

Maybe others here will chime in and say how much they liked it! Different strokes...

I agree with the people who suggested staying on in Naples and adding your full day tour after the RS tour, if you are able to add days at the end. I just returned from this tour - a really great one - and have noticed that the hotels sometimes change, making it hard to predict how to handle luggage. Also, the current schedule includes a wonderful evening meal in Sorrento at the end of the free day that would be a shame to miss. All in all, your best source of information is the RS office.