Day Trip or Overnight stay at Paestum from Rome

I'm planning a visit to Italy in 2022 myself. I think Paestum is just too far from Rome (over 3 hour train ride one way) to make it a feasible as a day trip. At this point in time, I am looking at staying in Salerno as a base for the Amalfi coast and for a day trip to Paestum.

Tivoli (for example) is a surrounding town for Rome. Paestum, although a UNESCO WHS, is not. You may have to change trains in Salerno to get there, so it's quite a long trip. And the last part may take a bus or taxi. It's apparently a very hot, exposed location in summer, so it could be quite exhausting, and it's apparently not full of tourist services (I mean, like the air conditioned cafe INSIDE Pompeii Scavi.) I wouldn't expect to find a chain hotel there! We couldn't even manage Paestum as a daytrip from Sorrento, so I haven't been there. But I'd like to see it.

Note that the long distance train part, especially Frecciarossa service, is much cheaper with advance purchase, non-changeable, non-refundable tickets.

There have been posts about visiting Paestum here, so try the Search box top center.

Train options do take 2.5 x 3.5 hours each way, with the direct InterCity trains taking a little longer than a high-speed train plus connection. The train station is just a 10-minute walk from the edge of the archeological park and an afternoon there is adequate for many people to see it (hoping it’s not too hot). Packing sandwiches or similar to eat on the train helps you combine “tasks.” Its doable, if the hours of train time are not daunting to you.

I have visited Paestum as a day-long visit from our hotel between Castellammare di Stabia and Sorrento, on the north shore of the Amalfi Peninsula.

We did it by car. It wasn't particularly close for us, and although I thought it quite a reasonable distance from our hotel for a day trip, I couldn't imagine trying to do it from Rome in a day.

There was an excellent museum near the buildings - the buildings fascinating and beautiful, and in very good condition considering their age - and a very tasty little pizza place around the other side.

I just don't see that as a trip from Rome, either by train or car.

If you’re staying overnight in Salerno to be handy to Paestum, consider staying two nights, so you could take a ferry over to Amalfi for your second day....unless that’s just adding too much into your trip.

Paestum is great to visit but not for overnight. Stay in Salerno a couple of nights and make Paestum a half-day.

I visited wonderful Paestum a few years ago, as a day trip from Napoli, by train. Stopped at Salerno first, to visit the old city and have lunch, then continued on to Paestum for 30 more minutes by train, plus 10 to 15 minutes walking to the ruins and museum. I was back in Napoli in time for a mid-evening dinner. Doing this, or just Paestum, as a day trip from Rome, would be a long and somewhat more expensive day, but feasible if the train schedules worked right. You could always nap on the return train.
I also found the modest-sized museum excellent, including showing what the temples would have looked like 2500 years ago, painted in bright colors instead of today’s austere grey stone. When I visited, the ruins were open every day, but the museum closed one day a week, Monday I think.
Also, as I remember, the late afternoon setting sun offered the most beautiful light for viewing and photographing the ruins.

We went to Paestum as a day trip from Naples. We did the trip by train in late June 2 summers ago. Its a little bit of a hike (no shade) from the train station to the site. There was a shaded, outdoors restaurant across the street from the ruins. which was very nice. The Paestum museum, which houses some of the archaeological finds from the ruins, is very good. There is no shade at the ruins themselves so go early in the day if you go in summer. Having gelato at the restaurant across from the ruins always helps with the heat too!!! It was not very crowded and we really enjoyed our time there.

I would agree with others who recommend Paestum warrants more than a day trip. We took a culinary tour in Southern Italy/Sicily and Paestum was on our route. We made a stop for a tour of the amazing Tenuta Vannulo Water Buffalo Farm in Cappacio for lunch. Paestum is 10 mins. from Cappacio which is a town & commune in the province of Salerno. Agree, a night or two in Salerno would be ideal. Well worth checking out if you have the time. Paestum was one of the top highlights of our tour. It is incredible that Paestum contains three of the best-preserved ancient Greek temples in the world. https://www.feastonhistory.com/recommendations/2016/11/3/unique-towns-of-italy-italianfwt

We were coming by rental car, from farther south in Italy. Stopping at Paestum, we stayed 3-4 hours, for the temples plus the museum. Although we were ultimately headed for Sorrento, Salerno made a great stop for that night. It would’ve made a great stop for longer, although we really enjoyed dinner and a long evening walk that one night in Salerno. Paestum, as a day trip from Rome would’ve been extreme.