pompeii mt. vesuvius, Amalfi Coast in ome day?

we are sailing on Epic in September. If at all possible we would like to spend a couple hours in Pompeii then climb Mt Vesuvius then drive down the Amalfi Coast. Is this possible to do in one day and if so how would you do it. We are a group of four.

Needs a tour or at least car + driver because of local knowledge, & on the Amalfi coast one of your number as volunteer driver will have little chance to see the scenery or find a parking space.

Do things the other way round.

Amalfi coast first cos it's the furthest, the most prone to unforeseen delay, and the most difficult to make up lost time. if circumstances mean you can't keep to schedule on the Amalfi coast you can trim your time at Pompeii or Vesuvius to suit.

Then Pompeii (yes, it'll be hotter & probably busier than if you did it first-thing. But that's still my advice.)

When you get to Pompeii you can gauge how much time you have left. If you only have an hour, so be it. If you have 3 hours left, that's fine too.

Then Vesuvius if you have the time.

Which you probably won't. ;)

The diversion up Vesuvius will cost you most of an hour, plus walking the final part (15 mins ? e/w) - transportation for that last bit only for those who need. So close to 2 hours to be worthwhile.

Which it probably isn't. ;)

I'd delete Vesuvius now. But each to their own.

JB :)

Thanks. My daughter would really like to climb Mt. Vesuvius if possible. Any suggestions on tours that do this? I can find two of three stops but not all three. Also how fair s Vesuvius from Pompeii?

I don't know what itinerary you are doing but if Naples is the last port before Rome- you can always disembark in Naples and spend an overnight there and then train to Rome the next day for your flight or stay in Rome. I have disembarked twice on the second to last day and highly recommend it if it's a port that you are really interested in and don't want to feel rushed.

Thanks. My daughter would really like to climb Mt. Vesuvius if possible. Any suggestions on tours that do this? I can find two of three stops but not all three. Also how fair s Vesuvius from Pompeii?

Sorry, no experience of tours. Only ever visited the area by car, and once DIY by ferry & train from a cruise ship.

If you can't find a standard tour that includes all three it's probably that they consider the day too short.

Vesuvius is very visible from all over Pompeii, but it's a convoluted route. If traffic on the main Pompeii - Naples road is running freely, it's about 35 -40 minutes - most of that on the winding road up to Vesuvius.

The walk from the parking lot up to the rim is half-a-mile, about 15 mins.

When we went up, you could only walk a short section of the rim, but the view down into the crater was fine.

No fire & brimstone, just a whisper of smoke. ;)

If you have a late sailing you could check what time a Naples to Amalfi + Pompeii tour ends in Pompeii & duck out there to negotiate a taxi to take you up Vesuvius & back to Naples.

The return to the ship from the Vesuvius parking lot is about 40 minutes, so you'd need a taxi for about 2 hours from Pompeii to Vesuvius & back to the ship.

JB :)

we are sailing on Epic in September. If at all possible we would like to spend a couple hours in Pompeii then climb Mt Vesuvius then drive down the Amalfi Coast. Is this possible to do in one day and if so how would you do it. We are a group of four.

You could do Sorrento, Vesuvius and Pompeii in one day. And you could do it DIY and it is easy. No way can you fit in with the Amalfi coast.

Sorrento is not actually on the amalfi coast but you can get a taste of the coast, Sorrento is in a lovely setting.

This is what i suggest. ....

You dock at 7am, so get off the ship first thing, and take a taxi to Garibaldi train station. This will take about 10-15 mins (10 euros)

Go down the stairs to a set of tracks for the Circumsuviana train. Ride this train to Pompei (direct) for 30 minutes (2.50 euros). The ruins are five mins walk from the station. All being well, you should be in Pompeii by 8.30am (when it opens, 11 euros entrance). Plan to spend 2.5 hours walking around (plan your route online before hand, print out a map). Keep an eye on the time!

Plan to catch the Cicumsuviana from Pompei to Sorrento (direct) just after 11am. It will take 30 minutes, so you should be in Sorrento by 12 noon. Enjoy walking around for 2 hours, eat takeaway lunch somewhere nice with a view to save time. Don't bother trying to get down to a beach, stay up higher as you won't have time. Plus the beaches aren't very good in Sorrento.

Plan to catch the train by 2.15pm to Ercolano Scavi (the station for Herculaneum). It will take you 50 minutes, so you should be there by 3.30pm. You will only have a short time to visit Vesuvius as your ship departs at 7pm (you will need to be back by 6.30pm. ISo I suggest you get a taxi, although this will obviously cost you (but will be cheaper than a tour). Explain to them your time constraints - if you don't have time, head back to Naples Garibaldi station on the Circumsuviana. When you spill out of the train station at Ercolano there is normally a collection of taxi's and mini-buses that will take you to Mount Vesuvius. It will take 40 mins to drive there (so you will get there by 4.30pm), you will need 30 mins to climb, leave at 5pm then get the taxi to drive you back to the ship which will take 50 mins (arrive at ship around 6pm).

As you can see these timings are cutting it fine. But it is doable.

Thanks. My daughter would really like to climb Mt. Vesuvius if possible. Any suggestions on tours that do this? I can find two of three stops but not all three. Also how fair s Vesuvius from Pompeii?

We did the "Pompeii and Vesuvius" tour through Rome In Limo. We did Vesuvius first (our driver said that both would be hot, but at least Pompeii would be hot and flat!). We absolutely loved climbing Vesuvius, but it's not for the weak! Because of the volcanic dust, it's like walking on a beach, uphill. And be careful coming down again, too--very slippery! That said, it was well worth it, and we really enjoyed it. Your driver can take you to the ticket office; from there, you walk up a portion of the way to a guide post. You meet up with a guide, and walk with them up the rest of the way. (You don't have to wait for the guide, but I highly encourage it, as we got a lot out of it). I think we easily took an hour to walk up and back, possibly longer.

From there our driver took us to lunch in Sorrento. I was very glad to have our driver; he knew all the shortcuts and back roads that a bus couldn't have possibly gone down.

Then we went to Pompeii. I think we spent about two hours there? We hired a guide (also through Rome in Limo) who walked with us. It felt a little rushed, and we could easily have spent the whole day in Pompeii, but we were glad we did Vesuvius, too.

Our driver took us back to the ship all along the coast, and made sure to stop at a few scenic areas for views and pictures.

I actually just put our Pompeii and Vesuvius pictures online last night, here: https://tutteuropeancruise2014.shutterfly.com/pictures

We just came back from Cruise, I think you can only do it with a private driver. We took the bus, then the train to pompeii and ran out of time to go to other place. Train in Italy is always not on schedule from my experience.

So dali31 what did you end up doing? Your desires sound very close to what my daughter wants to do when we take the Epic in June.

Even with a private tour, with your own car and driver, I can't imagine trying to do all of this in one day. However, I suppose it's possible IF everything works perfectly and you don't run into significant delays en route.

Assuming you have a 12-hour port day, let's lay this out:

• Off the ship and in your car by 7:30 AM
  
• drive to Pompei first (because it opens 30 minutes earlier than Vesuvio), arrive in time for opening at 8:30 AM
  
• Tour the ruins for two hours, return to car at 10:30 AM
  
• Drive to the base of the path to the Grand Cone of Vesuvio, arrive by 11:15 AM
  
• Climb to the summit and return by 12:30 PM
  
• Drive from Vesuvio to Vietri sul Mare (easternmost end of the Amalfi Coast Road), arrive by 1:30 PM
  
• Drive from Vietri sul Mare to Positano, stopping along the way as desired, arrive to Sorrento by 4 PM
  

Now, assuming that your back-on-board time is 6:30 PM, you need to be on the road back to the port no later than 4 PM (and you may not find a driver willing to wait that late, they are extremely cautious about getting you back on time). That leaves you with a couple of hours, at most, on the Amalfi Coast.

I agree the best use of your time and itinerary will be to use a private guide/driver...RIL (RomeInLimo) a favorite.