Rome to Pompeii

[Cruises are us]

We are spending a few extra days in Rome prior to an October cruise.  We would like to find a day tour from Rome to Pompeii.  Does anyone have any suggestions?

[CruiserBruce]

Check with any of the commonly mentioned tour vendors here, like the wonderful Rome in Limo.

 

You might also consider just training it down, and doing it yourself.

[cruisemom42]

A full day private excursion would be quite pricey. A full day private tour from Context Travel, for example, including transportation to/from Rome costs about $1600.  

 

You can take the high speed train from Roma Termini (main train station) to Napoli Centrale (main train station in Naples) in about 70 minutes. From here, it's quite easy -- you don't even have to leave the station. Just go down one level and look for signs for the Circumvesuviana railway, an old commuter railway that circles round Vesuvius and is the fastest (if not always the most comfortable) way to get to Pompeii. These trains leave about every 30-40 minutes and you'll want to make sure you're on the right one as they run several routes. Your stop is Pompei Scavi. Tickets can be purchased in the station near the turnstiles. 

 

At Pompeii, the train stop is just a scant half block from the main entrance to the site. 

 

You'll probably want to purchase your round-trip tickets for the fast-train portion (Rome to Naples Central and return), so you'll know how much time you have. Pompeii merits more time than most people give it. There is a lot to see there. Inside the ruins there is one small cafeteria where you can purchase basic but adequate food for lunch. There is no prohibition against bringing food in with you if you want to find a spot to picnic (easier said than done but I have located a few places...)

Edited September 21, 2019 by cruisemom42

[Truluv]

We booked a full day tour from Rome (13 hours) "Pompeii & Amalfi Coast" (a/c bus wth maximum of 16 people"; English speaking guides; "skip the line" tickets and guides who are archaeologists; plus some free time in Positano for lunch on our own).  The company seems to have good reviews on the usual travel websites, so we're hopeful.  We'll be taking this tour next week before our October cruise!

 

They warn that they may switch things around and stop in Pompeii in the afternoon if there are too many cruise passengers at Pompeii in the morning.  This tour cost about $475-$550 or so for two people, after the conversion from Euros. It had to be paid in advance, and confirmations were sent promptly.  I know this will be a long day.  The meetup location is in central Rome is at 7:15 am.  Several people suggested taking a Pompeii tour from Naples instead, due to its location.  Our decision was because (1)  we had the time in Rome before our cruise, and (2) by taking this excursion we'd have time to visit Capris or the archeological museum in Naples when docked there.  We booked with https://www.walksofitaly.com/pompeii-tours/pompeii-tours-from-rome/

Edited September 21, 2019 by Truluv

[Cruises are us]

Thanks for the suggestions.  We also want to use our stop in Naples to tour Capri.  I found one through a company called City Wonders that picks up in Central Rome.  It is an all day tour, but is no where near $475 pp.  I am going to continue to look for more reviews of this company before I book though.  

[Truluv]

Just to clarify - the $475 -550 I paid was our tour cost for two people, and not a per person fee.  Of course, that's before lunch, gelato, shopping and incidental expenses during the day.   Seems like there are lots of good alternatives, from the less expensive options we found, up to the pricey option mentioned by CruiseMom42.  

[cruisemom42]

27 minutes ago, Cruises are us said:

Thanks for the suggestions.  We also want to use our stop in Naples to tour Capri.  I found one through a company called City Wonders that picks up in Central Rome.  It is an all day tour, but is no where near $475 pp.  I am going to continue to look for more reviews of this company before I book though.  

 

There are lots of options. Just be sure you consider what you want out of the day. Some tours only offer a couple of hours onsite at Pompeii, and some do not provide a private guide AT the site but only information before you are dropped off. Finally consider transportation -- a high speed train ride will get you there and back much faster than going by bus, for example, from Rome.

 

(The tour I cited at the start is a totally private tour with a well-qualified private guide....)

 

[Daisyloo]

We did a day tour from Rome to Pompeii and Sorrento with City Wonders.  I would recommend them.  We really enjoyed that tour with them, as well as several others we have done through them.  They met us at Termini station and put us on the high speed train to Naples.  At Naples we were met by our guide and got on board a comfortable coach.  We went to Sorrento first and after a guided walk we had free time, and we had lunch at a really nice cliff-side restaurant recommended by the guide.  We then  headed to Pompeii and were met by another guide who specialized in Pompeii.  At the end of the tour, the guide put us back on the train to Rome. 

It was a great day and I would not hesitate to book with City Wonders again.

[BarbinMich]

I assume your cruise does not stop at Naples as that would be much closer to both Pompeii and the Amalfi Coast.  We had a full day tour seeing Herculaneum (smaller version of Pompeii), Sorrento and the Amalfi Coast from Naples.  We had visited Pompeii from Naples on an earlier cruise.

[dogs4fun]

We usually visit Pompeii from Naples but we once visited Pompeii from Rome utilizing the train - this was about 10 years ago and we were not on a cruise. BIL wanted to visit Pompeii and as this was his one and only visit to Italy,  we took the train to Naples and switched to the Circumvesuviana (as previously discussed by cruisemom) for the ride to Pompeii Scavi. It could not have been easier - we hired a guide at the entrance to Pompeii. 

 

If you are comfortable with DIY, Pompeii is easily visited by train.

Agree with cruisemom in that a train will get you to Pompeii faster than a bus. Traffic in Naples is a 'zoo' and a bus must contend with said traffic whereas a train does not need to contend with traffic conditions. Also consider the time allotted for a stop to the requisite (usually) cameo shop - this will further eat into your time to visit Pompeii.

 

Rick Steves also offers a free audio tour of Pompeii that one can download to their smartphone: 

https://www.ricksteves.com/watch-read-listen/audio/audio-tours

 

Whatever route you choose, hope you have a wonderful visit - Pompeii is amazing.

Edited September 22, 2019 by dogs4fun

[CruiserBruce]

31 minutes ago, BarbinMich said:

I assume your cruise does not stop at Naples as that would be much closer to both Pompeii and the Amalfi Coast.  We had a full day tour seeing Herculaneum (smaller version of Pompeii), Sorrento and the Amalfi Coast from Naples.  We had visited Pompeii from Naples on an earlier cruise.

The OP says in post #5 that they intend to visit Capri during their cruise stop in Naples. 

[Cruises are us]

Thank you to everyone for the suggestions.  Our cruise does stop in Naples, but we really want to see Capri and the Amalfi Coast.  The trip to Pompeii before the cruise will work best for us.

 

 

[BarbinMich]

22 hours ago, CruiserBruce said:

The OP says in post #5 that they intend to visit Capri during their cruise stop in Naples. 

Thanks for that correction.