mama_mia

I would like to try to see the National Archeological Museum in Naples and Pompeii in one day from our B&B in Atrani. I am thinking of taking the Sita bus to Salerno, then train to Napoli Centrale. Metro to museum, hopefully arriving close to opening time. Spend about 3 hours, grab a slice of pizza, then take metro to Napoli Centrale and catch the Napoli-Sorrento Circumvesuviana line, getting off at Pompeii - Villa dei Misterii (hopefully by 3 at the latest).

At closing, catch the Napoli-Sorrento Circumvesuviana line to Sorrento, and from Sorrento, catching SITA bus (does it run late?) from Sorrento to Amalfi/Atrani.

Is this too ambitious? Am I better off hiring a private car service or tour? We have only 4 full days in Amalfi, with one day each already planned for Ravello, Amalfi, and the Walk of the Gods.

Thanks.

goldenautumn

If you can afford private car services for at least part of the journey, always easier.

I suggest you go to Pompeii first via the train from salerno, then the archeological museum after. The museum does not take long to see and it is open until 7pm.

ekc

I think yours is a good plan, but on your return I would walk from the ruins to the train station in Pompeii and catch the train to Salerno, then bus or cab to Amalfi.

goldenautumn

Part of the reason I suggest going to Pompei first is that, if you are traveling in warm weather months, then Pompei is hot, so it is best to go in the morning. (If you are going in winter, then Pompei closes at 5, so that is another reason to go to Pompei first).

If you can afford a taxi to take you to the Salerno train station in the morning, then I think that is easiest and you don't need to worry about arriving in time to get your ticket and make a train that gets you the entrance to Pompei when it opens.

Here is how someone whose cruise shop docked in Pompei did it:

http://www.mommymusings.com/diy-gett...peii-by-train/

After Pompei, leave by the entrance closest to the Circumvesuviana line and take it to Napoli. At that point, I would get another taxi to the museum, but you can take the metro or walk.

You can return to Atrani via Sorrento and bus or taxi -- how late the buses run I'm not sure since I don't know when you are going. Again, a taxi from here, if you have the dough, seems nicer.

By the time you tote up the taxis I just suggested, you might find out that having a driver take you to pompei and pick you up in Naples or Sorrento is just about the same money.

Don't know if your travel days to and from Atrani are so crowded that you can't see Pompei or the archeological museum en route or exiting Atrani. But if you haven't considered doing that instead of making it a round trip day trip while staying in Atrani, that's a thought.

mama_mia

Thanks for the responses. I did not realize there was a train from Pompeii to Salerno--sounds like a better option for our return.

We will be in Amalfi in late April, so I think Pompeii is also open until 7:30, so I think going there second would work.

But I may also look into car service.

mama_mia

GoldenAutumn,
Thanks for the additional info. We were posting at the same time. We actually are coming from Abruzzo and dropping off a car in Salerno, then taking a car service to Atrani. My husband then flies out of Naples.

I suppose we could possibly stop on our way to Salerno, but I would prefer not to drive too close into Naples. (The Sulmona-Salerno route on google is more inland.)

mama_mia

Maybe I should ask, would that be a very bad drive, from Sulmona to Pompeii and then on to Salerno? My husband is used to driving in Philly/D.C./LA traffic. Doable?

A_Brit_In_Ischia

If you're an early riser, and not doing the trip on a Sunday, SITA offer a couple of direct buses - see:

http://www.sitasudtrasporti.it/publi...pania/5020.pdf

But do check again, nearer the time, starting from their general timetables - at the foot of the page here:

http://www.sitasudtrasporti.it/

... and ensure that the route's still open and running! It's been going for ages, but they've dropped one or two similar services in the last year years!

Peter

kybourbon

>>>catching SITA bus (does it run late?<<<

When are you traveling? In summer, buses run until midnight or so.

>>>but on your return I would walk from the ruins to the train station in Pompeii and catch the train to Salerno,<<<

If you do this, plan your route in Pompeii to end near the amphitheater and use that exit (Piazza Anfiteatro). It's a trek from where you would enter (Porta Marina). Your entrance would be #1 on this map and your exit would be #49.
http://www.hikenow.net/Italy/pic-map...eii-italy.html

There are also the CSTP buses (4 and 50 I think) you could take from Pompeii to Salerno.

Other options (depending on time of year), take the ferry from Amalfi to Sorrento or Naples. I wouldn't use this for return as ferries don't run late.

goldenautumn

mama_mia,

I think your husband would be okay with a routing that included Pompei on the way to Salerno, and were it me, I would be sorely tempted to see if I could do part of the trip on the road that goes through the Vesuvius park, heading on the inland route down as far as Nola/Palma Campania, then cutting over through the Vesuvius park, and down to Pompei. It appeals to my imagination to get the full monty of at least some of Vesuvius, before heading into the town it destroyed.

Mind you, I have never actually DONE this route (but I did learn to drive in L.A!), and were I to attempt this, I would (a) google like crazy to see what I could learn about the roads in the park (b) if my research didin't scare me, I would be sure to be packing with me the best fine-grain maps I could find for the region of Campania, and probably buying more when in Italy and (c) leave Abruzzo realizing I was probably going to lost, so budgeting in plenty of time and remember to keep cool.

I'm pretty sure your husband could handle the normal road there if you want to include Pompei without crawling around the base of Vesuvius. Just a thought.

If you manage to see Pompei enroute, then a day trip to Naples might be accomplished by a ferry ride to Sorrento, train into Naples, see the museum, train to Salerno, bus back to Atrani.

Utilizing the ferries might also work if you end up with a daytrip from Atrani to Pompei. I don't know the ferry skeds, so don't know if can be worked out. Peter probably knows.

mama_mia

Thanks all. You have given me much to think about. I would like more time in Naples, in order to see the Convent of Santa Caterina, so I may flip my schedule or do Pompeii during drive from Abruzzo.
I will mull over suggestions and will report on my solution at the end of my trip.

mama_mia

Meant Santa Chiara in Naples, not Santa Caterina.

Debs

There is a galleria across the street from the Archeological museum with a few places to eat. You can spend hours in the museum, depending on what your interests are. Wear comfortable shoes while touring Pompeii due to the unevenness of the rocks you'll be walking on!