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Pompei Excursion from Sorrento? What do you think of this estimate?

Pompei Excursion from Sorrento? What do you think of this estimate?

Old Aug 1st, 2015, 07:17 AM
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Pompei Excursion from Sorrento? What do you think of this estimate?

The villa we are staying at in Sorrento arranged this for us. I haven't yet decided if I will accept it or do things with an organized tour etc.

Private van + driver for Pompei, for 5 hours € 230, each extra €46

This is the same villa that also got us a 2500 euro estimate for a full day out on the water with a private charter and captain....which we all deemed a bit pricey here on these boards.

I want convenience is the bottom line, and if need be I can suck it up price-wise. It's vacation. I like to tell myself this when I am complaining about my often crazy work schedule here in NYC. Having said this, I don't want to be completely ripped off.

How would you arrange an excursion to Pompei?

Please remember I heeded all of your suggestions and did not get a car for this portion of our trip.

Thanks in advance for your much appreciated advice.
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Old Aug 1st, 2015, 07:27 AM
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How would you arrange an excursion to Pompei?>

Take the train from Sorrento a few minutes to Pompeii Scavi station - right at the entrance to the ruins - then get guides that are always on site - all for a fraction of the cost of a private driver and guide probably no better than the ones you can get once you get there. Well that's the cheap and simple approach - read up on the site yourself too before going.

That's how I would arrange it - eschewing being carted around and doing it easily on my own.
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Old Aug 1st, 2015, 07:28 AM
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I would go by train from Sorrento, the Circumvesuviana, get off at "Pompeii Scavi". Pick up a guide when you get there, if you want a guide. But it may depend on the location of your digs in Sorrento and if walking distance to the station.
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Old Aug 1st, 2015, 07:38 AM
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Seems simple enough.

Here's a random question but of great importance to me as I struggle with a very tempermental stomach:

Are their bathrooms on the trains?

I always feel that with a car I can ask the driver to take me somewhere if I need a bathroom stat. I've always done it this way and there is a security in it for me. I get nervous with trains and busses.
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Old Aug 1st, 2015, 07:50 AM
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No, it's a short commuter line between Naples & Sorrento and Pompeii isn't very far. You'd probably get there as fast as a driver could find you a toilet.
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Old Aug 1st, 2015, 08:14 AM
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The ride from Sorrento to Pompeii is about 30 minutes, tops. I think the Sorrento train station has a restroom so could be used there. The site has a restaurant where the guides are engaged and it has a restroom. We went with a guide of theirs and while waiting for her to gather us up, we waited in the restaurant above where the guides are hired. It has a restroom and can buy water, etc. The guide was fantastic, IMO. Go early. We went in May and the train was not crowded to Pompeii but was on the way back to Sorrento. Have fun!
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Old Aug 1st, 2015, 08:21 AM
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We drove since we had a car already - and picked up a great guide at Pompeii. If no car you can easily take the local train.

The most important thing to remember is that there is NO shade and it's very hot. So go when it opens and plot out what you really want to see - since you may not last more than 3 or 4 hours. (Definitely review the web site before you go.)

The price they want seem awfully high.
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Old Aug 1st, 2015, 08:28 AM
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Hi, zenfoodist. If the rate you mentioned for Pompeii includes entry tickets and a tour, then it might be OK. How many folks in your party?

We were there in 2002 so someone else can give you prices for train and entry in 2015.
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Old Aug 1st, 2015, 09:27 AM
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Costs per person:
entrance ticket (1 day) Pompeii: 19.50 euro
train to/from Sorrento/Pompeii Scavi: 15 euro

http://www.tickitaly.com/tickets/pompeii-tickets.php
http://www.eavsrl.it/web/it/content/campania-express
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Old Aug 1st, 2015, 09:30 AM
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There are very few restrooms inside Pompeii itself, so before you leave for Italy, look online to see if you can find a map of the site that shows you exactly where they are.

Also, while it is true that the Circumvesuviana usually takes only 30 minutes to reach the Pompei stop, there is no guarantee that the train will make the run without delay. So 30 minutes could turn into 50 minutes -- or longer, since you really need to time the journey door-to-door (I don't know where your hotel is in relation to the train station).

To cut the cost but still be comfortable (the commuter trains are un-airconditioned in experience), you could arrange to have the driver take you there and simply drop you off. You could also arrange to have him come back and pick you up, or you could simply get a taxi in Pompei if you would prefer to have more control over how much time you spend at Pompei.

There are many people inside Italy or who travel to Italy who have with them the same kinds of cards people use it the US that explains the need for a restroom. So you might want to have one.
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Old Aug 1st, 2015, 09:50 AM
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Thanks, MyriamC. Train ticket was €6,60 in 2002--I didn't keep a note of the entry fee.

Good luck, zenfoodist.
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Old Aug 1st, 2015, 10:04 AM
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Thanks for the info, amici.

To which cards are you referring, sandralist? Curious. My Italian is fairly good and I can ask to use a bathroom etc. Do you mean the card where the request is translated? I have one like that, believe it or not, for use in Asian countries that specifies that I want my food as hot as the locals eat! Strange considering my stomach is so tempestuous, right?
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Old Aug 1st, 2015, 12:19 PM
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According to th CircumVesuviana web site a ticket between Naples and Sorrento cost 4.5 euros all told and 32. Naples to Pompeii - thus it may cost about 1.5 euros Sorrento to Pompeii not 15 euros. One-way fares. dirt cheap.
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Old Aug 1st, 2015, 12:36 PM
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Hi zenfoodist,

I do mean cards where the request (and the need) is translated. I have family and friends in the US with severely tempestous stomachs who have cards signed by doctors they can show to store owners and restaurants in the US explaining they have medical conditions that require access to a bathroom --- this because so many bathrooms in places like NYC will be signposted "For Customers Only" or "Employees in Only". In Italy, a great many "public" bathrooms are inside cafes/bars, and so access is usually not restricted to customers, and normally open to all traffic, although in tourist-heavy places like Venice, sometimes cafe owners have drawn a line (because they pay a hefty water bill).

In previous posts you had alluded to needing to not stray far from access to bathrooms, so I thought such a card in Italian, stating a medical need, might be a good back up. If you speak Italian you may never need it, because typically Italians are extremely accommodating, and you simply can make the nice gesture of buying a small purchase in a bar to help offset the cost of the water use (buy a lollipop, a bottle of water, a pack of gum or cookies). Up to you if you'd feel on the safe side carrying such a card.
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Old Aug 1st, 2015, 01:43 PM
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Interesting. Are the cards legally binding? My husband is an attorney and doesn't see how they could possibly be. There are legalities that store owners (places where it is not customary to have to offer patrons restrooms)would face if they admitted someone to an area of their store where one could fall down etc. people are horrifically litigious as you well know. In the end it would seem, with or without a card, that it would be up to the kindness of the proprietor which I personally would appeal to just by asking nicely.

When a restaurant is involved, it's not unlike me to go in and order a complete meal to go for the next day. Just for the use of the bathroom. I would never use a restroom anywhere without purchasing something even if it were just a couple of bottles of water .

The French are very, very strict with their bathroom rules. I worry a lot there. David Leibovitz dedicated a whole chapter in one of his books to the bathroom situation there. I've never had problems on any of my trips to Italy or Spain. Fingers crossed. One look at my ashen face, and people generally know it's legitimate and are more than willing to help out.
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Old Aug 1st, 2015, 01:52 PM
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Your quote is ridiculously expensive.

Train from Sorrento to Pompeii is not 15 euro - it is around 4 euro. Validate the ticket before you board. It is valid for about 100 minutes of travel and you can't buy round trip tickets so when you leave you'll need to buy another one.

The toilets at the station are inside the underpass that takes you to platform 1 and to the Pompeii site. It's about 1 euro.

Pompeii admission is 11 euro. There are toilets at the Porta Marina ticket office, the Autogrill cafe near the Forum and halfway down Via dell Abbondanza, near the small theatre, at the amphitheatre entrance and at the Villa of Mysteries.See map

http://www.pompeiisites.org/allegati...0306120057.pdf

This doesn't sound like a lot of toilets but about 60% of the Pompeii site is closed due to restoration and or safety issues so wherever you are there will be one close by.
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Old Aug 1st, 2015, 01:54 PM
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Oh and I forgot to mention, official guided tours are 10 euro per person from the ticket office. No need for an expensive guide. Download and print the map I linked you to as they always run out.
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Old Aug 1st, 2015, 02:48 PM
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Hey, Zen, one thing I've learned from reading your trip-planning posts is that anything you villa arranges for you will be VERY expensive. The quote for the boat trip and for this trip to Pompeii seem astronomical to me.
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Old Aug 1st, 2015, 09:51 PM
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I live in Italy, where I'm not sure anything is legally binding! This I think is from the UK, but similar to what people I know have in the states:

https://www.theibsnetwork.org/what-w...ant-wait-card/

Regarding Pompeii, I don't know how many people are traveling with you, and whether the quoted price includes entry fee and a guide.

But the last time I was in that area the cost of private driver/van was about 35-40 euros per hour, although it's possible if you hunt around you can find someone a bit cheaper (or maybe prices have gone up). But overall, I don't think the basic rate for 5 hours is out of line with norms for the area.

Sure it is cheaper to take public transportation than to take a taxi!

In August, if I wasn't watching pennies, I would pay take the ride out, but I would be reluctant to commit to fixing a return time, simply because people in my party might want to come back sooner than 5 hours, due to heat -- and I wouldn't want to be stuck out there waiting for an expensive taxi ride back to Sorrento. Depending on how everybdoy felt at the end of the visit, I would either find a local taxi to take me back or take the train.

Finally, Pompei is an absolutely enormous place, and the smattering of facilities means it is very easy to wander beyond fast access to a WC, and in August, I would expect to find a queue for the facilities. The 60 percent of Pompei that is closed is not one peripheral chunk of it, but some here, some there, some in the center. Anyway, here is an aerial view of Pompei which you can compare to the map linked to above to get some idea of the situation. I'm not suggesting you not visit Pompei, but that you have the right expectations of the loo scene there.

https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8320/...140b7681_b.jpg
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Old Aug 1st, 2015, 09:56 PM
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Given all your concerns and perhaps the heat I don't think the train will suit. My mother wouldn't fancy walking to the train station in the August heat, then again she'd probably pass on Pompeii in that weather too. Any scenario involving a car and driver will be expensive, even if you arrange it directly, though of course that would be cheaper. Frankly I disagree with the concerns/advice about renting a car and I was very happy to have my own wheels on the Amalfi but I wasn't there in August so lets not revisit that decision.

We hired a guide for the day (organized through our villa) when we went to several of the sites around and including Herculaneum. I felt the guide added a lot and in retrospect I wished we had had one at Pompeii too. Of course guides are a mixed bag excellent when they are good and worse than useless when they are no. I completely understand why others prefer not to partake.

If it were me and I had your concerns, obligations (family) and possible budget I'd contact one company like Context and ask them for a quote for the lot of it, Pompeii, Rome and Florence.It seems to me this kind of highend trip might have been very well organized through an agent who could coordinate all your needs and concerns, sometimes a knowledgable travel agent IS worth the money.

I only hope the trip report is going to be as long as all the threads asking for advice on this holiday. Perhaps it's a bit cynical but I must admit I see you haven't got around to writing one here before?
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