Peter, your suggestion might make a great day trip. Sigh...I just know so little about Italy, so this is all one great big discovery for me. We decided to take two nights in Sorrento, and booked at a B&B there, Magi House. Instead of making ourselves too crazy, I think we'll try to check in and head right back out to Pompeii the first day and have the afternoon there. The second day we'll brave the buses (I priced a driver and car, and it's 230 euros for the day, 170 for half day, so buses it will be) and take the drive along the coast to Amalfi and Positano and not pressure ourselves to try to do too much. At least after the trip, I can cross the AC off my to do list.

I seriously doubt you will be crossing the AC off your to do list. You will be putting it on your "must return to" list.

If it's to be Sorrento - and you'll return to the Rome apartment, bringing little more than a change of clothes - why not think about the suggestion offered in the third reply, above?

You'd save a couple of hours by stopping at Pompei on the way - and be there before the crowds and the heat of the day arrive - and could take advantage of their Left Luggage facility, and then continue on to the B&B afterwards?

http://www.pompeiviva.it/pv/en/serviziofferti.htm

For the change of trains in Naples - the only slightly complicated part of the journey - this will hopefully be of some assistance...

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...-or-pompei.cfm

But I'm not sure that you could exhaust quite all the delights of this area in just 48 hours?

http://www.pbase.com/isolaverde/tele

Peter

Wow...Peter, thanks so much. As long as we could definitely drop our bags safely at Pompeii, it probably does make sense to stop there first. The train info will be incredibly helpful..keep us from spending time wandering about trying to find the right place to go. And I'm sure we will be far from exhausting all the delights of the area in such a short time..but better to see just some than none at all. Don't know that we'll get back to the area again, so at least I can scratch the itch a bit.

You scratch away!

Peter