6 day trip to Italy... Venice to rome
 

Hi all! I'm going to Italy for 6 days- Venice to Rome. Is it possible to explore Venice, cinque terre, Pompeii and Rome in this time?

Even if you only want to whizz through each place for a day or two, snapping photos, the transportation system in Italy doesn't make it easy to include le Cinque Terre. You would be on trains the better part of 2 days trying to include it.

It is very speedy to take the train from Venice to Rome. You can do it a few hours. From Rome, it is easy to get to Pompeii in less than 2 hours. If you are going in summertime, it can be excruciatingly hot in Pompeii as the day progresses, so try to get there as soon as it opens.

The honest answer is you probably have time for two places, Venice and Rome, with maybe a day trip stuck in there.

Consider that your travel day(s) take time away from actual touring.

For instance, the Venice-Rome train takes 3.5 hours, but in actuality, the trip is considerably longer. You have to pack up and leave your accommodations to get to the train station. Are you going to get to the station just as the train leaves? Of course not. You're probably going to get there 30-60 mins in advance. Then there's the time required to get to the station. Then there's time required to get from the Rome station to your accommodations.

Do that math and then multiply it every time you change locales. You'll see that a good part of your "6 days" will be spent getting from Point A to Point B.

You can make a day trip to Pompeii from Rome, if you like. I would suggest two nights in Venice, and four nights in Rome.

The Cinque Terre is not a good destination for a day trip, especially coming from as far away as Venice and leaving for as far away as Rome. If you spend one night there, you'll have only a few hours there in the late afternoon, and have to leave again the following morning. If you spend two nights, you'll take up three whole days of your limited time, leaving you too little time for Venice and Rome.

With regard to Pompeii, you might want to consider visiting Ostia Antica instead, the ancient Roman port city, on the outskirts of Rome.

http://ostia-antica.org/

Is it possible to explore Venice, cinque terre, Pompeii and Rome in this time?>

See maybe but not explore - can't you add a few days to your trip?

Otherwise yes stick to Venice and Rome- take trains - book early to score nifty discounts - www.trenitalia.com to book your own tickets - for general info on Italian trains - www.seat61.com - www.ricksteves.com and www.budgeteuropetravel.com.

I think you could do Venice, Rome and Pompeii in 5 days using trains and day trip from Rome for Pompeii even. Take a look at my Italy blog here for ideas.
https://www.diyfamilytravels.com/category/italy/

Here's a travel tip for you if you want to spend as little time as possible traveling between hotels in Italy.

Buy your tickets in advance.
Completely pack the night before you're takng a train.
Pay your bill before breakfast.
Plan on being at the train station 15 minutes or less before the scheduled departure.
When you check into your next hotel, ask the desk to hold your bags rather than going to your room right away. Go out sightseeing instead.

Take taxis to or from the station in cities like Rome or Florence. In Venice, book a hotel close to the train station.

Pompeii is a long way from Rome - about 3 hours each way maybe a tad less - take the suggestion above of doing Ostia Antica in suburban Rome - to me as impressive as Pompeii and a lot less crowds.

There is so much in Rome I would not spend a whole day of travel to Pompeii -if you had more time...

If you don't mind switching hotels for just one night, arrive in Pompeii at nightime and spend the night. Get up early the next morning, stow your luggage at the entrance gates and do your sightseeing inside the excavations (when it is still cool!), then when you've had enough, pick up your luggage and head to your next hotel.

Or, another way to do this: Travel from Venice by fast train to Napoli. Put your luggage in the station (take your toothbrush) and sleep in a hotel near the station. Next morning, travel to Pompei, see what you want, go back to Napoli train station to get your luggage, then catch the next train to Rome.