Amount of time to visit Pompei
 

I have a small dilema and am searching for advice. My wife and I will be in Rome for a few days before meeting up with some friends and heading to Positano. We have decided to train to Naples and have received a quote from sorrentolimo.com for 110 Euro for a driver to take us to Positano.

In the email from sorrentolimo, they stated that "free of charge" they will stop in Pompei on the way to Positano. They didn't say how long this "stop" would be. I'll have to email them about this.

My dilema is that the friends we are meeting up with in Rome will be arriving from the U.S. (Arizona). I imaging they will be a tad tired from their trip, but they have said they wouldn't mind spending some time in Pompei on the way to Positano. Since we want to see Pompei anyway, this might be the best way to see it. This way, we wouldn't have to make a "special" trip there on another day.

I'm looking for advice on how much time I should allot for seeing Pompei. Does the above scenerio make sense, or should we just plan on seeing Pompei on a different day.

We will be in Positano for 3 nights and then moving on to Sorrento for 2 more nights. Our plan is to see Ravello (we have concert tickets) and Capri. We would also like to see Herculeaum (sp).

Any thoughts or comments are appreciated.

Mark

Hi Mark,

The only question I would have is, "What condition will your friends be in when you get to Pompeii"?

Remember, you will be walking around for abt 2 - 3 hr.

Will the limo be large enough to handle four of you and your luggage comfortably?

Pompeii is amazing - and exhausting. I went recently and thought I'd give it half a day - but after 4 hours I was not only dead on my feet but also felt like I'd only scratched the surface. If you can do it another day - and alott a full day that would be much better. Even if you can only spend half a day there you'll be too tired to fit anything else in.

I went to Herculaneum after Pompeii and I'm really glad I did it that way - it's much better preserved than Pompeii, so I think I would have been (unjustly) critical of Pompeii if I'd seen Herculaneum first.

Herculaneum is much smaller and can be comfortably seen in about 3 hours. It's well worth seeing both if you can, but not on the same day, it would be too much, and you'd start to suffer from "not another pile of old bricks" syndrome.

I personally would not have been in any condition to see Pompei after a flight from the US. Granted, everyone is different, but I can't imagine that they would "enjoy" the stop.

I was recently in Pompeii and spent 3 hours there and probably only covered 1/4 of the place, if that. It depends how into it you are, but in my opinion you could easily spend a whole day. I second the previous comments about Herculaneum. It is much smaller and better preserved and might be a better option if you don't have much time to spare. It is not the easiest walking though and if it's hot when you go, it will wear you out, especially Pompeii. Both are worth seeing. I'd try to see one site if you can make it work.

If you're planning to spend two nights in Sorrento after Positano, I'd leave your visit to Pompeii to that time. It's a very easy shot to Pompeii from Sorrento, about 30 minutes on the Circumvesuviana commuter train. You could do Herculaeneum on the same day (though that would not be my choice).

Pompeii is bigger than you probably think it is. It's possible to spend an entire day there and still not see the entire excavation. Try to educate yourself a little before you go, buy a map when you arrive and prioritize your interests. If you're going in summer, arrive Pompeii when it opens and before it gets too hot.

I'm curious about your tickets to Ravello concert. Have seen the website, and wondered if it was too late to book now for the 23rd May? do you have tickets in hand or are you picking them up on the night?

Now, I am different, I would accept the offer for a free stop, take a look around for the time alotted and then continue on to Positano. You can see some interesting parts near the entrance, then if you have the time and inclination go back another day. This way you will have had a sneak preview and know what to expect in Pompeii.

If you leisurely walk around and don't go in depth in Pompeii, your friends should be able to do it, especially if you have a car waiting, and don't have to negotiate a train or a cab.

We went to Pompeii by train while staying in Sorrento. We arrived when they opened, thought we'd spend a few hours then go on with other plans. We left about 4. It's a big place and we enjoyed the whole day there.

As with Patrick above, we spent the whole day there and could have stayed longer. After, we drove to Herculaneum but it had closed for the day. Still hyped from our day at Pompeii we drove as far as you can up Mt Vesuvius then walked to the crater to see the sun setting over the Bay of Naples. Superb!

I wouldn't rush through it if I were you. This was definitely one of the highlights of my whole trip.

I loved Pompeii too, but on one trip, my traveling companion saw the highlights then wanted to leave, as she had seen enough and was hot and tired.
I had been there already so we left, it may not be your "thing" to spend a whole day or big part of your day there.

Thanks everyone for the advice. I kind of like nocinonut's idea of "stopping" to take advantage of the freebie and then going back for more if we desire.

Amanda, I've had my tickets for a while but our friends just ordered their's last week. They send you a voucher and you pick up your tickets at the concert site.

Check out http://www.ravelloarts.org/

I like the "stop briefly and see" idea especially if you are driving in that area.

I know that personally, it all depends on how tired/jet lagged your friends may be and how high their interest level is to see Pompeii.

Sometimes when I arrive after a transatlantic flight I am so jet lagged that I don't really care to see anything. I just want to a hotel room and catch-up on zzz's. Other times, I can hit the floor running and see a few attraction sites that first day.

Pompeii is much bigger than people give it credit. It is like a small city within the city. We spent about 1/2 day and we still did not cover all of it.

If you go there, be sure to try the vanilla gelato at the little store at the bottom of the hill, near the entrance to Pompeii. We had gelato every day but this was the yummiest vanilla...or maybe it was milk/cream flavor.

PS: wear comfortable shoes..lots of stones/cobblestone paths and some steep slopes.

Can anyone comment on the audio tour rental at Pompeii? Do they give suggested stops for say a 2 hour or 4 hour visit? I have found audio tours very helpful on past trips to similar sites. I know there is much to see, but I am ok with seeing the highlights and I imagine this is a 2-4 hour minimum?

Lets see. A best case scenario is that your friends live less than 30 minutes from the Phoenix airport. Get to the airport 90 minutes before flying, have a 11 hour flight to Europe, 2 hour layover somewhere and 2 hour flight to Rome. 1 hour taxi ride to met you at the Rome train station. 1 hour layover in Roma just in case there are any delays, than a 3 hour train ride to Naples. 30 minutes to Pompeii.I suppose you could fly from Phoenix and connect somewhere in the USA for Roma but I do not think this will save you any time. So your friends will have been traveling for at least 20 hours+ before they get to tour Pompeii.
Having flown from the west coast to Italy several times, I can tell you personally that exploring is not high on my list when I get there, no matter how much sleep I get on the plane. Now if you went first class you may be more rested but I doubt if I would want to do much the first day anyway.
I would otherwise highly recommend a guide for Pompeii and at least a half a day.

I am with MJS; unless you are all under 25 and have the energy of the young and crazy,this stop in Pompeii is a recipe for a bad start to a great vacation.

We take groups of high school students to Pompeii and allocate 5 hours split by a picnic lunch to see the site.Those who are history buffs often come back a second time because they got too tired or hot to see it all at once.

I absolutely cannot imagine getting off a plane in Rome and driving to Pompeii; your friends might agree out of politeness or the insanity induced by jet lag, but they will not enjoy it.

I like the drive by advice best. What I would do is see how your friends feel when they arrive (if you don't have to tell the co. in advance). Check it out for an hour or two--it's actually much better for your jetlag to get moving--but do the broadbrush. Then when you're in Sorrento, it's a short train ride if you want to go back.

I too love Ercolano because of the scale and it's always less crowded. I'd recommend if you do get to see a few high points of Pompei, then while in Sorrento you visit the Naples Museo of Archeology, where most of the "good stuff" from Pompei and Ercolano live. Then, after lunch, hop the train for the 20m. ride on the Circovesuviana from Naples to Ercolano. It about another 40-50 minutes back to Sorrento, and you will have walked, but oh, what you will have seen!

Remember, we all go back!

Boy, we are all beating this to death, and you have probably made your decision already, Mark Y, but I think you should take advantage of stopping on the way down to Sorrento and having the driver wait for you.
Your friends need to walk in the sunshine after a long trip, it aids in defeating jet lag.
Some people just like to look at the highlights anyway and not make a day of it in Pompeii.
By the way the most interesting sights are close to the entrance, imho.

You Fodorites are awesome. Everyone has some good points. What is my decision........?
Keep in mind that MJS is just about right on with the time table coming from Phoenix. I'm not one to run around like a mad man on vacation, that isn't for me. Slow and enjoy is how we like it.
That being said, I will let our friends decide. If they feel like stopping for a bit, we'll stop. If they don't, it's not a big deal because we will be spending two full days and nights in Sorrento on our way to Tuscany. We will have the opportunity to spend a full day visiting Pompei and Herculaneum. How about Vesuvius, worth a visit?

Thanks again for everyone's input. All the comments were very helpful.

Mark

Vesuvius is definitely worth a visit -- especially if you have never seen a volcano before.