Capri or Pompeii in November?
 

We will be in Sorrento mid-November. Spending 2 nights. Only have evening of 11/19 and full day 11/20 to explore this area. Want to see both Capri and Pompeii but will be hard to fit both in. Which to choose? If weather is beautiful - Capri? If not so great weather - Pompeii? We are then going on to Sicily from here. My other idea is to "push it" and arrive in Pompeii at opening (0830), short tour of about 2 hours, then head back to Sorrento Marina and pick up ferry to Capri. Would have from noon-6p (last scheduled ferry departure) on Capri. Any ideas from those who have been there? Of course I understand that I won't get to see or experience everything, just would like to get a feel for both areas.

Hi Anj - You can see plenty of Capri in 6 hrs - so with an early start in Pompeii you could do both.

Another possibility would be to combine Pompeii and Positano/ Amalfi ...

Steve

Although I'd certainly want more time - - - of course everyone would.

The idea of an early morning Pompeii visit, limited to 2 hours, is feasible, but I'm not sure what time the excavations open - perhaps 9:00? Assuming you could finish Pompeii by 11:00 (and you might well want to hire a guide with instructions to keep it to two hours), getting to Capri by 12:00 might be a challenge - depends on whether you can catch a ferry from Sorrento in a timely manner. If you can, you'll get to Capri by 1:30 or so. Since you really don't have time to do much on Capri, I'd take the funicular up to Capri, have a nice lunch, take in some of the ambience (kind of limited for daytrippers), and perhaps get a taxi to Anacapri for a ride up Mt. Solaro. Then scurry back to Marina Grande for a ferry back.

Happy (and busy) travels.

KC

It's a lot to cram into one day. I'd let the weather decide which, although personally I'd take Pompeii at that time of year.

I agree that Pompeii trumps Capri at this time of year...in fact, I actually think Pompeii is BETTER in November...not only cooler (as walks up and down the shadeless "streets" in the blazing sun of summer can drain you completely) but more atmospheric somehow, esp. if there is touch of mist...

I loved Capri and especially Anacapri. It doesn't take too long to see it. Sorrento also has some quaint little streets above the harbor. Great shoes. We were there in September and the weather was good. I don't think it gets really cold in the winter months but you could always get rain. I wasn't terribly impressed with Pompeii. From what I understand, Sicily has a lot of similar sites. If it were me, I'd just do Capri if the weather is gooc. You can decide when you get there.

Pompeii....and it's not a place that you want to rush through. Two hours would never do, at least for me. I spent several hours there and would love to go back.

I see this as an exceptionally easy choice. Pompeii without a doubt. The weather would probably allow you to do a long, careful exploration of the sights and not die of heat exhaustion. If you had extra time, you could go to Herculaneum, which would be much more accessible than Capri. Capri, though beautiful, is a summer resort, so I would expect a lot of the island might not be very accessible during mid-November. If you decide to go that route, do check to see if you can even get to see the Blue Grotto.

Hi A,

I would definitely choose Pompeii. I've been twice. First trip in March - perfect weather, 2 1/2 hours. Second visit Sept, 4 1/2 hours, a bit hot, glad I had a hat and water!

I agree that Capri might not be the best in Nov. Part of the beauty is the abuntant blooming flowers.

Pompeii. And don't even try for Capri. Don;t know how the ferry service will be that time of year (even in summer it stops at like 6 pm). And if you're really interested in Pompeii you can easily spend the whole day there. In 2 hours you could see only a tiny part of it - unless you just jogged all over and never went inside anyplace.

Pompeii didn't do much for me. Just my humble opinion. I would choose Capri. Capri is jaw-dropping. We took the ferry from Sorrento in November last year. The weather was sunny and beautiful and a bit warm.

Thanks for everyone's input! I will let the weather dictate!! CheBird - glad to hear you had beautiful weather in November and were able to take the ferry to Capri. Were you able to do the Blue Grotto? Was Capri busy? or lots of shops/cafes closed? Where else did you go on this trip? Thanks.