Nytraveler - Judy and her family are going in October. Pompeii does have shade. Some of the structures are covered, such as the Stabian baths, the Forum Baths, the Fullery - and there are lots of tall trees down at the amphitheatre. The recently re-opened Palestra has a covered portico.

Since it's a day trip from Rome, we won't have any luggage with us. Bonus.

Actually, we are traveling at the end of March.

I think we initially thought about October (in a different thread) but because of work schedules, we'll be in Italy from March 27 to April 6.

nytraveler - my kids are determined to climb up the mountain. I might not be as adventurous.....I believe Blueeyedcod said there's a cafe at the bottom of the mountain. That's where I might park my weary bones.

I'm looking at the 8am fast train out of Rome, that should get us to Pompeii around 11, I think.

We might not head back to Rome until rather late, I think there's a famous pizzeria in Naples we want to check out, maybe for dinner?

Has anyone heard of it, might know what it's called?

Judy the cafe on Vesuvius is near the top - the road takes you 3/4 of the way up and its a 45 minute walk to the cone/crater.

For pizza in Naples - there are so many! Da Michele is open all day and although it has just two choices - marinara and Margherita- it is simply unforgettable - they've been in business since the 1890s and run my the same family. Also walking distance from Napoli Centrale.

I bet that's the pizzeria I've been told about! Thank you!

I'm pretty mobile....DH not so much, I imagine we will definitely make it to the top of the mountain, but it's good to know there's a place to stop should he decide not to go all the way to the crater.

I'm kind of all over the place regarding booking trains and lodgings because we are splitting up after a week (my kids go home, DH and I travel to the AC for a few days). I hope the chaos subsides once I've booked everything! I'm starting to lose track of what I'm doing!

Regarding Pompeii, what's the best approach -- should we first go to Vesuvius (is that a different stop on the regional train from Naples?) and then go to Pompeii?

You are a great resource, I really appreciate how much you've shared your knowledge with me, as have others. I always rely on the personal experiences that are shared on this forum for every trip I've taken since 2010.

I've also hijacked this thread from the original OP, maybe I should start a new thread?

blueuedcod answers the question about Vesuvius - Ercolo stop (I assume Ercoloa was a typo?) on the same commuter rail line to Sorrento - Ercolo is also where the ruins of ancient Ercolo - Heraculeum - are - so if the kids mentioned above want to trek to the crater the mum can visit these ruins - which though not nearly as impressive as Pompeii - they are in a deep pit and much smaller - nevertheless are neat.

I've done the Vesuivus crater and it is an AWESOME - totally AWESOME site - I recall climb though cinders where you walk two feet forward and slip one food back - don't wear shoes that may be ruined quickly by those rough pumice rocks.

Pictures of the crater viewing area and access shows a paved trail - my trek thru the lava rocks may no longer be needed from where the mini-bus drops you off?

https://www.google.com/search?q=vesu...w=1745&bih=868

Hi Judy and PalenQ

http://napoliamalfitourguide.com/tai...us/g4hs3095-2/

This image taken from PalenQ's link above shows the path exactly as it is. There are some stairs but not many - it is generally an uphill slog that looks like this with a wooden handrail. There is also a tiny cafe right at the crater too, Judy, if you decide to walk up.

Excuse my typo - to take the Vesuvius Express bus you get off at Ercolano station. Here is the timetable

http://www.eavsrl.it/web/sites/defau...to_New2015.pdf

You hop on at Napoli Garibaldi and off at Erclano Scavi (8 stops). Then, after your Vesuvius trek, the bus will take you back to this station and as Palen Q says, you continue on to Pompeii S.Villa.Misteri - this is your stop for the Pompeii site.

I would keep the family together for the Vesuvius visit as it takes a while- about 2-3 hours. The ride on the bus from the train to the top of the mountain is quite eerie. There are many deserted and shut down hotels and restaurants on the road up Vesuvius - it looks like the zombie apocalypse has passed through

In terms of order I would go to Vesuvius first thing - as later in the day the view can become hazy. That's one thing I haven't mentioned - the view over the Bay of Naples is simply breathtaking.
If your day is cloudy and/or raining, skip Vesuvius altogether as the summit gets fogged and very misty. It is difficult to see and your view will be obscured - you won't see inside the crater either.
Please dress warmly as March will be very cold up the top.

I don't believe anyone has pointed out that this original thread is 4 years old.

Of course the links don't work and the OP won't care about hijacking at this point.

Judy, I believe your son and his GF are old enough to do this on their own if you don't want to go just to sit in a cafe. Correct?

I've visited Pompeii twice and spent many hours there but never as a day trip. Vesuvius has held no interest for me. Have you ever seen an erupting volcano? Now that's exciting. A dormant one? Not so much....actually a HUGE yawn. Since you are going in March the weather for climbing it shouldn't be too bad. I would never consider doing it in the hotter months.

Dayle - maybe a yawn for you but the view from the top is as much a drawcard as being on the summit of a volcano. Sure it's dormant but it is still active - there are fissures of steam inside the cone and evidence from the last eruption in the 1940s is clear from the track. It's not that easy to get to the top of a lot of volcanoes and there are not that many around - I believe one on the US mainland in Washington state - and getting to the top of Mt. St Helens is for serious hikers. Anyone can walk to the top of Vesuvius - I have even seen people walk this path in heels (not recommended, lol).

So it's the same regional train for Pompeii and Vesuvius?

And yes, I did see this thread was years old. I had to go that far back to find this exact topic!

Yes Judy - same train line. A rickety little commuter service with hard plastic seats but it does the job

LOL

This is probably a dumb question, but from Naples train station, do I purchase r/t tickets to Pompeii but get off at Erclano then back on again?
Or do I need to purchase separate tickets for each?

No such thing as a dumb question, Judy! The Campania public transportation system no longer does day tickets (which is a bummer) nor can you get return tickets.
Your train tickets for this service to Ercolano and Pompeii are single use and valid for 90 minutes from the point of validation (they are 'validated'/time stamped) when inserted into the automatic barriers at Garibaldi station.
As you will be off in Ercolano for longer than 90 minutes, you will need another ticket to continue on to Pompeii.
It's not the drama that it seems - buy all your tickets at once at Garibaldi's ticket office. If there are four of you, you will 12 tickets. Four x Ercolano, Four x Pompeii, then four x the return trip to Garibaldi. They are not 'live' until they are validated/time stamped at the platform before you board the train.
The bonus is - it is really, really cheap to use this train. It's about 4 euro per ticket.

Perfect!

Speaking of validating tickets - I've purchased several train tickets (Venice/Rome, Rome/Naples, Rome/Venice <for my kids> )....and I understand that the tickets need to be validated, however, what was emailed to me is a .pdf file showing the details of my purchase, including the PNR code, etc., but....how do I obtain the actual individual tickets?

Or, is the confirmation/reservation details sent to me the official ticket?

I guess I'm getting confused on how to validate the tickets using the email I received. Do I get the tickets at the train station from a ticket machine or something similar?

In NYC - and I was a commuter for over 20 years - the train porter punches a hole in a day ticket to validate it, but it seems that in Italy the process is different?

Perhaps another dumb question....LOL

Judy - You don't need to validate the high speed rail tickets that come with the PNR code. You have reserved seating for those.Your email is all you need and the Trenitalia staff will come by with their scanner gadget, scan the ticket and off they go.

It's just local trains that need validation. Say you're going Florence to Pisa - you would need to validate your ticket. Also any time you take a bus - or a vaporetto in Venice. Many tourists get caught out and heavily fined because they assume buying a ticket means they can ride.

Ah.....got it!

Train tickets I buy to Pompeii will require validation, right?

Yes - at Garibaldi you will validate them automatically as you need to insert them into barriers/turnstiles that spring open to allow you to pass.
At Ercolando and Pompeii, you need to locate the validation box, which is usually on or just before the platform. From memory, Ercolano also has turnstiles that validate your ticket but I haven't been to the station since late 2014 so things may be different now.


Judy - one way to circumvent all of this is to hire a car service for the day, if you can afford it. They will pick you up at Naples, drive you up to Vesuvius, wait for you, drive you to Pompeii, wait for you and drive you back to Naples via a great pizza place. This service would cost 300 euro for the day but when you add up four of you taking the Vesuvio express bus, that is 80 euro alone. It's something to think about - and it saves time as there are only two trains per hour on the line to Pompeii.