I will be in Rome for about a week in late April. Is it realistic to plan a day trip to Pompeii from Rome? Or, should I keep Pompeii for a later trip? Thanks a lot.

It can be done in ~3hrs. Go to http://twenj.com click-on "Rome" and then "Excursions" on the sidebar. There is 1 minor mistake, the directions in the Naples Train Station (150m...Track 13...stairs) is from the *Centrale* Train Station and not Garibaldi. Actually they are the same station just on diffent levels. From the Garibaldi Station you would just follow the signs to the Circumvesuviana Train. If you leave Rome early you can combine it with either Herculaneum or the Naples Archaeological Museum. Of course you can easily spent all day in Pompeii itself. HTH Regards, Walter

There are quite a few tour operators in Rome than offer day trips to Pompeii, Naples, Capri, and several other interesting destinations. We used Gray Line and it was well worth it. They pick you up at your hotel and spend plenty of time at Pompeii. It seems that the most important question is to ask how much time you're allowed in Pompeii - every tour operator has a cousin Guido who runs the "original Cameo factory" and they will stop at Guido's on the way back to Rome!!

Marty,<BR><BR>We hired a wonderful driver, and did this trip in reverse- Pompeii to Rome. Driving time was just under three hours. Our driver knew one of the Pompeii guides, an older gentleman named "Alfonse" and the tour he gave us was one of the highlights of the trip. If you want any further info, just e-mail me. Good luck!

Did Pompeii and Herculeneum this past Oct. My vote is for Herculeneum. It's better preserved and much more compact than Pompeii. You can tour all of Herculeneum in about 3 hours. Pompeii will take you most of the day to see if you are going to tour all of it. Instead of the guides which seemed a bit pricey to us, we purchased the audio rentals which were inexpensive and very good.