mma73

During our 2-week trip to Italy, we will be traveling to Positano from Florence on a Thursday (taking the train to Naples then getting a driver Naples to Positano). The following Tuesday, from the Amalfi Coast we will be heading to Rome for 4 days before departing. I would really love to see Pompeii. How is the best way to fit it in? During the drive from Naples to Positano, or from Positano to Rome? Does day of week matter? Since we'll be on the Amalfi Coast for 4 days, would it be better to take the trip from there instead of cutting time out of Florence or Rome? Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Cicerone

I would recommend you do it on the morning or afternoon of the day you are going to Rome. Plan about 3-5 hours for the visit. There is a very good audio guided which you can rent, which I preferred to a guided tour I took many years ago. The day of the week should not matter in terms of crowds. We arranged for a driver to take us from Amalfi to Pompei after lunch last September. The driver waited for us and then took us to the Naples train station, where we caught a 7 pm train and arrived in Rome at about 9:30 pm. It seems you are driving from the coast to Rome, so the driver could easily pick you up in Positano, take you to Pompeii, wait for you and then drive on to Rome.<BR><BR>I recommend this way because after the long the train trip from Florence to Naples (change in Rome I am assuming) I don't think you will feel up to walking around Pompeii for 3-5 hours. You will be anxious to see the coast and get to your hotel. Also, if your train arrives later than say 1:30 or 2 pm in the afternoon, you won't have time to see really see Pompeii, as I believe it closes around 4:30 or 5. Finally, the drive from Naples to Positano takes about 1 hour. If you do Pompeii first on the afternoon of your arrival, you may find yourself driving in the dark along the coast, which means you will miss the spectacular scenery, which is the main point of the drive from Naples to Positano.<BR>

Steve_James

As you are there 4 days, it makes more sense IMO to do Pompei as a day-trip from Positano. It's very easy.<BR><BR>If you do it en route, you will be paying a driver EURO 35-40 per hour to ... sit and wait for you! <BR>That's a lot of gelato money <BR><BR>Steve

mma73

Thanks for the advice! It sounds like it will be less expensive to take a day trip to Pompeii from Positano during the time we are there. Will the hotel arrange something like this for us? How far of a drive is it from Positano to Pompeii?<BR><BR>Also, while we have decided to hire a driver to take us from Naples to Positano, I'm still undecided about how to get to Rome from Capri. What is the best way?

Steve_James

Positano-Pompei takes about an hour.<BR>By public transport it costs about Euro 3.50<BR>Take the bus to META, then the train to POMPEI SCAVI.<BR><BR>There are taxi and limo services in Positano if you prefer.<BR><BR>I usually do Capri-Rome by train from Naples.<BR>There is also a bus service.<BR>By limo it would cost you about Euro 300.00.<BR><BR>Hope this helps ...<BR><BR>Steve

RebeccaEast

Pompeii is well worth a visit. My experience in visiting Positano was the a the famous bus to Positano along the Amalfi coast was extremely crowded, in fact, they sold many more tickets than there were seats (this was in summer). Perhaps at other times of year, the bus is not so full. <BR><BR>To see Pompeii without wearing yourself out you really need most of a day; you can stay in the city of Pompei (at the Hotel Villa Laura), or in not-too-far-distant Sorrento. It is a short trip on the Circumvesuviana train from Sorrento to Pompeii. <BR><BR>I was rather disappointed in Positano: I liked Sorrento much better, both as a pleasant place to stay with things to do, and as a jumping off point for interesting day trips (to Capri and Pompeii, for example). <BR><BR>My suggestion would be to spend a day or two less in Positano; spend one or two nights in Sorrento; and from Sorrento, make an easy day trip to Pompeii. <BR><BR>(And, by the way... if you want to read some destination oriented fiction, I just published a novel set in a first century Roman household, entitled A. D. 62: Pompeii - it's available at major online booksellers! It's my answer to a question I heard someone ask at the excavation bookshop: What did they do in those houses...<BR><BR>(Ostia is also well worth a visit, and Ostia is an easy day trip from Pompeii.)<BR><BR>Rebecca

RebeccaEast

CORRECTION! SORRY! Ostia is an easy day trip from Rome, not from Pompeii...

SloPugs

We were in Rome for a week last December. Than we took the high speed train to Naples where we were picked up by a private transfer arranged by our hotel in Positano, Le Sirenuse. Positano was our base for the Amalfi Coast for 6 days. We then transfered to Sorrento for 5 more days and used this as our base for the Bay of Naples and Capri. Sorrento is good for that because it is the end of the line for the train and also convenient for the ferries to the islands. Daytripping out of Positano back to the Bay of Naples would be a bit of a pain. Our package at Excelsior Vittoria included a private transfer back to the Naples airport where we flew home to LAX. Logistically, this all went very smoothly. I almost rented a car (I've done it many times), but in this case, I'm glad we didn't. The roads are congested and sinuous, and I was happy to let the other person drive and be able to enjoy the scenery and the sea. In your case, I would go on your day from Positano to Rome because you could probably get to Pompeii earlier in the morning. I guess you can also leave really early from Rome. Either way could work.