Hi <BR>I've pretty much decided that on an upcoming trip to Rome I'm going to do a daytrip to Herculaneum and Naples, probably on a Thursday.I'd leave Rome as early as is reasonable in the a.m.,no later than 8am. <BR>Do you have suggestions about whether to <BR>do Rome-Naples (Archeological Museum)-Herculaneum, or <BR>Rome-Herculaneum-Naples? And IF I want to work in, or substitute a trip to to the top of Vesuvius <BR>(depending on fatigue, mood, time, and weather), how might I best work that in? I understand that there is a bus that goes from H. to Vesuvius; is there such a bus from the Naples train station or nearby, to Vesuvius? <BR>Also is there only one Herculaneum station, or like Pompeii, is there a separate one <BR>called "Scavi"? <BR>Any special gear recommended, other than <BR>comfortable shoes, and maybe a hat?

Hiho here <BR> <BR>Here are the logisitics - you can take a train from Rome to Naples in about 2 hours. To get to Herculaneum (H), you take the Circumvesuviana train, a local train line, to the Ercolano station, which is only about 20 minutes away. The Circumvesuviana train runs from the lower level of the main train station in Naples. The ruins are a very brief walk from the train stop. Most people take maybe 90 minutes or 2 hours to see H. The bus up Vesuvius (V), starts very close to the Ercolano station. It takes maybe an hour to get to near the top, from where you have to walk a bit to get to the very top. The entire trip up and down takes maybe close to 3 hours. <BR> <BR>You may be able to do only 2 of the 3 things. You may want to do 2 of them, and spend a little time jsut walking around Naples. There is a lot more to the city than one museum. I would suggest a walk thru the old part of the city - Spaconapoli (sp?). <BR> <BR>No special gear is needed for any part of the trip - why you could even wear shorts if it is warm enough.

Sorry, Elaine, we are going late September/early October so I am no help. Just tagging along on this question as to which you should see first, the Archeological Museum or Pompei/Herculaneum. And how much time should be allocated for touring the Museum. Thanks for the help.

Nancy, <BR> <BR>I'd recommend seeing the ruins first, and then the Archaeological museum. I'd plan on a minimum of 1-2 hours in the museum. My favorites in the museum were the Farnese collection of ancient sculpture on the ground floor and the marvelous mosaics from Pompeii on the mezzanine, and the Gabinetto Segredo collection of erotica found in Pompeii is way out there and very amusing(you have to make a reservation for the guided tour of this collection as soon as you enter the museum).

Hi Hiho, I knew about the Circumvesuviana train to H,and I knew about the bus from H to Vesuvius,I was trying to figure out if I could work in Vesuvius before or after H or Naples, but now that I know the time needed,(3 hours!) I guess not. Hiho and Carol,thanks for the details you provided. <BR>nancy-- <BR>I'm going to H/Naples late Sept myself, probably on <BR>Sept 27 as a matter of fact <BR>From previous postings, notably Walter's, I have the info on how to get to the Arch. Museum from the Naples station. (If you don't have this, I'll be happy to share). <BR> <BR>If I still have a few hours left over in Naples after the Museum, <BR>can I easily get a taxi or bus from the Museum to some other Neapolitan sight(s)/site(s), such as the old part of the city or somewhere else?

Carol, Thanks for the information! <BR> <BR>Elaine, we fly out on Sept. 27, into Rome on the 28th, then train to Sorrento. I would like the information on how to get to the Museum from Naples, that would be very helpful. Thanks!

Nancy <BR>this is what I've gleaned <BR>Across from the Circumvesuviana ticket windows (at the Naples train station) buy a metro day pass, or just two tickets. To the left of the booth is the turnstile and directly in front of that is Track 4, go down to track 4 hop on the train and get off at the 1st stop (Piazza Cavour). When you exit the metro turn right on the busy street in front and walk (uphill) ~150m, you'll see a large 3 story building with pinkish bricks on the same side of the street, that's the museum. <BR>A taxi from the train station to the museum would be about 8000L (June 2001) <BR> <BR>Still looking for more ways to spend 2-3 hours in Naples after the museum, and how to get there. <BR>

I meant, how to get to the place(s) where I'm going to spend the time, not how to get to Naples

another question <BR>over the weekend I bought a Streetwise map for Naples. <BR>It shows a "National Museum", but no "National Archeological Museum." <BR>Just want to be sure they are the same thing.

Hi Elaine and Nancy-- <BR> <BR>The best way by far to get to the Museum (yes, it's also called the National Museum) is by bus. The area around the train station is really pretty tacky and not a place you'd want to stay around. Tomorrow, I'll bring in my bus map (not easy to come by, I got mine in the tourist office in the Palazzo Reale, but that's another story) <BR>and tell you what bus (es)to take from the train station to the museum. Elaine, there's another bus which stops at the museum and goes to the Palazzo Reale, Opera house, Galleria area of town, which I know you'd really enjoy seeing.