You have all been so helpful on my planning. Thanks. I'm done to the final decisions. Here's what I've got:
Fly into Rome Thursday night (early june) and have a choice of an apt in either the "looking out over Piazza di Spagna" or Via del Corso "Piazza Venezia's corner". I don't know Rome, so help here please.
Next: We leave Rome the following Monday for?? and need to catch a flight back to London from Rome Friday morning.
My son REALLY wants to see Mount vesuvius and Pompeii. My cousin (who we are taking with us) really wants to see the Leonardo de Vinci Museum. Oppposite directions. There is also a city South of Rome called Montepertuso that sounded interesting.
Should I get a car...perhaps drive South to Montepertuso, then Mt. V and ending in Pompeii? There is what looks like a decent hotel there. Or get a driver and do a day trip from Rome? We can probably extend the apt a day or two.
Here's the deal. I love to drive. Drive in england all the time, but don't want to spend ALL DAY in a car! We have decided NOT to see the Amalfi coast ( too crowded that time of year). Perhaps drive to Sorrento Tuesday, rent a boat and see Capri ourselves, with a little swimming (I read that on this site, great idea)...but then the Florence thing seems out of the question.
We usually travel by staying in a flat and doing day trips, so all this moving around is making me crazy! Help! How can I make both people happy? I love it all, so it matters not to me what I see. Of the three of us, I am the only one who has already been to Italy (though many years ago), twice. I really want this trip to be special for the two of them. No expenses spared. But then again, I don't want to be exhausted. See less, enjoy more.
HELP! I need to book that apt by Feb 5.
Thanks for any help and suggestions.

I can't help w/ the apartment details, but can help w/ Montepertuso.

Montepertuso is a tiny mountain village about 15 min away by car from Positano. Positano is about a 3 hour drive south of Rome.

Montepertuso is a great place to go for lunch or dinner because of the excellent restaurants there, and because of the views over the mountain.

Depending on season, it's also possible to hike down to Positano on a footpath located in back of the church in the main square.

Unless you're planning on a few days along the Amalfi Coast, especially Positano, I don't really know why you'd plan a trip around this.

Pompeii is about 2 1/2 hours from Rome, depending on traffic. It would be a very exhausting ( and hot!) day trip from Rome. If you really want to go there, you'd be better off staying at a hotel in Sorrento, and taking the local train there. It's only about 30 min by train to the front entrance of Pompeii.

Weadles..thanks. That helps. Would you suggest training to Sorrento and renting a car there to see Mt V, Pompeii and Montepertuso?
But I still can't figure out the Florence thing, if it's even doable.

On the apartment front, I don't know that I would choose either of those locations, as they're both not so close to the main places people like to hang out, such as the Pantheon and Piazza Navona. But I think the Spanish Steps area is a big hangout for young people, so depending on the age of son and/or cousin, that may be good. Piazza Venezia is closer, I think, to the Piazza Navona area, but that Piazza is open to cars, and if the apartment is right on that Piazza, I would think it could get noisy.

On our first trip to Rome, I also REALLY wanted to see Pompeii, so it was a must-see. We drove (from the Tuscany area) to Sorrento, spent the evening and night there, then back up to Pompeii the next day. We spent most of the day there. (Vesuvius is on my list for some day!) From what I've heard from other Fodorites, it would be difficult to fit Vesuvius and Pompeii into the same day. We then ended our trip in Rome. The drive from Tuscany, I thought, wasn't bad, and it was very interesting to see the change in geography as we drove south.

I assume by the Leonardo da Vinci museum, you mean the Accademia in Florence, where David is? You could spend two days or so in the Pompeii area, then drive or train up to Florence. (Then back to Rome for your return.)

Could you post links to the apartments?
Without seeing either one, I guess I would prefer the one looking out over Piazza di Spagna than one on a corner of via del Corso, but exact map locations are needed for an informed decision.

A day trip to Pompeii in June? Oh, it sounds dreadful. If you don't want to go to the Amalfi Coast, I think the suggestion for Sorrento is a good one.

From there, you can day trip to Pompeii (wear a hat, shoes that protect your feet from the hot stones, take plenty of water, etc.) and to Mt Vesuvius, which isn't that great of a sight, IMO. Been up the mountain, and though it was somewhat interesting, it was rather ugly and a long, winding, tortuous ride. In this case, interesting wasn't at all the same as pleasant and attractive.

Are you referring to the Leonardo museum in the town of Vinci? It is interesting, but way, way out of your way. Unless you are going somewhere near Florence, Vinci is far out of your way.

I'm afraid you will have to be the bad guy here, and pick one direction or the other, OR plan to move around a lot.

Forget Montepertuso. As stated above, it is ok for lunch or dinner if you're staying in Positano, but that is it. No place for a long visit, unless you want to make it your base while in the Amalfi Coast area, which you already said you don't want to visit.

Is this your planned itinerary:

Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday night: Rome

You then have:

Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday: Depart

You could get the Eurostar to Florence Monday morning, arrange a driver to take you to Vinci upon arrival, then spend the night in Florence.

Tuesday morning, you get the ES to Naples, travel to Sorrento, relax and enjoy the town.

Wednesday, take your excursion to Pompeii and Mt Vesuvius from Sorrento.

Thurday, take your excursion to Capri from Sorrento. If your plane is late enough on Friday, you could spend another night in the town.

Friday, depart.

An idea, anyway.

lexma90..Thanks. Do you know if it's possible to train from Rome to Pompeii and then down to Sorrento for the night? I thought Mt. V and Pompeii were fairly close??

Just a thought - Ostia Antica is only a half-hour train ride outside of Rome and an absolutely fabulous alternative to Pompeii.

trsmom: You mentioned Montepertuso a second time. Is there some special draw there for you? You will have to go to Positano, driving in high season on a difficult road, then drive up, and I do mean up, to Montepertuso.

If you have a special reason to go there, then do, but realize you are then going to the Amalfi Coast. At high season. From Pompeii to Monterpertuso and back with be quite a drive, in a lot of traffic. It's more the kind of place you either stay at for the remote beauty of the far off view of the sea, or go to dinner from Positano.

I can tell you that the square in Montepertuso isn't all the pleasant. Some local kids spend time there and try to fleece tourists. Also a resident drunk. That was my experience.

You can train from Rome to Naples, then you must go down stairs in the main station to switch to the local train that stops in both Pompeii and Sorrento.

Mt Vesuvius is of course close enough to erupt on Pompeii, but you can't walk there. It's a huge volcano. You can see it from a distance, or ride a rocky trail/road to get to a visitors' area at the top. It is a long ride up and down. You can probably get a tour bus from the station at Pompeii, or perhaps a driver, to take you up. We were on a bus, and the driver insisted on silence, as the ride was somewhat dangerous.

You guys are great! This is so much help.
What about renting a car Rome airport Monday am...driving to Pompeii, then spending the night in Sorrento. Stay there Tuesday, return car to Naple or something and train to Florence for Wed and train back to Rome airport Thursday night (flight back to London is friday am). Does that sound doable...or nuts?
And yes, it is the museum in Vinci. We could get a driver for that.

I have been reading, and rereading, all the comments I received and I think this might work...let me know if you agree. Train to Naples, take the ferry to Sorrento on Monday. Train (or driver) to Pompeii for the day on Tuesday, back to Sorrento. On Wednesday do Capri. On Thursday train back to Rome, check into Airport hotel and get a driver to go to Ostia Antica for the rest of the day. Dinner at the hotel. Restful sleep. I put what everybody suggested into this itinerary. Comments?

Going back to an earlier question, yes Vesuvius and Pompeii are relatively close to each other, but to visit both in one day would not do justice to either of them, time-wise. But it looks like you've dropped Vesuius, anyway.

On your most recent idea, seems like there's a lot of shuttling between transportation, but plenty of people do that and don't mind it. (I would probably pick just driving a car to Sorrento, etc., regardless of the traffic, but I dont' think most people would choose that.)

Your last day, going to an airport hotel, then having a driver take you to Ostia Antica. I went to Pompeii some years ago, then Ostia Antica last fall when we visited Rome. I liked Ostia Antica, and it was peaceful and many few tourist, but IMHO it didn't have the "wow" factor that Pompeii did. If you're going to Pompeii, you might not "need" to go to Ostia Antica, unless your crowd are big ancient ruins buffs. You could always play it by ear. Also, look on websites or in books to see pictures of Ostia Antica; that will give you a feel for how it's similar to or different from Pompeii. Also, taking a driver there from an airport hotel might be kind of a pain (though I don't know the distances).

Personally, regardless of how early the flight from Rome is on Monday morning, I would always choose to spend my last night in Rome rather than at an airport hotel. Consider that. Nothing better than wandering Rome in the evening, and you can always sleep on the plane! If you do that, you could take the train from Capri into Rome, leave bags at hotel, then take the metro/train for an easy ride to Ostia Antica. Plan for the Ostia Antica trip, if you do it, to take about 1/2 day. When we went, we took a picnic lunch and had a very nice lunch among the ruins!

Regarding Florence, you -- or just your cousin -- could make a day trip there from Rome. It's about 90 minutes on the train.

regarding apt in Roem. I would stay away from Corso ( huge traffic)
Spagna are is very nice and not that far from Navona.

I had the same question as the original poster and reading all the responses greatly helps. So thank you all in helping us decide on mode of transportation from Rome to Pompeii and back, and everything else. I find people here extremely nice and helpful. Thank you all.

My best friend is from Montecatini (sp?) and we will be visiting there this summer for her wedding. However, when she mentioned Vinci she said it is very, very hit or miss. The past few times she has been home with her fiancee they have tried to visit and it hasn't been open. So, it might be hard to plan a visit around this museum unless you can call ahead and make sure that it is open. One article I read said you had to make reservations like 90 days in advance.

Hi Mom,

Your last itinerary is quite doable.

I would stay the last night in Rome, rather than at the airport.

thanks everyone! I don't mind the driving to Sorrento. Anything to see on the way? is renting a car one way ridiculously expensive and not really worth it? If it's worth it, it's worth a go as far as I'm concerned.
My cousin works with a young girl who just spent a year in Rome (learning Italian) and she mentioned taking the Euro from Venice to Florence on that last day, pick up with driver to Vinci and eru back to Rome that night.
GREAT suggestion about checking whether it's open!! I never thought of that. Thanks so much.
Does anyone have any suggestions for Sorrento...eating, seeing, etc. Perhaps I should start a new thread on that one.