Pompeii or Amalfi Coast
 

I have one day on my Italy trip on my own and love history and looking to go to Pompeii. I know the Amalfi Coast is awesome but I don't think it would be more interesting than Pompeii. If you had one day, what would you do?

Pompeii.

Pompeii. You answered your own question corrrectly! For one thing it is hard to do justice to the Amalfi in just one day.

Third vote for Pompeii.

Well, I will be the contrarion. I have vacationed on the Amalfi Coast for a week each of the last 4 years and have yet to make it to Pompeii. I have visited Herculaneum, which I found interesting. But I love the sea and gorgeous scenery, more than history, so the AC would be my vote.

Pompeii, if you're mostly into history. The Amalfi Coast is visually stunning. Pompeii is fascinating.

Are you already (and staying) in the area or are you doing a day trip from somewhere else?

Where are you coming from/where are you staying? How many actual daylight hours do you have? You need to think of the logistics before you make a choice. The Amalfi Coast is difficult to get to in high season with crowded buses and very limited ferry services (which cease running in the off season November-March).
Pompeii won't take all day - if that fuels your imagination, then you could also see Herculaneum which is a few stops down the train line, or even the Villas at Oplontis or Stabiae.

What are you doing on the other days? Agree with Jean, do you want to see the best of life now (Amalfi Coast) or best of best of past life (Pompeii)?? Both were awesome.

I will be taking the train from Rome to Naples my last day before I leave to go back to the US. Will have already done Venice, Florence and Rome prior to this.

So you want to do this in one day? I would stick to Pompeii/Herculaneum as I mentioned previously, the Amalfi Coast is difficult to see in just one day.

Agree, Pompeii. If you are taking the train to Naples on that day, it will just be too much traveling to get to the Amalfi Coast and back and really get anything out of it. Pompeii was fascinating, and it will not take all day as one of the other posters mentioned. So you could do that and Herculaneum and then get back to Naples in plenty of time for a last great pizza. You will get much more out of that in one day than trying to see the Amalfi Coast.
We were there in September and did a great private tour of Pompeii and Vesuvius through Walks of Italy. That was a great day. Check out their web site if that is of interest to you, they really did a great job.

In case you weren't aware, the artifacts of Pompeii (and Herculaneum and Stabiae), for the most part, are now housed in the archeology museum in Naples. If you want to get the complete picture (and see other archeo treasures), you should try to visit both the excavation and the museum. Closed Tuesdays, but open 9:00a-7:30p the other days of the week.

http://www.lonelyplanet.com/italy/ca...gico-nazionale

by this time you would have soaked a lot of history, Pompeii in a day is too tiring and leave you unfulfilled. Go to Positani, grab a beach chair, soak in the sun and the water, and count your lucky stars.

Are you already committed to leaving from Naples? If so, and with your interests, I would think going to Pompeii would make more sense, particularly if you can find a way to see both the archeological museum in Naples and the site itself. But doing both might require that you reach Naples earlier than you might have envisioned. It is, IME, difficult to fit both into a single day, particularly if you have a sincere interest in history (the site easily merits 6 or more hours IMO, and the museum, easily 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 hours), and with opening / closing hours and trying to get to the airport.....

If you haven't already booked your flights, then you might want to consider delaying Pompeii and the Amalfi Coast until you can give them the time they deserve (a week to 10 days). There is PLENTY of interest in the other places you plan to visit!

JMO.

Flights are already booked so I will take a rain check on the Amalfi Coast this time. Looks like I found a private guide for Pompeii and working out the timing. I like the idea of the museum in Naples as well and grabbing some pizza. Thanks for all of your suggestions.

At the museum in Naples, make sure you visit the "Secret Room," which has all the erotic artifacts from Pompeii. Very interesting. And for pizza in Naples, can highly recommend Sorbillo--that was recommended to us by our Pompeii guide who is from Naples and it did not disappoint.
Enjoy!