My family and I will be in Rome for Christmas and New Year's. We would like to visit Pompeii. Is it too much to accomplish in one day? If not, what would be the best way for four people to go to the site and return on the same day? I do not want to rent a car... Thanks!

Can be easily done by train if started early in the morning. First Rome to Naples Garibaldi and then by Circumvesuviana train http://www.vesuviana.it/web/en to Pompeii Scavi; budget at least 3 hrs o/w. Private guided tours are about 2 hr or spend more on your own.

ditto hk

Because I had always wanted to see Pompeii since I was a child, I dragged kids and husband there on the most miserable hot day in April. Because everyone was complaining, something that rarely happened in our small family, we took the wrong train from Naples--we ended up on the back end of Pompeii. We did not have a guide, and we sort of wandered aimlessly through the ruins, wiping away sweat while trying to figure out where and what everything was from our various guidebooks.

Result? No what you think.

To this day, my kids (now in their twenties) rank Pompeii has on of their top-ten experiences. In other words, it's worth it!

Check train schedules here:
http://www.fsitaliane.it/homepage_en.html

Roma TE (Termini) to Napoli CLE (Centrale)

At Napoli Centrale (also known as Napoli Garibaldi because of its location near Piazza Garibaldi), go to the lower level to a different train, the aforementioned Circumvesuviana local commuter line. (The lower level is actually named Napoli Garibaldi.)

As hkto mentioned, make sure to get off the train at Pompeii Scavi, not just Pompeii, or you will end up in the town. Pompeii Scavi is right by the ruins.

Definitely worth the effort! It is amazing there.

If you do take the train - which is what I'd recommend - then hopefully this will ease the only difficult part of the journey, the change down to the basement platforms used by the Circumvesuviana railway!

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...-or-pompei.cfm

What I'd do would be to pay the extra and come down on one of the fast ESAVs - but then take the opportunity to have a rest and/or a doze on one of the cheaper but slower trains during the journey back.

Be sure to check for your own date of travel, but this should give an idea of the options of speed and price that were available back in August....

http://www.pbase.com/isolaverde/image/132196214

If of any help, note that currently it's dark here by 5PM.

In previous years the site has sometimes opened up on Christmas and/or New Year's Day, however - as yet - I've seen no sign that they'll be doing so this time, as there's no money to pay the staff!

Should they manage to find some, the announcement may appear here....
http://www.pompeiisites.org/index.js...idLinguaSito=1

.... but I wouldn't bother looking on the site's English version, as it's months behind!

Hope you'll have a wonderful day,
Peter

PS... Might be an idea to print off these two maps:

http://www.unicocampania.it/index.ph...n=mappe_pompei

AlessandraZoe did not just get off at the wrong station, but took the wrong train which has a stop near the back side of Pompeii. One must make sure to take the train which has the Pompeii Scavi stop.

Pompeii is huge so it does not matter if you have 4 or 12 hours available to visit, it is your attention span what tru;y determines the quality of your visit. Pompeii is one of those places that you HAVE TO read about BEFORE getting there. You need to pick and choose which streets, houses, and areas you do not want to miss. Get to those first, and then branch out, if you still have enough energy. I read two books and listen to countless online lectures on Pompeii before getting there in May 2010. That's how bad I wanted to see and enjoy it. It was worth every second of it!

In the interest of completeness, we should tell the OP there are one-day bus tours from Rome to Pompeii. These make a long day and may waste some of your time stopping at gift shops or whatever. But you wouldn't have to worry about getting the wroing train. Which is not likely anyway.

Just in case.....

For details of changes to the usual timetables for Circumvesuviana trains during the holiday season, see:

http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/ShowTop..._Campania.html

Peter

I did a day trip from Rome to Pompeii several years ago--we hired a driver who took us from door to door, pricey but worth it.

If you have the time, also check out the archeological museum, where most of the artifacts are housed--the stuff and the mosaics are absolutely spectacular. Naples is a challenging city but I would go back to that museum in a hot minute!

Although the Archaeological Museum in Naples is going to be open on both Christmas Day (09.00 - 14.00) and New Year's Day (14.00 - 19.00), apparently Pompei and the other Vesuvian sites won't be?

Certainly they're not shown in the Campania section of the Ministry's list of special holiday openings, here:

http://www.beniculturali.it/mibac/ex...285697135.html

Peter