Barb

While in Rome in March, my husband and I want to go to Pompeii for a day trip. We will arrive in Rome AM Thursday 14th, leaving Rome for Florence AM Tuesday 19th. Our current projected itinerary is as follows:<BR>Thursday: settle in, take #110 bus to get an overview, stopping at select sights as we feel moved. Evening walk and dinner in Trastevere/Jewish Ghetto<BR>Friday-open for historic sights, possibly including visit to Borghese Museum; no set plan for evening<BR>Saturday: AM Scavi Tour I have e-mailed Scala Reale for their Vatican Tour if it can be on the same day--they may suggest Friday; Saturday PM--attend "Barber of Seville" at Teatro San Luca(if I can get a response from IlSogno)<BR>Sunday: possible strolling, shopping, visiting market at Porta Portese, or a day trip to Pompeii<BR>Monday: Pompeii (if not on Sunday) or strolling, shopping, etc.<BR>Please offer advise as to which day would be best for Pompeii, including specifics on transportation. Also, we are strongly considering the kilometric ticket to use for our Roma-Firenze, and Firenze/Venezia travel. We leave from Venice, so this ticket makes sense if we can use it for the trip to Naples/Pompeii. Thanks for all suggestions on this itinerary. Barb

jp

i would say monday to avoid weekend crowds. just be sure it's open. this website <BR><BR>http://www.frommers.com/destinations/pompeii/0754010029.cfm<BR><BR>seems to say that it's open everyday from 8:30 to 3:30.<BR><BR>when i went we took the train from rome to naples and then switched to a train to pompeii. not sure if that's the best route but that's what we did.<BR><BR>hth

Walter

For Rome-Pompeii directions go to www.twenj.net click-on "Rome" and then on the sidebar "Excursions". One minor mistake is that the directions *inside* the Naples Train Station should read from the Centrale and not the Garibaldi Train station, same station just on different levels. The Kilometric Ticket/Pass is only good on the slower multi-stop trains, if you wish to take the faster direct Eurostar and InterCity trains you must also buy a "suppliment" ticket. If you buy the Pass (in Italy only, not thru a commercial website) and the suppliments perhaps you will save some money. I just haven't heard of any fantastic saving by posters who have used it and bought suppliments also. I could be wrong though. Regards, Walter

Barb

Walter-thanks for the info. I looked at the trenitalia.it website, and it appeared that some trains took 1 hr 50 minutes to Naples, while others were up to 3 hours. I wasn't sure if the difference was strictly how fast the train is, or whether many stops are made during the trip. I take it the faster routes are the ones requiring supplements-do they also require reservations?

topper

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xxx

The kilometric ticket costs Euro 181/117, respectively, for 1st/2nd class, and is good for 3,000km.<BR><BR>If you multiply the rail distance for the itinerary Roma - Napoli - Roma - Firenze - Venezia by 2 pax, you'll get a shade less than 2,000 km, meaning that you'd have enough "mileage" left for a 3rd pax covering the whole distance. <BR>The "effective value" of the pass in your case adds up to Euro 101/158, that is, less than its cost. As Walter points out, even when "value" is higher than "cost", it normally doesn't pay because one still has to go through lines to pay the supplements. <BR>If you use the faster and more confortable (2nd class perfectly ok) Eurostar trains for all segments, the total ticket cost for 2 pax would read Euro 294/201 (1st/2nd class), with the compulsory reservation fee included in price. <BR><BR>I don't think you'll need advance reservations in March. Anyway, when you have a decision regarding the Naples trip, it shouldn't be visit the Amex office in Piazza di Spagna to settle things.