Greetings
I am going to Rome for a week and want to tack on a short trip to Naples at the beginning of the trip. Any advice re how best to make the trip( train, bus etc.)? This will be the third week in November
ty

If you click on my name you can read my trip report of doing exactly that.

AV train from Rome to Naples will be fastest (90 minutes) or ES (a bit slower - about 2 hours).
http://www.trenitalia.com/en/index.html

Is a day trip out from Rome to see Pompeii and a quick stop in Naples for pizza doable?

I'll be honest i went to Naples and wasn't too impressed. If you are just wanting a day trip from Rome I would consider Florence, Assisi or Orvieto.

Yes a daytrip to Pompeii and Naples is a doable but long daytrip. With connection times, 3 hours travel in each diection is a reasonable estimate.

Here is an example of a Rome to Naples/Pompeii daytrip:

7:25 am leave Rome Termini on high speed train.

8:55 am, arrive Naples Centrale. Walk over to Circumvesuviana commuter train.

9:45 (approx.) arrive Pompeii Scavi.

10-2 pm. Visit Pompeii. Return to Cirucumvesuviana train.

2:45 pm Arrive Naples Centrale. Walk to Archeologic Museum.

3-5 pm Visit Museum

5-7 pm. Walk around Naples, visiting churhes, Spaccanapoli etc.

7 pm. Find pizzeria and eat, go back to Naples Centrale station.

8:48 or 9:48 pm, (depending on dinner) catch high speed train back to Rome arriving 88 minutes later.

I considered doing Pompeii as a day trip from Rome. In some ways I wish I would have, because I stayed in Sorrento instead and I wasn't that excited about Sorrento. I think the day trip from Rome wouldn't have been so bad in retrospect.

I enjoyed my few hours in Naples (walking between train station and museum and back). It was a much more interesting, lively city than I'd imagined. (And yes, OF COURSE I had pizza - yum it was good!) Next trip, I'd like to spend more time in Naples.

Grinisa, awesome. thanks! did you actually use this itinerary yourself?

summagold, no I didn't because I have stayed overnight in Naples on a few occasions so no need for a daytrip. But so many people ask this question I thought I'd plan it out just to see how one could do it. The new super high speed train helps a lot. Of course, if someone doesn't want to spend time in Naples, they can take a later train from Rome and an earlier one back.