Rome to Pompeii day trip: By Bus or by Train?
 

Hi everyone...we will be in Rome for a week in July and we would like to do a day trip to Pompeii...yup, we know it's a long day...
Just wondering if it is better by bus (there is a day trip offered by Enjoy Rome..3.5 hours to get there..approx. 3 hours to wander around the site..no guided tour or stops at factories) or by train? The bus option seems mighty convenient i.e. no train connections to catch, etc. but it's still the bus which makes me slightly skeptical. Any thoughts or opinions on this?
Thanks everyone.

I have to wonder about the 3.5 hours to get there, I rememembered it tooks us something like 2 hours. Does the tour includes a guided visit?

Greetings!! We just returned from our honeymoon in Italy. We too did a day trip to Pompeii. We took a private car... the driver was lovely... however, the car's airconditioning went out... not good in June!! It took about two and half hours. The bus is probably longer because of stops. Once we got there we realized how easy the train would have been - it lets out right infront of the ruin entrance!!! Would have saved us a mint! We didn't have a guide. We really didn't need one as they have an electronic recording system that you can take along with you to explain everything inside. I would say take the train even though there is one connection and spend more time in the ruins. We needed more than three hours. The little restaurant at the train depot is wonderful... great guys there...speak English beautifully and seem to love their job. A very nice experience.

Enjoy!

We took a trip to Pompeii with Enjoy Rome 3 years ago -- and it included a stop for lunch AND a stop at a coral carving factory on the way there. On the way back, the bus went to Sorrento and included a tour of a factory where they do wood laminates -- ornamental boxes, scenes, etc., which we skipped for a jaunt down to the bay and some gelato plus photo ops. Also, our time at Pompeii included a guided tour, which was OK with me as I'd been there before, and introduced me to some new things while skipping some of the others. It was indeed very convenient -- we were picked up at our hotel and driven to Enjoy Rome where the tour buses were waiting -- standard issue, we took the English-language one. One of the main reasons we took the tour was to avoid the hassles of changing trains and dealing with train schedules and I would do it again in similar circumstances -- our group included 3 adults and 2 teenagers and I was the only one who had ever been to Italy. Hope that's helpful!

Journey time by train totals approx. 2 hours 20' (1 hour 50' Rome-Naples + 30' Naples-Pompei).

Add onto that any waiting time in Naples (0-30 mins), where you have to change train.

By going by train you will save approx. € 50-60.00 p.p. on the price of a coach tour.

Hope this helps ...

Steve

Hmm..looks like the train is winning...thanks everyone..I will be curious to read any more opinions...

Can't help you with the train/bus dilemma because we were staying in Caserta at the time and drove there.

However, when you arrive at Pompeii, you will find guides to the site at the entrance. We had a wonderful guide, Stefano, who brought Pompeii to life for us. He was very knowledgeable, friendly and had a great sense of humor. And the tour was quite reasonable. Can't remember the exact amount but they charge one price and it is divided into the number of people who join in.

Any way you do it, it is an amazing place...have a grat time.

Any last thoughts anyone??
cheers,
c.c.

Hi,two years ago we took the train from Rome-Naples and then the circumvesuviana to Pompeii.We really had no problems.Just be sure to take the express train to Naples for fewer stops, and when you arrive in Naples take the one that goes to Pompeii Scavi.Do not get into the train if you are not sure, as we have some friends who took the wrong one.The signs in the Naples station were pretty scarce.The rick steves web page has the instructions.
Hope this helps.

This is why I read this forum! So much information in one fell swoop that it boggles the mind. Personal experience combined with practical guidebook facts is a winning combination. Our trip to Pompeii is better already, and we haven't even been...

We also took the train to Naples and the Circumvesuvia half a circum to Pompeii. Nice thing about trains is the schedule is more flexible than a fixed tour bus excursion.

The train is fast, provided (a) it is not 40 minutes late leaving Rome and (b) it doesn't sit on the track just outside Naples waiting for 20 minutes...

And when we got to the Circumvesuvia tracks, the train schedule there was all jumbled and the conductors argued among themselves before deciding where the next train was going - Pompeii or the other route?

Still lotsa fun and we were there til the sun went down.

BTW, what did a guide cost you for the Pompeii tour?

I had a book of Pompeii architecture with survey maps in the back pages. I photocopied them all, glued them together and copied on our engineering department's blueprint copier to get my own floor plan of Pompeii, about 3x4 feet. On that I wrote the interesting buildings to visit. However, most were locked at the front door. (What's up with that?)

Captcanuck - If you do decide to go by train, here's the Circumvesuviana timetable:

http://www.massalubrense.it/circum.htm

When you arrive at Napoli Centrale, follow the signs downstairs for the Circumvesuviana.

[Make sure you catch the 'Sorrento' train - it's the only train which stops at Pompei SCAVI].

Steve

P.S. - You can find Rome-Naples Intercity/Eurostar timetables on

www.trenitalia.it

Hi everyone. Thanks for yesterday's advice!I think we will stick to the train after all.
Just a quick question...and probably a silly one...lots of reference to "Circumvesuvia" to Pompeii Scavi...ummm..that is the train as well
right?
cheers all,
CC

Your train is the Naples-SORRENTO train - which is known as the 'Circumvesuviana.' It's a private line, not run by the state railways (FS).

Follow the Circumvesuviana signs downstairs from Napoli Centrale where you arrive from Rome. (The ticket office is near the bottom of the stairs).

The sign above the platform will say 'Sorrento'.

[Other trains also leave from the same platform, - so make sure you catch the 'Sorrento' train as this is the ONLY one which stops at the ruins ...]

Get off at Pompei Scavi - the entrance is to Pompei is 200m.

Hope this helps ...

Steve

cc: One added note. The confusion about where to exit the circumvesuviana train is because there is also a Pompei stop, which is the town. As Steve and others noted, you exit the train at Pompei Scavi, not Pompei.

Just thought this added info might help.