Safe Parking car w/luggage at Pompeii
 

We're driving from Rome to Amalfi and would like to stop at Pompeii on the way. Yes, we know there are daytrips we could take once we're on the coast, but it would work so much better if we could stop enroute (either coming or going). Is there a guarded car-park outside of Pompeii? Rick Steve's book says you can check luggage near the gate somewhere, but does anyone here know or have experience in doing that? This will in late May...mille grazie...

I can't vouch for how safe the parking is, but several years ago, after visiting Sorrento, we parked our car at a lot quite close to the entrance to Pompeii (with all our luggage in the trunk). It was a guarded lot, though when we left Pompeii to pick up our car, my husband discovered he'd LOST the parking ticket; they still released the car to us!

There are restaurants on the main road right outside of the Pompeii road entrance that will try to flag you down to park in their lots. They charged maybe $10 and encouraged us to use their restrooms before entering the ruins (no restrooms once you enter the site itself, there are some around the ticket booth, food concession areas). These lots had 1 or 2 guys sitting outside in folding chairs (if you want to call that security). It seemed safe and they seemed very accommodating. We had an early lunch in the restaurant (the tour can easily take a couple of hrs), when we returned to our car, bus loads of people were leaving the restaurant (it's packed once the buses arrive).

I can add one note to all the above. We parked at the first lot after exiting the highway. It was a lot with a restaurant, and having lunch at the restaurant entitled us to free parking. <BR>

We also have parked at one of the restaurants---of course, they do this so you will have lunch, but the food was satisfactory. If you lock everything in your trunk, bring your real valuables (such as passport, credit cards) with you and lock the car, I don't think there will be a problem. You shouldn't be traveling with any good jewelry etc. anyway. As one poster notes, plan an early lunch before the tour buses arrive. It's much easier to stop en route than to do Pompeii as a daytrip.

There a couple of lots right near the entrance to the site. Just make sure wherever you park has a "whitecap". This will generally be an elderly gentleman who is there only to watch your car. Make sure you tip him so he will give your car as much attention as the others. Then, please take the precautions outlined in the reply above. We've parked in these lots numerous times and never had a problem. But my friend, who didn't know about the tipping and neglected to think of it (even though he was pretty seasoned), came out to find his radio gone.

Thank you all -- the search function actually worked for me -- I'd not been able to check for responses for a while and knew it was buried! We'll probably do the lunch/park combo on our way. There will be three of us and everything will easily fit in the trunk as we travel light. We'll be carrying our cameras and have the valuable documents in our trusty hidden money pouchs. Along with those left-over chocolate chip cookies to tip our guide with...Oh. Wait. I'm getting my threads confused as this trip gets close!